From responsible to responsive innovation: a systemic and historically sensitive approach to innovation processes

Abstract

Responsible innovation has emerged as a field of research dedicated to introduce sensitivity to societal values in innovation processes. However, much of the academic literature on RI deals with single technologies instead of technological systems and is future-orientated without explicitly using specialised knowledge of past developments. In this paper, we present a problem-focused approach to RI that aims to support researchers and stakeholders in developing potential solutions from a perspective of systemic awareness and historical sensitivity. We then describe the application of this approach in an 18 months long interdisciplinary research project on plastics. We show that the approach has generated new and unexpected research projects, formed new inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations, and has impacted some participants’ understanding of the systems in which their work is embedded. We conclude that with appropriate willingness to engage by individual researchers, our approach is able to, firstly, influence highly experienced researchers to engage more responsibly with their work, and secondly, to make research projects responsive by including societal concerns and their historical emergence from the start.

Keywords

Responsible innovation; Systems thinking; Historical sensitivity; Event graphs; Learning Histories; Plastics; Co-production

Published in

Technological Forecasting and Social Change
2022, volume: 174, article number: 121231

SLU Authors

• Rödl, Malte

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of Manchester

Global goals (SDG)

SDG9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production

UKÄ Subject classification

Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121231

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/113717