Annual Meeting of the Germany Society of Scientific Research

On 12 April 2019, Phil Macnaghten, Professor of Technology and International Development at the Wagening University, shared his ideas on responsible research and innovation with members of the German Society of Scientific Research.

This year’s annual meeting of the German Society of Scientific Research saw several presentations on responsibility of research. They focused on two questions: What can science contribute to society? What is the responsibility of science?

In his presentation “Responsible research and innovation: From science in society to science for society, with society”, Philip Macnaghten gave a brief historical overview of the concept and identified three features that are emerging from the discourse: (1) Identification of targets for innovation in an ethical, inclusive, democratic and equitable manner; (2) Integration and institutionalisation of established mechanisms of reflection, anticipation, and inclusive deliberation in and around the process of research and innovation; and (3) Conveyance of new responsibilities emerging from a model of co-creation.

During the discussion facilitated by Harald Mieg, member of the RECIPES project, the role of the precautionary principle, as well as the role of international standards, were discussed.