Role and position of the science and innovation community in society
The scientific world is still perceived by many, including the scientific community itself, as being ‘independent’ and ‘objective’. Co-RRI, however, wants to shake off this aura of independence and acknowledges that research and innovation processes are deeply embedded in social and political discourses and institutional structures.
The implementation of co-RRI therefore inevitably involves controversies, differing interests and power issues. As a result, co-RRI, just as any other type of research and innovation practice, is inextricably linked with making choices with social, political, environmental and other implications.
Beyond being aware of the ethical nature of co-RRI, the FoTRRIS approach therefore stresses the importance of being transparent about the choices made during research and innovation processes, as well as their implications, and questions the role of this kind of transdisciplinary co-creation trajectories as an instrument in a participative democratic model.