RRI Tools

PRO-RES project aims to produce a guidance framework regarding the delivery of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), which is required from researchers and research funding and performing organizations (RFPO), in order to balance political, institutional and professional contradictions and constraints.

This framework aims to:

• cover the spectrum of non-medical sciences and
• offer practical solutions for all stakeholders, that will comply with the highest standards of research ethics and integrity.

In terms of post-2020 European strategic funding policy this offers a strong and sustainable contribution to RRI via a comprehensive ethics and integrity framework similar to Oviedo/ Helsinki which will have been constructed in negotiation with relevant stakeholders.

The need

Researchers and research funding and performing organizations face serious risks in delivering Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), in striving to balance many political, institutional and professional contradictions and constraints. These are as difficult and demanding in nonmedical fields as in biomedical research. More specifically, researchers, reviewers, regulators and policymakers are tested by the diverse codes of ethical practice and regulations, by the complexities of relevant data protection legislation, by inconsistencies in the applications of regulations and by the practical professional pressures of acting in diverse non-medical research fields.

Main objective

The overall goal of the PRO-RES project is to build a research ethics and integrity framework devised cooperatively with, and seen as acceptable by, the full range of relevant stakeholders and similar to Oviedo/Helsinki guidance frameworks in the medical fields. PRO-RES will draw upon previous foundational work funded by the EC, and other national and international agencies. While linking to existing foundational work, to be durable and sustainable the outcome must also be flexible enough to meet anticipated future needs ensure that the Framework in corporates RRI principles and practices, especially regarding the governanceof RRI constellations of actors. Consequently, the framework will be ‘staged’ starting with a simple introductory level of ‘basic principles’ leading to more explanatory/background levels and ultimately more complex aids for decision-making at later stages.

Strategic Objectives

The main objective is supported by the following 7 strategic objectives:

1. Identify and categorise stakeholders, guidelines and codes, across the EU area and across non-medical disciplines, to ensure that the organisation and channelling of expertise, in the context of policy advice, is well understood.
2. Activate and engage stakeholders across the EU and across disciplines.
3. Construct a normative framework for evidence based policy originating from cutting edge research responses to ethical challenges.
4. Understand the implications and pragmatic issues that are entailed in the implementation of such a framework at a national level and analyse the relationship between science based policy advice, responsible conduct of research and research ethics.
5. Ensure that the produced framework in sustainable and adaptive and can anticipate future needs that may arise from new scientific discoveries and new available technologies.
6. Provide a toolbox to policy makers to monitor ethical use of research results and be able to perform impact evaluation and gauge the socio-economic impact of not conducting responsible research.
7. Ensure that the needs of society are well encapsulated in the framework.

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