RRI Network working group launches a series of national workshops on RRI in funding

Starting with the kick-off of the NewHoRRIzon project in May 2017 the RRI Network working group has been committed to developing a shared understanding of the notion of RRI. The focus of this process was on gaining profound insight into RRIs relevance and applicability for national science and innovation funding. A series of internal workshops and intensive discussions with renowned RRI experts from within and without the NewHoRRIzon project have been very fruitful and the RRI Network working group is now lunching a series of national workshops to spread the message of RRI and deepen its understanding in open discussion with national stakeholders.

Four national workshops will take place in Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia and the Netherlands in April/May 2019.

The objective of those workshops is to familiarise a larger community of stakeholders from the national funding systems with RRI and raise the question whether RRI is merely an option for national science and innovation funding or an actual necessity. Hereby, the focus is on developing a shared notion of advanced funding practices and a shared understanding of the problem situations underlying the debate on RRI. In addition potential first steps towards a stronger integration of RRI into national funding practice will be brought to the table and discussed there and then. From a conceptual perspective the workshops build strongly on the notions of wicked problems, transition, actor-network theory with the frame provided by RRI.

The results and insights from these national workshops will be discussed in the Utrecht meeting of the RRI Network working group in the last week of May, 2019 and presented to all partners of the NewHoRRIzon consortium in June, 2019 in Prague.