JERRI – Joining Efforts in Responsible Research & Innovation

Background

Publicly funded scientific organizations are financed by public funds. The Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) approach was developed in order to bring applied research in line with the values, needs and expectations of society. The concept of RRI refers to several key dimensions that are currently promoted by the EU:

•     social commitment
•     ethics
•     gender equality
•     Open access
•     Scientific training
•     Governance.

The individual dimensions have not yet been firmly anchored within scientific institutions and need to be institutionalized there. The individual dimensions must also be combined to form an integrative RRI approach.

Goal

The JERRI project makes a significant contribution to the profound institutionalization of the dimensions of RRI in the European research area. The aim of the project is to systematize the development of the two largest European organizations of applied research, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Germany) and the Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO (Netherlands), in different areas of Responsible Research & Innovation and to carry out pilot activities to anchor sustainability and social responsibility in decision-making processes and research content. For this purpose, specific goals have been developed for Fraunhofer and TNO for each of the RRI dimensions. Based on existing good practices and in close cooperation with the respective stakeholders.

An action plan with pilot projects is defined and implemented for each of the dimensions. The project is designed as a mutual learning process between Fraunhofer, TNO and other institutions involved in applied research. There is an international exchange of »good practices« in the RRI area with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Arizona State University (ASU).

Role of Fraunhofer IRB

The Competence Center Research Services & Open Science at Fraunhofer IRB is responsible for the Open Access dimension in the project. In this context, open access means free access to publications as well as to research data. In addition, the Competence Center is significantly involved in the definition of goals, the planning of pilot activities and their implementation in the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and thus contributes significantly to the institutionalization of the RRI dimensions. As part of the pilot activities, an institutional research data repository for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will be set up in the Open Access area and a communication concept for Open Access will be developed. Furthermore, approaches are being developed for the integration of open access clauses in industrial contracts, which are to be used in the form of fact sheets. The Fraunhofer IRB is also working on business model ideas for research data.

Results

The result is that Responsible Research & Innovation is better anchored within the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the TNO. The pilot activities at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and TNO are implemented in the dimensions of ethics, gender equality, open access, inclusion of society, control of science and scientific training. The Fraunhofer IRB is making its contribution in the Open Access dimension, while other Fraunhofer institutes are working on pilot activities for the other areas.

At the same time, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the TNO learn from each other and intensively exchange ideas on the RRI dimensions.