Thematic Issue Presentation: Responsible Innovation (RI) in the midst of an innovation crisis

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/nocsi.v0i2.91150

Keywords:

Critical Studies of Innovation, Responsible Research and Innovation, Philosophy of Innovation, Innovation Crisis

Abstract

The concept of Responsible Innovation (RI) occupies a central place in the discourse on science and technology, especially in the context of the European Union (EU) but also within academia. This concept is guided by the idea of steering science and technology towards societally desirable outcomes, particularly in response to normative objectives such as Sustainable Development Goals. Visions of RI typically propose that to innovate responsibly requires a permanent commitment to be anticipatory, reflective, inclusively deliberative, and responsive. They also emphasize the need for open access, gender equality, science education, ethical standard in conducting experiments, and democratic governance.

However, the societal purpose of RI fundamentally conflicts with the imperative of maximizing economic growth inherent in today’s innovation climate. This conflict points to a crisis in which innovation struggles to serve public interests insofar private interests continue to be prioritized. The magnitude of this crisis is also reflected within the RI literature itself, where the political ambition to exceed the privatization wave is summoned to a techno-economic concept of innovation. This issue of NOvation Critical Studies of Innovation brings into question to what extent innovation necessarily relates to the market, whether it is possible to develop an alternative concept of innovation that is separated from economic ends, and how we can conceptualize, for example, a political understanding of innovation. What really is innovation? While all seven contributions share the aspiration to critically reflect on these questions, they each offer a distinct and original perspective in discussing the relation between innovation, technology, politics, economics, and responsibility.

Author Biographies

Lucien von Schomberg, Greenwich Business School, London

He Lecturer in Creativity and Innovation at the University of Greenwich Business School (UK). Graduated with distinction in philosophy from the KU Leuven (Belgium). He specialized in continental philosophy with notable interest in existential phenomenology and traditional metaphysics. This led to a PhD project in the field of responsible innovation at Wageningen University (Netherlands). The results of this project are published in his doctoral dissertation, entitled Raising the Sail of Innovation. In addition, he conducts research for several EU Horizon 2020 and Interreg projects related to responsible innovation and circular entrepreneurship.

Vincent Blok, Wageningen University & Research

Associate professor in Philosophy of Technology and Responsible Innovation at the Philosophy Group, Wageningen University (The Netherlands). He is also the director of the 4TU.Ethics Graduate School in the Netherlands. In 2005 he received his PhD degree in philosophy at Leiden University with a specialization in the philosophy of technology.

References

European Commission (2020). Horizon 2020: work programme 2018-2020: Science with and for Society. Resource document. https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2018-2020/main/h2020-wp1820-swfs_en.pdf

Owen, R., Macnaghten, P., & Stilgoe, J. (2012). Responsible research and innovation: from Science in Society to Science for Society, with Society. Science and Public Policy, 39(6), 751-760. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scs093

Von Schomberg, L. (2022). Raising the Sail of Innovation: Philosophical Explorations on Responsible Innovation. Wageningen University. https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/raising-the-sail-of-innovation-philosophical-explorations-on-resp

Von Schomberg, L., & Blok, V. (2019). Technology in the Age of Innovation: Responsible Innovation as a New Subdomain Within the Philosophy of Technology. Philosophy &. Technology, 34, 309-323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-019-00386-3

Von Schomberg, R., & Hankins, J. (2019). International Handbook on Responsible Innovation: A Global Resource. Edward Elgar Publishing.

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Published

2022-05-15

How to Cite

von Schomberg, L., & Blok, V. (2022). Thematic Issue Presentation: Responsible Innovation (RI) in the midst of an innovation crisis. NOvation - Critical Studies of Innovation, (2), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.5380/nocsi.v0i2.91150