RRI Tools

Nanotechnology constitutes a great promise for domains as diverse as product development, environmental conservation, medicine and information technology while simultaneously giving rise to numerous concerns about potential health risks and environmental hazards. In addition, nanotechnology raises wider social and ethical issues regarding unintended long-term consequences, social and financial risks, issues of governance and control and fundamental issues about life and human identity.

Within this context, NANO2ALL aims to put responsible research at the core of its methodology to create a climate of dialogue and engagement. NANO2ALL will create various tangible and intangible outputs and results, but most importantly insight that will allow researchers and decision-makers to engage with each other, as well as with other stakeholders and channel the feedback of their interaction into mechanisms that will reinforce the roadmap identifying research concerns and opportunities for innovation.

The anticipated impacts of NANO2ALL will involve improved citizens’ awareness, increased public trust and better acceptability of nanotechnologies’ based products and solutions and contribution to a more inclusive European society.

For this purpose, the following project’s objectives have been defined:

• To establish a European-wide sustainable platform for mutual learning, informed dialogue and societal engagement in responsible nanotechnology;
• To perform a series of multi-stakeholder training activities to address knowledge gaps between various types of actors and develop a shared understanding of the benefits and risks of advancing responsible nanotechnology via constructive multi-stakeholder dialogues;
• The systemic engagement of civil society, social sciences and humanities and industry groups and researchers in nanotechnologies;
• To suggest evidence-based recommendations and develop a roadmap to enhance societal engagement in responsible nanotechnology.