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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
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.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Defining Ethics and Participation
1.1. Ethical challenges in research and innovation
1.2. Facing responsibility
1.3. Public participation and the ideal of participatory democracy
1.4. The diverse field of participation
1.5. Conclusion
2 Regulations on Ethics and Participation
2.1. Policies and regulations on the ethics of innovation
2.2. Analysis of current European regulations on ethics and participation
2.3. Soft law on participatory approaches
2.4. Beyond regulations: institutional needs for ethical participation
2.5. Conclusion
3 Ethical Participation
3.1. How mainstream is citizen participation?
3.2. Leveraging the funding of R&I for a novel approach to participation
3.3. Addressing the needs of research funding organizations
3.4. Toward an ethics framework
3.5. An ethics framework for participation
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Categories Considered in the Case Study on Research Funding Organizations
Appendix 2: Tentative Ethics Framework
References
Index
Other titles from iSTE in Interdisciplinarity, Science and Humanities
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 3
Table 3.1. Variabilities in the operational models of European research fund...
Table 3.2. Main critical factors to be considered in the design, implementat...
Table 3.3. Factors worth considering in future ethics frameworks for particip...
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1. Types of activities and participants in R&I participatory proces...
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1. Main actors in participation across all types of RFO activities ...
Figure 3.2. Main actors in participation across all types of RFOs’ activitie...
Figure 3.3. Experts’ involvement across all types of RFO activities in curre...
Figure 3.4. Experts’ involvement across all types of RFO activities in futur...
Figure 3.5. Governmental institutions’ involvement across all types of RFO a...
Figure 3.6. Scientists’ involvement across all types of RFO activities in cu...
Figure 3.7. Citizens’ involvement across all types of RFO activities in curr...
Figure 3.8. End-users’ involvement across all types of RFO activities in cur...
Figure 3.9. Distribution of categories of participants in current practices ...
Figure 3.10. Distribution of categories of participants in expected future p...
Figure 3.11. Ranking of current RFO activities according to the degree of pa...
Guide
Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Conclusion
Appendix 1 Categories Considered in the Case Study on Research Funding Organizations
Appendix 2 Tentative Ethics Framework
References
Index
Other titles from iSTE in Interdisciplinarity, Science and Humanities
Wiley End User License Agreement
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Innovation and Responsibility Set
coordinated byBernard Reber and Robert Gianni
Volume 9
Responsive Ethics and Participation
Science, Technology and Democracy
Kalli GiannelosBernard ReberNeelke Doorn
First published 2022 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:
ISTE Ltd27-37 St George’s RoadLondon SW19 4EUUK
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030USA
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© ISTE Ltd 2022The rights of Kalli Giannelos, Bernard Reber and Neelke Doorn to be identified as the authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s), contributor(s) or editor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ISTE Group.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022939233
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78630-756-9
Foreword
Participatory democracy is usually promoted as a key instrument in the leveraging of the responsibility and accountability of science and technology developments regarding society. Science and technology, or “research and innovation” (R&I), covers virtually all innovation developments – of either a scientific or technological nature – that can be applied to any sector. Past studies have revealed the great diversity of participatory configurations and the varying quality of participation, leading some to consider that participation’s added value in R&I might not be an intrinsic attribute. This calls into question the grounds on which ethical participation can be established, as Pellé and Reber (2016) have already shown.
What is usually covered by “participation”, “engagement” or “involvement” in R&I can vary according to the context and the normative understandings, thereby generating a homogeneous representation of practices that are not always clearly identified or convergent. Participation remains a gray area in R&I and even in responsible research and innovation (RRI), where several mechanisms compete with the same promise to legitimize and offer a co-creation process or dialog between science (and technology) and society. Moreover, new technologies are ambiguous and complex, asking reconsideration of their relationships within humans (Guchet, 2021).
