Assessment of science and technologies: Advising for and with responsibility

Abstract Responsible governance of science and technologies, in particular through the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), is becoming increasingly important among policy makers and researchers alike. In this Issues and Opinions Essay we show that influential contributions to this field highlight the need to rethink the relationship between science and society, including rethinking the roles and responsibilities of the different actors in the innovation systems. In this Essay we will focus on the function and practices of assessment of science and technologies. With the Essay we would like to open a discussion with academics, assessment practitioners, policy makers and stakeholders about the potential need for reform of current assessment practices and advisory institutions in light of discussions about responsible governance of science and technology in general and RRI in particular.

[1]  Richard Owen,et al.  The UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's commitment to a framework for responsible innovation , 2014 .

[2]  J. Gil,et al.  Consumer acceptance, valuation of and attitudes towards genetically modified food: Review and implications for food policy , 2008 .

[3]  Fern Wickson,et al.  Standardising Responsibility? The Significance of Interstitial Spaces , 2015, Sci. Eng. Ethics.

[4]  Michael Decker,et al.  Bridges between science, society and policy : technology assessment - methods and impacts , 2004 .

[5]  G. Fishbein,et al.  Setting environmental standards. , 1975, Journal of environmental health.

[6]  Henry S. Richardson,et al.  Institutionally Divided Moral Responsibility , 1999, Social Philosophy and Policy.

[7]  D. Collingridge.  The social control of technology , 1980 .

[8]  J. Stilgoe,et al.  Responsible research and innovation: From science in society to science for society, with society , 2012, Emerging Technologies: Ethics, Law and Governance.

[9]  A. Stirling.  “Opening Up” and “Closing Down” , 2008 .

[10]  J. Stilgoe,et al.  Developing a framework for responsible innovation* , 2013, The Ethics of Nanotechnology, Geoengineering and Clean Energy.

[11]  Brian Wynne,et al.  Public uptake of science: a case for institutional reflexivity , 1993 .

[12]  Sheila Jasanoff,et al.  Technologies of Humility: Citizen Participation in Governing Science , 2003 .

[13]  Luigi Pellizzoni,et al.  Responsibility and Environmental Governance , 2004 .

[14]  A. Rip,et al.  The challenge of addressing Grand Challenges , 2014 .

[15]  Ellen-Marie Forsberg,et al.  Assessments of emerging science and technologies: Mapping the landscape , 2014 .

[16]  W. Richard Scott.  Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems , 1981 .

[17]  R. V. Schomberg.  Prospects for Technology Assessment in a Framework of Responsible Research and Innovation , 2011 .