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2014
Book Article
Titel
Report of the roundtable at S.NET Boston 2013: 'Where to Next for Responsible Innovation?'
Abstract
Research into responsible innovation (RI), as an object of study, is currently enriched by a number of disciplinary perspectives, normative underpinnings and research approaches. This was reflected in the contributions of the four interlocutors (the chapter authors) for the S.NET Boston 2013 Roundtable on Responsible Innovation, which shed light on the issue from the perspective of several disciplines: regulatory science, political science, philosophy of technology, sociology of science and technology, sociology of markets, innovation studies and institutionalist sociology. The roundtable also put into practice the idea that responsible innovation performs a boundary-object function, creating space for a range of academic and other actors (policy makers, business, and civil society) to collectively pursue a dialogue on what it means to undertake research and innovation processes in a responsible way. On this occasion, the guiding question for the roundtable was 'Where to next for responsible innovation?' Interdisciplinarity emerged as a central theme of the discussion. A second feature was the challenging interjections from the audience, mainly by junior researchers. These challenges revolved around two key questions: i) Is responsible innovation a veil for 'business as usual', growth-led innovation?; and ii) How likely is it that actors could/will/already do take on the technical and discursive armoury of responsible innovation merely as reputation-enhancing window-dressing ('responsibilitywash')? These challenges were welcomed by the speakers for enlarging the debate and providing it with a critical edge. They form an important element of this report on the roundtable.