Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI) is an approach to research & innovation (R&I) that anticipates and assesses its potential implications and societal expectations of it to make it inclusive and sustainable. RRI essentially means encouraging civil society input into research and innovation thereby widening responsibility within the context of research and innovation and providing more insights for researchers such as gender equality, open access to results, citizen engagement, science education, and ethical standards. The TetRRIS project is an EU project implementing Responsible Research and Innovation and Smart Specialisation.

Smart specialisation is a policy that encourages regions to set research and innovation priorities based on regional competences in order to streamline investment in key sectors where the region has or wants to build a competitive advantage. The project involves four pilot regions (Tampere, Karlsruhe, Cantabria and Szeged-Timisoara). The pilot regions are the space where R&I activities produce actual innovation, the project will support its pilot regions to make RRI integration possible within R&I territorial governance (Smart Specialisation).

This podcast series was designed to cater to people with some existing knowledge of RRI, including researchers, academics, policymakers, and other professionals involved in implementing RRI into their work. Each episode was moderated by Richard Tuffs – a member of the project’s Board of Directors, whose expertise relies upon regional research and innovation ecosystems, smart specialisation and territorial development –, and featured 2-3 panellists who shared their insights and experiences on RRI implementation in their respective regions.

TetRRIS project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 872550. The opinions expressed are those of the speaker(s) only and should not be considered as representative of the European Commission’s official position

EPISODE 1:

Transforming Regional Policymaking Through Engagement

Our first episode features Nacho Rodriguez from Cantabria and Nicholas Martin and Thomas Stahlecker from Karlsruhe. The speakers discussed how engaging stakeholders and the public can transform regional policymaking, leading to more inclusive and sustainable decision-making.

EPISODE 2: 

Innovating Across Borders and Cross-Border Smart Specialisation

Raluca Cibu-Buzac from Luminspino together with Petra Jung-Erceg from TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe starred in our second episode. The panellists discussed how cross-border collaboration and innovation can enhance the effectiveness of S3 strategies and promote regional development.

EPISODE 3:

Responsible AI in Regions

Our third episode features Emad Yaghma from YAGHMA and Nina Rilla from VTT as the speaking experts. The panellists discussed the challenges and opportunities of implementing responsible AI in regional contexts, and how RRI principles can guide the development and use of AI technologies.

EPISODE 4:

Utilising RRI To Bring About Regional Sustainability

Our fourth episode featured Ignacio Abaitua from SODERCAN, located in Cantabria and Francisco Royano Gutierrez. The speakers discussed how RRI can be used to promote sustainable development in regions, by considering the social, environmental, and economic impacts of research and innovation.

EPISODE 5:

Integrating RRI into Regional Policies for Institutional Change

Our last episode featured the two Finnish experts Mika Nieminen from VTT and Antti Lippo. They discussed how RRI can be integrated into regional policies to bring about institutional change, and how this can lead to more responsible and sustainable research and innovation practices.

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