RESPONSIBILITY Forum Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.11th February 2014.

The RESPONSIBILITY Project organized the RESPONSIBILITY Stakeholder Forum Workshop in Brussels on February 11th 2014. The purpose of it was to enable representatives of key stakeholders of the research community to actively participate in setting the agenda and determining the aims of the RESPONSIBILITY Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Forum. This was a unique opportunity to contribute to the construction of an important online tool for the governance of research and innovation in Europe and beyond.

The workshop was attended by eighteen invited guests and eleven Consortium Members from the research teams of the 13 partner organizations of the RESPONSIBILITY project. The meeting was hosted at the Vertretung des Landes Nordrhein- Westfalen bei der Europäischen Union in Brussels and was welcomed by Dr.-Ing. Zaharya Menevidis, RESPONSIBILITY Project Coordinator. The workshop was introduced by Dr. Karen Fabbri (Policy/Science Programme Officer of the European Commission), Ms. Elena Tavlaki (Director of Signosis) and Dr. John Pearson (Université de Namur), who presented the aim and objectives of the Forum and the workshop. The Forum workshop counted with the keynote of Prof. Arie Rip, “The Past and Future of RRI” and the keynote of Dr. Jeanette Hoffman “Innovation and Open Forum method”.

The workshop used an open and participatory structure in order to allow a broad range of contributions from the stakeholders involved. It was the most appropriate way to approach the issue and to highlight the enabling, positive role that such stakeholders can play as well as their potential future influence on the development of the RESPONSIBILITY Forum. The workshop organizing team invited a broad variety of participants’ backgrounds through a constructive approach would help to coalition-building and to find solutions to a multitude of challenges that are associated with RRI.

The discussion was primarily organized around the value of participants’ knowledge on RRI and different degrees of participants’ potential influences. Participants suggested questions and topics for the agenda of the Forum and of the workshop. These topics will be the basis for further sessions or discussions that other participants will be able attend. One of the most important considerations was the motivation of the candidates. The forum is a participatory dialogue tool, which creates the conditions for people to motivate themselves and to organise for themselves the way they are going to work and act together. It will enable the construction of networks around the RRI theme.