Digitalization, Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence hold the potential to create new business opportunities while helping to address the grand challenges Europe is facing today.

The Virtual Summit on Responsible Innovation for Smart Homes and Smart Health explores how this
immense potential can be navigated in a responsible, inclusive and sustainable manner. 

On the occasion of the book launch of the International Handbook on Responsible Innovation, a series of international events will take place to discuss the challenges ahead of us for the further development and implementation of responsible innovation. 

Below you will find the agenda’s for these events- with guest lectures and panels. Participation to these events is free but because of limited available seating, prior registration is necessary

This post by Wouter van de Klippe was originally published at the CWTS´s Blog  on March 20th 2019

The MoRRI project had the aim of establishing a monitoring system that measures how, where, and to what extent Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has become interwoven within European Research practices.

The SUPER_MoRRI project aims to build on this monitoring system through empirical and theoretical work. Currently, SUPER_MoRRI is in its nascent stages, which offers a unique opportunity to reflect on potential improvements to be made from MoRRI.

In this blog post, Wouter van de Klippe aims to provide an impetus to re-conceptualize the function of monitoring throughout the SUPER_MoRRI project.

-> How would you pitch Responsible Innovation to industry leaders?
-> Why should Responsible Innovation be adopted and how? 

We would like to share your responsible innovation pitch with industry leaders! 

In a 3-to-4-minute video, tell business & industry leaders about responsible innovation and win a prize of €1.000!

++Deadline: Extended until 28th May 2019++

Submit your pitch!

• No need to be a professional videographer: all you need is a smartphone or camera to record a video and a persuasive pitch!
• Create a video of you (or you together with a friend!) pitching responsible innovation to industry of 3 to 4 minutes (preferably in English but other languages are accepted too, if the video is submitted with English subtitles)
• Check the Call for submissions for further guidelines.

Prizes:

The best pitches submitted will be widely shared with industry leaders, receive a cash award and public recognition in a virtual award ceremony.

• 5 runners-up will be selected:
  • The 3 best submissions will be awarded cash prizes of €1.000, €750 & €500
  • The 2 remaining competitors will receive a surprise
• Winning videos will be
  • Showcased during the LIV_IN Virtual Summit in June 2019 to an audience of 300 business actors, scholars and other experts in the field;
  • Featured on the LIV_IN website;
  • Promoted through LIV_IN Consortium partner networks

About the competition

Responsible Innovation helps address today’s grand societal challenges. People get the chance to take part in the conversation about innovations that will possibly turn their lives upside down. At the same time, it brings new, attractive business opportunities to companies. Responsible Innovation is predominantly used within academia and among policy makers, but industry representatives have not yet fully explored its benefits.

This video competition aims at transforming the academic discourses on Responsible Innovation into a language that resonates well with industry. In 3 to 4 minutes, participants pitch their notion of Responsible Innovation to industry leaders, including why responsible innovation should be adopted and how. 

Interview with James Wilsdon, professor of research policy at the University of Sheffield- originally published at Social Observatory "la Caixa"

James Wilsdon is professor of research policy at the University of Sheffield, and has led studies in the UK and abroad to analyse the use and effect of metrics in research assessment and management. He is vice-chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice (INGSA), a collaborative platform across national and international science advisory organisations that fosters evidence-informed policy formation.

How can funders (agencies, governments, foundations, etc.) use metrics to assess the excellence and impact of research? Do we agree on what excellence means and what impacts are desirable? 

This is an important part of the debate. And let me put the word “excellence” in quotes because sometimes it’s a problematic term. It obscures as much as it illuminates in terms of what we are valuing in the system. The balance between conventional criteria of research excellence (primarily assessed through citations, patents, etc.), alongside the growing emphasis for research to have broader forms of impacts on society and the economy, creates a need for more responsible use of metrics. 

Broadening out the range of metrics we use and accompanying them with sensible, qualitative peer review can be very helpful. Some altmetrics, for example, can be a way of recognising citations by non-academic bodies. If you treat these altmetrics as an important part of your assessment process, it will encourage academics to engage with other audiences than the academic community.  

Are altmetrics going to change the way we assess research outcomes?

A lot of the focus around altmetrics has been tilted towards social media. And that’s interesting, but it’s a rather superficial proxy for really understanding whether research is having an impact on important societal problems such as changing the practice of the criminal justice system. What’s happening in social media can give us some useful information, but I think it would be dangerous to link funding to those indicators. 

In general, we are at a very early stage in developing effective indicators for societal impacts. There’s room for developing newer and more helpful impact metrics.