Responsible Innovation

EPSRC is committed to ensuring that the research and other activities that they fund are aligned with the principles of Responsible Innovation (RI). Alongside mandatory training for CDT PhD students, EPSRC's Impact Acceleration Accounts are a primary mechanism for realising this ambition and the IAA at the University of Glasgow is supporting this by embedding RI throughout its activities. To do this, we provide a framework of RI support for all projects.

What is Responsible Innovation?

Research can have positive and unintended negative impacts and outcomes. We have a duty to consider the potential ethical and societal implications of research. These acts of consideration and action where necessary are Responsible Innovation (RI). The EPSRC AREA Framework is all about the “how”: Anticipate, Reflect, Engage and Act.

RI is a process that seeks to promote creativity and opportunities for science and innovation that are socially desirable and undertaken in the public interest. RI acknowledges that innovation can raise questions and dilemmas, is often ambiguous in terms of purposes and motivations and unpredictable in terms of impacts, beneficial or otherwise. RI creates spaces and processes to explore these aspects of innovation in an open, inclusive and timely way. This is a collective responsibility, where funders, researchers, stakeholders and the public all have an important role to play.

Working in partnership with researchers and research organisations, EPSRC is committed to raising the profile of RI, enhancing RI understanding and culture, promoting the use of the AREA framework, and delivering our long-term ambition of ensuring that RI is business-as-usual for researchers.

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EPSRC IAA Responsible Innovation Framework at the University of Glasgow

The IAAs represent an opportunity to explore and develop ways in which RI can be embedded within the research and innovation process. EPSRC encourages and supports institutions in receipt of an IAA to incorporate RI considerations into the work of their IAA. Thus, through the EPSRC and STFC IAAs at the University of Glasgow, we are implementing a framework to support Responsible Innovation throughout the project lifecycle. This will help to ensure that best practice is adopted at all stages, from initial project conception and development / application, and encompassing project delivery right through to post-project follow-on activities.

Project lifecycle and the University of Glasgow IAA RI Framework

You can use the RI framework in different ways to enhance your IAA project at its various stages of development and delivery.

Project conception

As you are developing the business case, defining the project scope and identifying the project stakeholders:

  • consider how the AREA Framework can be applied to the project to the project.

Planning and application

As you’re creating a project plan, identifying resources required and calculating the budget:

  • make use of available RI resources,
  • consult with the IAA team for RI support and advice,
  • consider if training is required,
  • define your RI plan in the IAA proposal.

Project execution

As you’re appointing team members and allocating tasks, monitoring work and managing budget:

  • review RI at multiple review points depending on the size and scope of your project
  • review planned RI-aligned activity at the start of the project
  • as a minimum, review at the mid-point of the project: identify what’s working well, and areas that could be improved – Anticipate, Reflect, Engage, Act.

Project completion

As you’re analysing project outcomes, documenting and disseminating outcomes and results, and closing the project budget:

  • Do a final review of project outcomes and results, which should include consideration of responsible innovation principles.

Next steps

  • Take actions to address final RI review recommendations.
  • Apply the AREA framework to the next phase of development.

Through a partnership with RI specialists Couto-Phoenix Consulting, we have produced a package of materials to support this programme. The video below explains more.

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Aerial view of Gilbert Scott Building Responsible Innovation guidance

Responsible Innovation guidance

Adopting Responsible Innovation to accelerate your route to impact

The EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) provides flexible funding to enable you to develop research within EPSRC's remit into activities that can lead to impact beyond the contribution to knowledge or academic impact.

The short video above introduces you to the concept of RI and the EPSRC-endorsed AREA framework. We suggest that you consider using this framework to develop a case for support, which you can put forward for IAA funding. Our RI handbook gives a more detailed introduction to the AREA framework and contains questions you can answer to help you highlight gaps that may currently exist in your understanding of how your research can lead to impact. You can then use the framework to help you design activities to fill in the gaps. These can then be developed as a case for IAA funds.

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Responsible Innovation in practice - examples

The following case studies provide good examples of the application of Responsible Innovation in practice during IAA supported projects. These three examples are each working towards different types of impact and are at the same time engaging with a range of stakeholders in different ways throughout the project lifecycles.

From Research to Innovation, the Nebuflow Story

Dr Elijah Nazarzadeh explains how early and ongoing engagement informed the development of Nebuflow's development of next generation nebulisers to enable the delivery of life changing treatments.

Impacting Policy by Building a Long-term Collaboration

Prof Larissa Naylor discusses the processes involved in initiating, developing and maintaining a long-term collaboration with public sector partners like Adaptation Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council to realise public policy impacts which build upon research undertaken as part of the Dynamic Coast project.

Reaching Across Disciplines to Acclerate Research to the Clinic

SofTMech, a multidisciplinary group comprising of mathematicians, statisticians and NHS clinicians from multiple centres in Scotland, employ different approaches to stakeholder engagement to support and so accelerate academic research to the clinic.

EPSRC Quantum Technologies Public Dialogue Report

This report gives the results of a public dialogue on quantum technologies (QTs), commissioned by EPSRC. The exercise was carried out in order to better understand how the public views and feels about the quantum technologies currently being developed by researchers and their potential applications.

The overall aim of the dialogue was to explore public views on QTs, devices, and applications. Specifically, its objectives were to:

  • Understand public perceptions of QTs, in terms of people’s spontaneous, unprompted views, and more considered opinions in response to information, discussions, stimuli, etc.
  • Explore public values in relation to QTs, including their aspirations and priorities, and concerns or dilemmas – uncovering the principles that underpin their views
  • Engage the public in a dialogue with experts and researchers, in order to:
    • Inform the public about the technology, services and devices which may emerge from the UK National Quantum Technology Programme and the wider community
    • Inform the quantum community of the public’s views (through the dialogue and its outputs) about the social and ethical implications of quantum research and technologies.

The dialogue was highly exploratory in nature – contributing the first substantive knowledge of public attitudes to quantum technologies and their applications.

EPSRC Long-term Ambitions for Responsible Innovation

responsible innovation is business-as-usual for researchers, and there is more comprehensive recognition of the opportunity it offers in exploring and opening up new, more sustainable, more socially desirable pathways for innovation”

EPSRC’s approach to Responsible Innovation and the AREA framework is well established and more support and resources are becoming available all the time - please see the links to external resources on this page. EPSRC is also supporting RI through mandatory RI training for CDT students and their Open Plus Fellowships, and its profile and importance is increasing. We have established a RI framework to support IAA projects at Glasgow and plan to offer other support mechanisms such as mentoring, RI champions and more in depth training in the future.

For advice please or if you have a good example of RI in practice, please email keith.dingwall@glasgow.ac.uk.