Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISIJoining Efforts for Responsible Research and Innovation (JERRI)
The aim of JERRI was to contribute to the dissemination of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in the European Research Area.
For this purpose, a process was designed and implemented in the two largest applied research institutions in Europe, Fraunhofer in Germany and TNO in the Netherlands, in order to sustainably anchor RRI practices in the organisation. In particular, the aspects of ethical reflection, participation of social actors and citizens, gender equality/gender-sensitive research and open access were addressed.
Both organisations first identified the current situation for each aspect. Then, together with internal and external stakeholders, they developed ambitious long-term goals and defined pilot projects that were implemented within the project to initiate change.
Examples of JERRI pilot activities at Fraunhofer include the development of the Fordatis system for the provision of research data, the ethical evaluation of internal research projects and the implementation of a "Citizens Café". The Fraunhofer pilots are documented here.
At TNO, as part of JERRI, training against implicit gender biases was undertaken by all senior management, social stakeholders were included in the Advisory Board and an online game was developed to help employees reflect on ethical dilemmas. The TNO pilots are documented here.
The two organisations exchanged information regularly and developed a detailed manual for other RTOs with similar concerns from the "lessons learned". In addition, special user briefs with recommendations for actors from politics and industry were developed with the aim of jointly building "pioneer coalitions" for responsible research and innovation.
The theoretical framework was the concept of "Deep Institutionalisation" developed by Prof. Sally Randles at Manchester Metropolitan University. An accompanying evaluation was carried out by the IHS in Vienna.
In parallel, experiences at two international institutions – Arizona State University in the USA and the Academy of Sciences in China – were collected and fed into the process.
The project was actively supported by an advisory board with proven expertise in the dimensions.