RRING to host first virtual networking event for Community members (September 10)

By Graham UCC on August 11, 2021 in Events, News, RRING NEWS, Workshops & Training

RRING Community will host its first free virtual networking event for its members on Friday, September 10.

With this workshop, RRING is seeking to engage with its community with a view to expanding on specific interests and topics by connecting its members directly with one another.

The event will provide a valuable networking opportunity for our members, a chance to engage directly with other RRING participants around issues that are salient to them in a professional capacity.

The workshop bring together stakeholders from across the QH around a topic of their choosing. The goal is to begin a process of attempting to build sub-groups / cells / networks / sub-committees on these issues within RRING.

Ultimately, the long-term objective would be to enable and facilitate co-creation and mutual learning through sub-groups or committees under the RRING Community banner. Potential outputs of such collaborative efforts could produce outputs including (but not limited to): 

  • Future research projects
  • Identify and apply for Funding calls to support research projects
  • Produce papers on common themes of interest
  • Conduct Science Diplomacy or Advocate to Policy either nationally or internationally.
  • Produce position statement
  • Decide on / organise training that benefits the group

There are two sessions on the morning of September 10 – one from 9:30 – 10:30 CEST and a second from 10:45-11:45 CEST. Participants will be allowed select two preferred topics for their breakout room sessions via the registration form on Eventbrite

Session 1: Global Challenges 

  • Climate change
  • COVID 19
  • Africa 
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • SDGs

Session 2: Pillars of Responsible Research & Innovation

  • Open science 
  • Gender Equality 
  • Ethics Integrity 
  • Citizen and Public engagement 

A facilitator will chair each session , to quickly assist the group to determine common areas of interest within the theme, based on the group wide expertise, and to then determine what the group could collectively work together on.

We look forward to welcoming you and beginning our collective journey of mutual learning and collaboration.

REGISTER HERE

World Design Capital Workshop: Responsible Research and Innovation to support sustainable design

By Graham UCC on April 8, 2021

WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL VALENCIA 2022 invites you to this virtual workshop on Responsible Research and Innovation for design professionals and companies.

The workshop will take place on Wednesday, April 14 (15-18 CET) and will provide design professionals with an overview of Responsible Research and Innovation and its relevance to supporting sustainable design practices.

You will hear from experts involved in the RRING global network for responsible research and innovation and be informed about other related activities such as gender-responsive practices from The Gendered Innovations Project, the UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers and be provided with practical examples from the PRISMA project. This is an interactive workshop where participants will be encouraged to actively take part.

What will you learn?

You will learn about Responsible Research and Innovation and its relevance to improving business competitiveness, supporting marketing through enhancing brand trust and strengthening customer relationships as well as in promoting sustainability.

You will also learn about the benefits of the RRING global network, for example, the opportunities it can provide for access to knowledge-sharing activities and events, for meeting other professionals and organisations across the globe and collaborating on joint projects.

You will be empowered to apply these practices in your own activities and can expect positive impacts on business competitiveness and sustainability.

Agenda

15:00 Presentation:

  • Xavi Calvo, World Design Capital Valencia 2022, TBC
  • Inés Sánchez de Madariaga, UNESCO Chair on Gender in Science, Technology and Innovation, UPM
  • Gordon Dalton, RRING project coordinator, UCC

15:15 SESSION 1. RRI in innovation and industrial sectors:

  • Edurne Íñigo, Deusto University

Beyond sustainability in the innovation outcome, RRI aims to include society and diverse views in the design process, in so-called innovation with society and for society. To do so, the European Commission has indicated six focus areas: ethics, gender equality, governance, open access, public engagement, and science education.

But, what does this mean in an industrial context? In this session, we introduce the concept of RRI and its relevance in competitive environments. We highlight the opportunities for business (e.g., user-centred design, access to new markets through inclusive design) and briefly discuss the different options to overcome hurdles in the implementation of RRI.

