Responsible Research and Innovation in Academic Practice

Societies and policy increasingly rely on research and innovation to address the challenges of our time. More than ever before, researchers are required to align their work to ideals of societal relevance and responsibility, and to fulfil expectations of scientific excellence at the same time. In Europe, this call for changing science-society relations has been subsumed under the term “Responsible Research and Innovation” (RRI).

As a new concept, RRI explores possibilities of integrating responsibility as core value in research and innovation. A new research field is starting to form around the discussion of this concept. However, what RRI can concretely mean in the practices of researchers at an institution like the University of Vienna has hardly been explored so far. To address this, our interdisciplinary research platform studies the many moments in which responsible decision-making is important in everyday research practices and the conditions that support - or may prevent - responsible acting.

In the platform, life scientists and social scientists work together to develop a framework for understanding and fostering responsible research and innovation in practice. Complementary to our research activities, we organise public events to open broader debates about the meaning of responsibility in academic practice.

 News & Events

27.06.2016
 

Interview mit Helga Nowotny und Ulrike Felt im uni:view Magazin

13.06.2016
 

Lisa Sigl published a blog entry in "Reflections - Blog of the STS Department at the University of Vienna" on the need for critical reflection on the...

25.03.2016
 

"Es gibt keine grenzenlose Freiheit"

Ulrike Felt spricht im Interview mit Veronika Schmidt (Die Presse) über Freiheit und Verantwortung in der Forschung und die Arbeit der neuen...