Forgotten publics: considering disabled perspectives in responsible research and innovation

Abstract

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in healthcare requires a more substantial engagement with disability theory and disabled stakeholders to counteract histories of disenfranchisement in scientific and technological innovation. Historically, disability has been configured as undesirable pathology in medicine, often assuming successes in innovation can be measured by crossing the constructed threshold between disabled and able. Employing a disability-informed perspective in RRI for healthcare innovations means dismantling passive patient roles in favor of active and meaningful engagement, contextualizing participation in histories of exclusion from public life, and creating physical, infrastructural, and social spaces that value and encourage disabled perspectives. Ultimately, this piece argues that recognizing disability as a crucial epistemic resource can aid in the production of more transparent, inclusive, and meaningful research and innovation.