Responsible innovation – what, why and how

The University of Edinburgh and research funders such as UKRI are committed to promoting research impacts outside the scientific community. The process of promoting impacts that are beneficial while avoiding unintended negative consequences is known as Responsible Innovation. Join this webinar to learn what this entails, why it is relevant and important, and how you can practically apply the principles of Responsible Innovation to improve your project or impact agenda. The webinar is of special interest to anyone preparing an application to the Harmonised IAA Call for impact projects. Take the opportunity to ask your questions!

A careful consideration of Responsible Innovation improves any impact strategy. UKRI is increasingly requesting that applicants explicitly consider Responsible Innovation in proposals for both research and impact or innovation activities. The University of Edinburgh is committed to using its research to achieve beneficial impacts for, and with, society, and the University’s Impact Acceleration Accounts are expected to embed Responsible Innovation considering “the benefits, but also potential [negative] impacts from their activities”. 

In this webinar, Responsible Innovation expert Dr Rob Smith will introduce and outline Responsible Innovation and its context, and two examples will be given by Professor Louise Horsfall and Professor Stuart Anderson, followed by a Q&A session with questions from the audience.

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Speakers

• Dr Rob Smith, Senior Research Fellow in Science and Technology Studies at the School of Social and Political Science

Rob works in the field of Science and Technology Studies. His research examines the social, political and policy dimensions of the life sciences focusing particularly on how science and technology are made and governed, and how they might be re-made and governed in ways that are more democratic or environmentally beneficial than they are currently. He has collaborated with a range of European funding organisations to develop policies and practices for Responsible Research and Innovation and is a member of the Edinburgh Hub for Responsible Innovation research network.

• Professor Louise Horsfall, Personal Chair of Sustainable Biotechnology at the School of Biological Sciences

Louise is interested in applying synthetic biology to improve the sustainability of biological processes and products. She leads the College of Science and Engineering’s Science for Sustainability activity, is Associate Director of the Centre for Science in Extreme Conditions, Advisory Board member for the European Synthetic Biology Society and SynBioUK and was recently elected to the Executive Board of the European Federation of Biotechnology. Louise is a member of the BBSRC's Strategy Advisory Panel for the Advanced Manufacturing and Clean Growth, the EPSRC's Strategic Advisory Team for the Manufacturing & Circular Economy research theme and a member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council, Scotland’s highest level science advisory body, providing independent advice and recommendations on science strategy, policy and priorities to the Scottish Government. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and holds an EPSRC Fellowship in engineering for sustainability and resilience.

• Professor Stuart Anderson, Personal Chair in Dependable Systems at the School of Informatics

Stuart is Professor of Dependable Systems in the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh. He has worked extensively on Safety Critical Systems initially focussing on mathematical analysis but subsequently working on interdisciplinary analysis of socio-technical systems. For example, he led the Dependability Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration in the early 2000s that brought together Informatics, Sociology, Psychology, Law, Philosophy and Mathematics researchers. Most recently he is working on the development of a Responsibility Framework as part of the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Node on Governance and Regulation that focusses on the responsible use of Machine Learning in domains such as health, autonomous vehicles, and finance.

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Please register to attend this online event.

For assistance with registrations, please contact us on eievents@ei.ed.ac.uk