With all the discussions and uncertainties around the European Commission's next Research & Innovation funding framework (the so-called “Horizon Europe”), one thing is clear: Responsible Research and Innovation (R.R.I.) as a concept will be gone. Dear RRI, you will be dearly missed. Many millions of euros have been spent on fostering this concept in the EU, it has been the subject of numerous studies, analysis, work packages, mainstreaming, grounding actions - some still about to start… and now the European Commission is not even shedding a tear before laying it to rest (in peace?).
This session will constitute a burial of RRI with all that comes with a burial: a ceremony, a coffin and a wake. Four speakers and a master of ceremony who have studied, implemented, experienced or advocated for RRI will be asked to make a eulogy for the concept. At the end we will gather as a group to discuss the future of our field without the EU’s support for RRI and public engagement.