RRI

This is the acronym for 'Responsible Research and Innovation'. Responsible Research and Innovation has, thanks in part to its active promotion within some EU research funding programmes, had both an intellectual and financial impact on innovation research in Europe in recent years.  It requires ‘that societal actors (researchers, citizens, policy makers, business, third sector organisations, etc.) work together during the whole research and innovation process in order to better align both the process and its outcomes with the values, needs and expectations of society’.

It can, in many cases, be seen as much as a method for approaching pre-research, feeding into the setting of research goals, funding decisions and research planning, than contributing directly to research for innovation itself.  For example, Arenshorst et al (referenced below) explore possible pathways for technological development in neuro-imaging at the level of current diagnositc and treatment practice (massive machines in large hospitals), of personalised health care (small technology at GPs) and of person-centred health care (possibly apps on their mobile phones). Whilst there is likely to be continuing development for all three, some mapping of future visions, how they might relate to each other and which might deliver the best health outcomes for their relative cost at the outset surely helps develop research strategies.