The Societal Readiness Thinking Tool: A Practical Resource for Maturing the Societal Readiness of Research Projects

Michael J Bernstein; Mathias Wullum Nielsen; Emil Alnor; André Brasil; Astrid Lykke Birkving; Tung Tung Chan; Erich Griessler; Stefan de Jong; Wouter van de Klippe; Ingeborg Meijer; Emad Yaghmaei; Peter Busch Nicolaisen; Mika Nieminen; Peter Novitzky; Niels Mejlgaard

doi:10.1007/s11948-021-00360-3

The Societal Readiness Thinking Tool: A Practical Resource for Maturing the Societal Readiness of Research Projects

Sci Eng Ethics. 2022 Jan 27;28(1):6. doi: 10.1007/s11948-021-00360-3.

Authors

Michael J Bernstein^{1

2}, Mathias Wullum Nielsen³, Emil Alnor⁴, André Brasil⁵, Astrid Lykke Birkving⁴, Tung Tung Chan⁵, Erich Griessler⁶, Stefan de Jong^{7

8

9}, Wouter van de Klippe⁵, Ingeborg Meijer⁵, Emad Yaghmaei¹⁰, Peter Busch Nicolaisen⁴, Mika Nieminen¹¹, Peter Novitzky¹², Niels Mejlgaard⁴

Affiliations

¹ AIT, Austrian Institute of Technology, GmbH, Vienna, Austria. michael.bernstein@ait.ac.at.
² School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA. michael.bernstein@ait.ac.at.
³ Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen, København, Denmark.
⁴ Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
⁵ Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
⁶ Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria.
⁷ Department of Organization Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
⁸ Knowledge Lab, Department of Sociology, Division of the Social Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁹ 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.
¹⁰ Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
¹¹ VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland.
¹² Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

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.

Keywords: Innovation; RRI; Research management; Responsible research and innovation; Societal Readiness; TRL; Technology Readiness Levels; Thinking Tool.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Research Personnel*
Technology*