In a recent piece that provides a historical overview of the concept of “responsible innovation” (or “responsible research and innovation”), Richard Owen and co-authors Phil Macnaghten and Jack Stilgoe identify three distinct features that are emerging from its current uses: (1) emphasis on the democratic governance of the purposes of research and innovation and their orientation towards the right impacts, (2) responsiveness and the institutionalization of anticipation, reflection and deliberation in research and innovation policy, and (3) the framing of responsibility as a collective endeavor with uncertain and unpredictable consequences — three features that inform indeed the viewpoint of the Observatory for Responsible Innovation. The piece is titled “Responsible research and innovation: From science in society to science for society, with society” and is part of a a special section on “Science in Society in Europe” in the last issue of the journal Science and Public Policy.
