IMAGINE RRI. A card-based method for reflecting on responsibility in life science research

Abstract

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has become a new buzzword in science policy, pointing to a shift in the role of research in contemporary societies. While on a discursive level responsibility is easily welcomed, implementing RRI in research practice appears challenging. RRI as an agent for change must compete with other forces shaping the current research system and its institutions, such as innovation orientation, competition and indicator-driven evaluation cultures. To address these challenges, we created a new format for engaging life science researchers in reflections on the meaning of responsibility in their own research practices. In this conceptual paper, we present and discuss a card-based method: IMAGINE RRI. The method’s aim is twofold. First, it is meant to empower researchers to appropriate RRI through shared reflection while connecting it to their practices. Second, it aims to enable researchers to reflect on how the institutional context of their work and the embedded values fosters or hinders responsible research practices. Supplementary material (including card design and discussion map) is available under a creative commons license at the following link: https://phaidra.univie.ac.at/view/o:690945.