15:30 SESSION 2. Gender-responsive business and innovation to enhance RRI in industry

  • The Gendered Innovations Project (European Commission, Stanford University) – Inés Sánchez de Madariaga, UNESCO Chair on Gender in Science, Technology and Innovation, UPM
  • EU Guidelines for gender-responsive business and innovation – Inés Novella Abril, UNESCO Chair on Gender in Science, Technology and Innovation, UPM

This session will focus on the gender dimension of the RRI in Industry. Focusing on examples related to design and innovation sectors, the speakers will introduce the way companies can incorporate gender in their innovation process and business strategies. A selection of cases from the Gendered Innovations project will provide an insight on how gender and sex analysis can enhance the development of innovative solutions for companies of different industrial sectors. The audience will be also introduced the EU Guidelines for Gender-responsive Business and Innovation, a toolkit that provides useful tips and recommendations on how to address and translate gender know-how in the different areas of work of private companies, from management to innovation and communication departments.

15:50 SESSION 3. The good, the bad, and the ugly: Opportunities for Responsible Innovation in small and medium enterprises

  • Vincent Blok, Wageningen University

In this presentation, Vincent will present state of the art findings about RRI practices in industry, involving motives for engagement, engagement practices and hindrances.

16:10 Q&A 

16:25 COFFEE BREAK 

16:40 SESSION 4. UNESCO Recommendations to include RRI in industry and innovation 

    • April Tash, UNESCO – Paris

Innovation plays as fundamental a role in our collective, day-to-day society as it does within the design sector and industry. This session will present the UNESCO perspective on the importance and value of enhancing responsible innovation within the scientific and technological sectors. Our goal is to bring these standards, approved by 195 countries, closer to the private sector in order to support emerging processes such as digitalization and globalizations, while simultaneously enabling the retainment and growth of responsibility minded talent within the sectors.

17:00 SESSION 5. “The world which we want in the future starts with how we innovate today”. Lessons learned from the PRISMA-pilots for responsible innovation and dealing with conflicting values

  • Joost Groot Kormelink, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, TU Delft

In this presentation we will discuss a roadmap to embed RRI in the strategic innovation policies of companies. We will also discuss potential key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of such policies. We will highlight the importance of a ‘safe-by-design’ and a ‘designing for values approach’, especially for new technologies with unknown risks.

Our starting point is the EU-funded PRISMA project (Promoting responsive innovation in transformative Industry) and the lessons learned from eight pilots in innovative businesses across Europe working in different areas (such as nanotechnology, biotechnology and automotive). The project resulted in an upcoming European ‘pre-standard’ (CEN-105) for RRI. We will discuss the status and elements of this standard and how you can give input

17:20 Q&A 

17:30 SESSION 6. Session 6. The RRING Network. Opportunities for the innovation and design sector.

  • Gordon Dalton, University College Cork

A central pillar of the RRING project’s stated goals is the creation of a perpetual community network. By utilising Network Theory, the RRING Community offers a more powerful base for actions, strengthening coordination and communication and promoting shared behaviour, thus increasing the chance of joint action.

The nature of collaborative networks lends itself to a co-production model—a joint effort between network researchers, who bring the latest theories and research on networks; and network practitioners, who bring the latest experience of networks. Previous RRI projects only went as far as recommending RRI communities, and no formal research was conducted to understand the requirements for a successful independent network.

RRING will go that extra significant step to establish a sustainable RRI community based on latest network theory and real world success stories. The RRING community network will be the most important method to “mobilise, promote and disseminate” mutual learning and collaboration in RRI, and to advance SDGs globally.

The participation of industry within the community is vital for achieving these goals. All of the partners have committed to continued membership of RRING post project. In particular, UNESCO has agreed to support the RRING Network on handover at project completion for one year (UNESCO LoS for RRING community).

17:45 CLOSING WORDS

Registration

You can register for free HERE.

Virtual Summit on the Future of Socially Responsible Research & Innovation

By Graham UCC on March 30, 2021

The RRING project, Responsible Research and Innovation Networked Globally, funded by the European Commission under its Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, is now nearing completion.

Over the past year it has conducted a number of activities to increase understanding on how socially responsible research and innovation is viewed across the globe and develop recommendations for improving this in line with the 2017 global agreement called the Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers (RSSR).

The RRING summit will bring together the projects leading proponents and participants over two days to highlight, discuss and expand upon the learning and insights gained from the communities collective activities.

The summit will include participants from UNESCO, the United Nations, Future Earth, PRIA and ICORSA (among others). Registration for the summit is free.

