The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has recently published its Framework For Responsible Innovation, and this month’s Review of Policy Research Nanotechnology and Political Science special issue is available on free download.

The framework describes Responsible Innovation as “a process that seeks to promote creativity and opportunities for science and innovation that are socially desirable and undertaken in the public interest”, before going on to state that “As a public funder of research, we have a responsibility to ensure that our activities and the research we fund, are aligned with the principles of Responsible Innovation, creating value for society in an ethical and responsible way”.

A Responsible Innovation approach is described as able to anticipate, reflect, engage and act, should be both interdisciplinary and educational.

The document goes on to outline how the EPSRC will support such approaches, before raises the issue of expectations within the community and research organizations.

The short document closes with links to other resources, including Richard Owen’s Responsible innovation book that contains a piece authored by Foundation Foreign Correspondent Jonathan Hankins.

The Review of Policy Research special issue is available for download through the Wiley Online Library through the link above. The issue is edited by David Guston who authors the introduction.

The issue contains a series of articles, many of which will undoubtedly be of interest to Bassetti Foundation readers. Problems related to responsibility are directly addressed by Clare Shelley-Egan and Sarah R. Davies in an article entitled Nano-Industry Operationalizations of “Responsibility”: Charting Diversity in the Enactment of Responsibility. Other authors address the problems of community engagement, risk and public perception of nanotechnology, regulation and policy.

The issue offers readers a well rounded insight into many of the problems surrounding the development of nanotechnology today.

Two very different publications, both very worthy of follow up.

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(photo: To All Responsible Persons by tim rich and lesley katon from Flickr)

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