Initiate changes in the research landscape and aligning everyday activities more closely with civil society - these are the objectives of the Alliance for Responsible Science since 2015.
Meanwhile, 53 institutions from the fields of science, research, education and practice have declared their willingness to jointly pursue this path.
What is Responsible Science?
Responsible Science, also referred to as "Responsible Research and Innovation" (RRI) in the EU context, actively involves civil society in research and innovation processes in order to meet current challenges more effectively and in line with the values, expectations and needs of society.
Austria has also included Responsible Science as an important element in the Action Plan for a Competitive Research Area (in German: Aktionsplan für einen wettbewerbsfähigen Forschungsraum) of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) published in 2015 and founded the Alliance for Responsible Science to promote cultural change in the scientific community.
The already completed funding program "Sparkling Science" as well as the successor program "Sparkling Science 2.0" support part of the RRI key dimensions defined by the European Commission. Further information can be found under "Pilot Projects".
Members
Currently, the Alliance for Responsible Science has 53 members from funding institutions, education and practice, the non-university research sector, and academia. Institutions from the very beginning include:
- Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research
- Austrian Universities Conference
- Austrian Conference of Universities of Applied Sciences
- Austrian Academy of Sciences
- Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft
- Austrian Science Fund FWF
- AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
- Natural History Museum Vienna
- OeAD - Agency for Education and Internationalization
- INNOC - Austrian Society for Innovative Computer Sciences
All institutions signed the Memorandum of Understanding when they joined.
You too can join!
Membership in the Alliance for Responsible Science is free of charge. There are no obligations associated with it. In return, you join a network of institutions that has set itself the goal of jointly driving cultural change in the research landscape.
If your institution is interested in joining, please let us know via email to responsiblescience@oead.at. The staff of the OeAD Center for Citizen Science will contact you immediately to initiate the necessary steps.
Further Initiatives & RRI Information
RRI Platform
In 2014 the "Platform Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Austria" (RRI Platform) was launched. It is a competence network that collects experiences from national and international RRI projects, promotes scientific exchange, communicates the RRI concept to stakeholders and the public and supports RRI projects.
Research Platform Responsible Research and Innovation in Academic Practice
The research platform of the University of Vienna has set itself the goal of exploring the conditions for responsible action at the university along various topics and in close interdisciplinary cooperation.
RRI documents
Rome Declaration on Responsible Research and Innovation in Europe
Responsible Research and Innovation – Europe’s ability to respond to societal challenges