RRING activities have shown that better collaboration among all science and technology stakeholders is needed for an advocacy directed toward influencing public policy and decision-making by policymakers to improve aspects such as public engagement, open access, gender, ethics, and science education and to allow science and technology to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To support science and technology stakeholders and empower them with the tools to achieve ever more responsibility and freedom in research and innovation, RRING has been developing recommendations for the development of competitive advantage based on RRI and conducting trials with countries supporting them in measuring progress on the priority areas of the Recommendation on Science.

RRING is now evolving beyond the project itself to become an open and welcoming community, spreading and sharing the ideas of responsible research and innovation. Its current members span over 60 countries. They share a common vision to learn from, share and connect outstanding research practices all over the world to improve the quality and impact of scientific research on a global level.

Through its training, knowledge sharing and networking activities that have already begun, the RRING community will not only support the national assessment and reporting processes that examine the norms and standards associated with the RSSR, but will also enable practice and knowledge exchanges with scientific communities globally, to seek ways to improve, apply and develop specially-designed tools.

For those interested in joining the RRING Community, you can register at: https://rring.eu/community/.

Workshop Recap: What is RRI, SDG and RSSR: How is it important to your research?

By Graham UCC on March 2, 2021 in Workshops & Training

On Thursday, February 11 RRING hosted its first online members workshop: What is RRI, SDG and RSSR: How is it important to your research?

The one-day event was attended by over 100 participants who were given an introduction to Responsible Research & Innovation, Sustainable Development Goals, and Recommendations on Science and Scientific Researchers.

Over the course of the day participants in the workshop:

  • Engaged with the concepts of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Recommendations on Science and Scientific Researchers (RSSR) and their relevance in research from a global perspective.
  • Examined Global Responsible Research and Innovation based on the findings of the RRING project.
  • Explored the UNESCO Recommendation for Science and Scientific Researchers, how it relates to the SDGs and why it is important that these are incorporated in research.
  • Considered how these aspects related to their own work and research.
  • Partook in a survey to offer insight into their own knowledge and experience with RRI and what they would like to see from future RRING events.

SESSION 1 – RRI

SESSION 2 – RRI Briefing

SESSION 3 – SDGs and RSSR

Workshop: Funding applications – How to incorporate RRI, SDG and RSSR into funding applications?

By Graham UCC on December 10, 2020

OBJECTIVES

  • To understand the concepts of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Recommendations on Science and Scientific Researchers (RSSR) and their relevance in research from a global perspective
  • Consider the importance of RRI, SDGs and RSSR for funding applications
  • Hear international examples of good practice
  • Have the opportunity to reflect on this for your own funding applications

AGENDA

09:00 – 09:15: INTRODUCTION

  • Opening and welcoming remarks – Chairperson
  • Mentimeter Survey– Emma Day

09:15 – 10:00: SESSION 1

  • What is RRI? – Professor Alexander Gerber (Rhine – Waal University)
  • What are the SDGs and RSSRs – Dr April Tash (UNESCO)
  • Q&A

10:00 – 11:00: Group Discussions

  • Breakaway room discussions with chairs and participants.

11:00 – 11:15: TEA BREAK

11:15 – 13:15: SESSION 2:

Incorporation of SDGs and RSSR in funding applications – Global perspective

  • Lithuanian Research Council – Dr Reda Cimmperman
  • Meiji University – Professor Andrew Adams
  • European Commission – Mr Linden Farrer
  • Participatory Research in Asia – Dr Rajesh Tandon
  • Science Foundation Ireland – Dr Marion Boland
  • Q&A

13:15 – 14:00 LUNCH BREAK

14:00 – 15:00: SESSION 3:

Incorporation of SDGs and RSSR in Funding Applications – Global Perspective

  • National Research Foundation – Dr Mbulelo Ncango
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science – Ms Jessica Wyndham

Representatives that have worked in RRI projects before (collaborations, budgets, roles and responsibilities)

  • Security Projects – Dr Andrew Adams
  • Q&A

15:00 – 16:15: Practical Activity: Writing the RRI, SDG work package for proposal

  • Q&A

16:15 – 17:00: SESSION 4

Representatives that have worked in RRI projects before (collaborations, budgets, roles and responsibilities)

  • MUSICA and Intelli-Guard Projects – Dr Gordon Dalton
  • Q&A

17:00 – 17:15: Closing Remarks

Download the agenda HERE.