Taking stock of the overall confused picture that research and innovation (R&I) literature and practices offer with regard to citizen and stakeholder participation, this book provides a methodical conceptual and an empirical analysis to determine the connection between ethics and participation. Strong theoretical pillars in the fields of ethics, politics and responsible research and innovation (RRI) form the backbone of this critical approach to participation, which considers new approaches to democratic participation. Taking into account a number of participatory processes, Responsive Ethics and Participation establishes a new methodology to differentiate, classify and understand the added value of the participation of citizens and stakeholders in R&I.
Participation could be considered the epitome of innovation ethics. However, its multidimensionality, its ethical and theoretical grounds and the nature of the involvement and related outcomes must be clarified at the outset, in order to reach active forms of participation. Ethical participation is required for reliable developments in science and technology, which is what this book ultimately demonstrates.
Table of Contents:
Foreword ix
Bernard REBER
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
Chapter 1 Defining Ethics and Participation 1
1.1 Ethical challenges in research and innovation 2
1.1.1 Ethics in governance of research and innovation 2
1.1.2 Bottom-up approaches 6
1.2 Facing responsibility 10
1.2.1 The notion of responsibility in innovation 10
1.2.2 Ethics and technology assessment: at the root of responsible innovation 14
1.2.3 From ethics of technology to responsible research and innovation 18
1.3 Public participation and the ideal of participatory democracy 22
1.3.1 Public participation in research and innovation 22
1.3.2 Participation in technology assessment 26
1.3.3 From broad participatory practices to deliberation 29
1.4 The diverse field of participation 33
1.4.1 Defining participatory activities: types and timelines 33
1.4.2. Defining participants: types of actors and visions of engagement 37
1.4.3 Finding value in participation 42
1.4.4 Models of participation 45
1.5 Conclusion 48
Chapter 2 Regulations on Ethics and Participation 49
2.1 Policies and regulations on the ethics of innovation 49
2.1.1 Main regulations on research ethics and research integrity 49
2.1.2 Ethics assessment: a standard in European funding programs 54
2.2. Analysis of current European regulations on ethics and participation 58
2.2.1 The different institutional configurations for ethics and participation 58
2.2.2 The current deadlocks of European regulatory bodies 63
2.2.3 Ethics of participation: current boundaries 68
2.3 Soft law on participatory approaches 70
2.3.1 Re-shaping participatory approaches through soft law: toward a normative instrument 70
2.4 Beyond regulations: institutional needs for ethical participation 73
2.4.1 The needs from a governance point of view 73
2.4.2 Identifying good practices and criteria for ethical participation 77
2.5 Conclusion 82
Chapter 3 Ethical Participation 85
3.1 How mainstream is citizen participation? 86
3.1.1 A case study on research funding organizations 86
3.1.2 Citizens’ low involvement in R&I processes 91
3.1.3 Prevailing types of participation 98
3.2 Leveraging the funding of R&I for a novel approach to participation 102
3.2.1 Context-sensitive specificities 102
3.2.2 Expectations and legitimacy in the funding of R&I 104
3.2.3 The impact of participatory practices 111
3.3 Addressing the needs of research funding organizations 114
3.3.1 Standardized approaches and the European discrepancies 114
3.3.2 Ethical grounds meeting public scrutiny 117
3.4 Toward an ethics framework 119
3.4.1. Finding common paths and compromises in R&I governance 119
3.4.2 Main critical factors facing institutions 123
3.5 An ethics framework for participation 125
3.5.1 Some guidelines for future ethics frameworks 125
3.5.2 A tentative ethics framework 128
Conclusion 133
Appendices 143
Appendix 1: Categories Considered in the Case Study on Research Funding Organizations 145
Appendix 2: Tentative Ethics Framework 149
References 179
Index 193
