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Co-creation for Responsible Research and Innovation

The relationship between science, technology and society is being rethought towards logics of permeability and dialogue, rendering the needs, desires and expectations of the latter as important drivers for innovation. A paradigmatic shift concerning the role of citizens in science, research and innovation is witnessed, as well as in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policymaking. In particular, the discourse on public engagement and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) powerfully became a matter of spread interest, showing the need of models that lead to an effective integration of co-design and bottom-up co-creation initiatives for encouraging/stimulating scientific and technological advancement as the result of a synergic, inclusive cooperation among actors that usually work autonomously.

To address the topic, 17 cross-sector partners from all over Europe started the three-year EU-funded project SISCODE (Society in Innovation and Science through CO-DEsign). Interconnecting an analysis of the theoretical background and existing cases with real-life experimentations (RLEs), the investigation sets up a reflective and learning framework to explore the transformations in initiatives and policies emerging from the interaction between citizens and stakeholders. The book presents a critical analysis of the co-design processes activated in 10 cocreation laboratories addressing societal challenges across Europe. Each laboratory as a case study of a RLE is described through its journey, starting from the purpose on the ground of the experimentation and the challenge addressed. Specific attention is then drawn on the role of policies and policymaker engagement. Finally, the experimentation is enquired in terms of its output, transformations triggered within the organisation and the overall ecosystem, and its outcomes, opening the reasoning towards the lessons learnt and reflections that the entire co-creation journey brought.

This book is available in open access:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-78733-2

Keywords

  • co-creation

Project

SISCODE

SISCODE is a three-year project aiming to understand the co-creation phenomenon that is flourishing in Europe (in fab labs, living labs, social innovations, smart cities, communities and regions) and to analyse the context and conditions that support its effective introduction, scalability and replication. Eventually this will help bridge the gap between the process of co-constructing policies and their implementation. Co-creation will be analysed in particular in the light of Responsible Research and Innovation and Science, technology and innovation policies.