EduRRI toolkit information

Why we developed the EDU RRI

We consider RRI to be a critical component of the training of early career researchers, and crucial for all scholars and practitioners who engage with advanced, emerging and disruptive systems and technologies, because it provides them with the tools to engage in ethical research that is relevant and desirable (Owen et al., 2013), it provides a framework for pursuing interdisciplinary collaboration and engaging with a diverse set of stakeholders (Delgado & Åm, 2018), and it supports them in pursuing funding opportunities (Davis & Laas, 2014).

We believe that learning and teaching, at all levels, need to engage learners in critical thinking, problem-solving, while emphasising the social implications and real-life challenges they might face in the application of their knowledge and expertise.  RRI helps researchers develop their critical thinking and ethical decision making (Ruiz-Mallén et al., 2021), which are both crucial for today’s high paced world and changing environment, but also transferable to other work contexts, outside the research environment.

We also believe that research and its outcomes need to be relevant and desirable, so as to be impactful and useful for people, businesses and society at large.  RRI offers a way to think about the implications of one’s work over the short and longer term, as well as a way for identifying, understanding and collaborating with a much broader set of stakeholders. Often this is because thinking about RRI requires engaging with cross- and multidisciplinary teams, and equally engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations requires thinking about and developing further one’s understanding around RRI (Owen et al., 2013).

Finally, increasingly RRI is a core requirement for research proposals considered for funding, where proposals are evaluated for their academic rigour, significance and impact, but also based on whether and to what extent they exhibit awareness, engagement and commitment to the principles of RRI (UKRI, 2023).

What does the EDU RRI contain

The EDU RRI toolkit provides a set of resources that are easy to use and adapt to the level and area of the learners, and it has been designed specifically for supporting the integration of RRI in the education and training of early and mid-career researchers, professionals and practitioners engaged in CPD.

The underpinning methodology is based on storytelling and does not require prior knowledge or training for its implementation, as it encompasses a description of our methodology, a walkthrough, sample stories, including a variety of support questions and suggestions for Q&A and interaction with participants and learners.

How was the EDU RRI toolkit developed

The EDU RRI toolkit was produced on the premise that we learn and engage easier and better through storytelling (Miley, 2009), which allows us to adopt different stances depending on our priorities and expose ourselves to others’ attitudes and expectations.