The Constitution of a Responsible Research and Innovation Policy: Tensions in Implementation and Regulation

Abstract

European scientific and technological policy recommends better aligning the process and results of activities of research and engineering with the values, needs, and expectations of European society. Nevertheless, this progressive intensification of the narrative, as a response to demands for greater responsibility, must contend with other present discourses that function as ideological prescriptions and envisage innovation as a motor for economic competitiveness. There is a basic tension that is clear in the apparent paradox of the new social context of scientific-technological activity, which, on the one hand, is subject to a growing demand for responsible models of research and innovation, and on the other hand, is implemented for macroeconomic results. Our analysis strategy is to reclaim this issue, which is closely linked to the interests that intersect in the generation of knowledge, the criteria that govern the dynamics of the scientific-technological system, and the values that guide scientific policy. Within this basic tension we find a myriad of heterogeneous elements that sometimes contradict each other and that compete amongst themselves for alternative ways to implement and regulate the dynamics of the system of science, technology and innovation. The model of research and innovation developed by European and national policies in response to global challenges is created through the management of this tension.