IrsiCaixa and “la Caixa” Foundation lead RRI Tools, a project performed in 30 european countries to foster a new relationship between science and European society
- The RRI Tools project has just been launched, a three year long project to foster Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in Europe. It has a budget of 7million Euros and counts with the collaboration of 26 institutions.
- “la Caixa” Foundation coordinates the project, and the Unit of Public Engagement on Health Research (UDR Bio) at IrsiCaixa is deputy coordinator and will coordinate the Spanish Hub of the RRI Tools project, funded under the European Commission (EC) Seventh Framework Programme (FP7 2007-2013).
- 19 activity centres, called RRI Hubs, will implement the project across 29 countries in Europe, 25 of them from the European Union and 4 associated countries. IrsiCaixa, jointly funded by “la Caixa” Foundation and the Government of Catalonia, will coordinate the Spanish Hub.
- The RRI is a process where all societal actors work together during the whole research and innovation (R&I) process in order to align its outcomes to the values, needs and expectations of European society. RRI will be central within Horizon2020 (2014-2020), the new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, where the programme "Science for and with society" will be an issue cutting all across Horizon2020.
The Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a process where all societal actors (researchers, citizens, policy makers, business, educators, etc.) work together during the whole research and innovation (R&I) process in order to align its outcomes to the values, needs and expectations of European society.
The RRI Tools project will develop an innovative and creative set of tools aimed at raising awareness, training, disseminating and implementing RRI in Europe. It is performed by 26 institutions reaching 29 countries all over Europe. It will be addressed and designed by all stakeholders of the R&I chain of value but will specially focus on policy makers in order to impact significantly in the future governance of R&I.
IrsiCaixa coordinates one of the 19 national Hubs
The involvement of the different stakeholders in the process of development and dissemination of the Toolkit will be facilitated by 19 National Hubs, which will promote RRI among the different stakeholders involved at local and national level. According to Rosina Malagrida, coordinator of the Spanish Hub and head of the Unit of Public Engagement on Health Research at IrsiCaixa, “a greater implication of the different stakeholders of the R+D process will facilitate new ways of collaboration that will join efforts to build a country with a high added value. We will need the collaboration of all the actors to agree how to walk thorugh this path, through this innovating process that defines RRI. WIth this aim, from the Hubs, we will foster the creation of a community of practice to share good practices, reflect on how to advance and promote RRI in Europe”.
RRI Tools is a collaborative and inclusive project with the aim of increasing creativity and shared ownership of the R+D process. Within its members, there are foundations, universities, educational centres, museums and research centres, paneuropean networks, business and technological companies. Its ultimate goal is to establish a community of practice that brings together all the people and institutions that are active in this new vision of scientific and social development. “We are sure that RRI Tools will contribute to the Horizon2020 strategy by helping transform Research and Innovation in Europe into a process targeted at the grand challenges of our time where deliberation with society should be a must” says Ignasi López from “la Caixa” Foundation (Spain), the project coordinator.
RRI is encompassing 6 fields relating to R&I: public engagement, formal and informal education to science, gender equality, ethics, the open access to scientific results and R&I governance itself. RRI will be central within Horizon2020 (2014-2020), the new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the European Commission. As Philippe Galiay from the DG Research of the European Commission said at the kick off meeting: “The ‘Science with and for society’ part of Horizon 2020 is the natural evolution of the ‘Science in Society’ program in FP7 whereas RRI is an issue cutting all across Horizon2020”.
RRI Tools: www.rri-tools.eu