The Societal Readiness Thinking Tool: A Practical Resource for Maturing the Societal Readiness of Research Projects
Science and Engineering Ethics, vol. 28, pp. 6
Abstract
In this paper, we introduce the Societal Readiness (SR) Thinking Tool to aid researchers and innovators in developing research projects with greater responsiveness to societal values, needs, and expectations. The need for societally-focused approaches to research and innovation-complementary to Technology Readiness (TR) frameworks-is presented. Insights from responsible research and innovation (RRI) concepts and practice, organized across critical stages of project-life cycles are discussed with reference to the development of the SR Thinking Tool. The tool is designed to complement not only shortfalls in TR approaches, but also improve upon other efforts to integrate RRI, sustainability, and design thinking in research and innovation cycles. Operationalization and early-stage user tests of the Tool are reported, along with discussion of potential future iterations and applications.
Authors 15
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Michael J. Bernstein corresponding
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH · Arizona State University
Affiliation as printed
AIT, Austrian Institute of Technology, GmbH, Vienna, Austria. michael.bernstein@ait.ac.at
School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. michael.bernstein@ait.ac.at
AIT, Austrian Institute of Technology, GmbH, Vienna, Austria
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark
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Affiliation as printed
Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Institut für Höhere Studien - Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS)
Affiliation as printed
Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria
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Tilburg University · Stellenbosch University · University of Chicago
Affiliation as printed
Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology and the DST-NRF Centre for Excellence in Scientometrics and Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Department of Organization Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Knowledge Lab, Department of Sociology, Division of the Social Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Delft University of Technology
Affiliation as printed
Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Affiliation as printed
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland
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Wageningen University & Research
Affiliation as printed
Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
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