Responsible research and innovation in ICT – a framework

Abstract

The issue of ethics and responsibility is gaining attention among the creators of scientific policy, funding agencies and society at large. Responsible research is defined as research that aligns both its process and its outcomes with the values, needs and expectations of society. In the EU-funded project “Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in Information and Communication Technology” (RRI-ICT Forum), a four dimensional framework for defining and monitoring responsibility has been defined. The four dimensions are (1) actors who are responsible or to whom research is responsible, (2) kinds of responsibility – in what way are they responsible, (3) how much they are responsible and (4) in what area of ICT responsible research and innovation can take place. In this paper we present the simplified version of the framework and initial observations about the ways and degrees in which the researchers in ICT are adhering to it, discuss the future uses of the framework and the dilemmas about responsibility that it is opening.