Taking a step backward and considering participatory practices from a governance perspective, echoing reflexive (Maesschalck, 2017) and pluralist governance (Reber, 2016), this book studies the way R&I institutions deal with participatory mechanisms and provides the tools to understand the uneven or even unstable ground forming the ethical basis for these mechanisms. Despite the great public attention and the growing institutional (and governmental) support provided to public participation in Europe, the legitimacy of these mechanisms throughout their design, implementation and follow-up is not a given. This book aims at bringing together innovation ethics with participatory practices, asking what an ethical participation could be and presenting a critical theoretical analysis of the definitions and the regulations shaping both the fields of innovation ethics and of participation in R&I. It continues the work of Sophie Pellé (2017) in business studies.
Responsibility and responsiveness imply taking a critical stance on participation, considering how participation is justified, what the goals or outcomes to be targeted are, and the nature and the scope of the underlying ethical issues. It means taking into account the preservation of the freedom and responsibilities of the actors involved (Lenoir, 2019). In addition, participatory processes relate to varying interests on behalf of the participants, thus requiring further examination of who has an interest in an R&I process, might be affected by its outcomes or might contribute to new solutions: these questions are an integral part of the legitimacy of participatory processes. At the same time, the timescale and the resources of participation have to be examined as well, as they shape the nature and degree of involvement. All of them have their part to play in the programs to develop individual and collective competencies (Loisy and Coulet, 2018).
Building on the overall blurred vision that R&I literature and practices showcase regarding participation, this book combines theoretical considerations with policy-making and empirical insights. The main orientation of this study draws from the conclusions of past publications, which have highlighted the overall lack of understanding of why, how and in view of what quality participatory practices are undertaken (Pellé and Reber, 2016). These questions are here addressed through the scope of an original methodology, empirically tested and improved, aiming at developing new taxonomies and definitions.
This book reveals the lack of common understanding around consensual terms such as “citizens”, “stakeholders”, “participation” and “ethics”. Also, an additional layer of complexity appears with the diversity of institutionalized mechanisms, some of them being formalized, others not, and with a diversified connection to ethics. It also reveals how little equipped R&I institutions can sometimes be when it comes to resources and guidance for participatory practices and for ethics (Gianni, 2016). Understanding what participation means is all the more difficult when the ethical grounds on which it can be set are not identified and when it is not clear which ethical risks or issues can be at stake.
From the perspective of R&I governance, building a framework for an ethical participation implies considering the ethical requirements of both innovation and of participation, and thereby defining a method that could allow for increased legitimacy and adaptation of participatory mechanisms. As participation requires resources (both human and financial), expertise and commitment, the need for guidance and tools to design and implement processes that are both adaptive and legitimate would be a requisite for a “responsive” participation (Reber, 2022). The analysis of the grounds on which participatory processes can be ethically developed and conducted forms the bedrock of this study.
In the governance of R&I, ethics procedures are not necessarily formalized and may not cover all processes throughout their lifetime. Similarly, when the public is invited in consultation, co-creation or any other participatory activity, the design and involvement are not necessarily part of a formalized process, nor do they necessarily abide by specific rules ensuring the quality of the initiative and its added value. From the inception to the ex post evaluation of the R&I outcomes, having a responsive participatory mechanism remains an ideal for which tools, understanding and capacities might be lacking.
The ideal of participatory democracy encounters profound challenges and critique over its effective connection to decision-making and regarding whether its actual impact aligns with democratic values. What if ethics and participation in R&I governance could be combined in a comprehensive and responsive system? This is the question and the guiding hypothesis of this book, which also methodically anchors the touchstone of an ethical participation. Observing how the governance of R&I struggles to harmonize the processes and the means deployed to promote public participation – citizens and stakeholders – in science and technology, it seems timely to overcome the conceptual and practical hurdles through a comprehensive approach.
The main novelty brought by this new contribution to the Innovation and Responsibility series is fourfold: first of all, it establishes an original connection between ethics and participation; second, it offers a broad overview of participatory practices, encompassing all types of activities and actors; third, it presents new categorizations and definitions within this large spectrum of participatory activities; and, fourth, it translates theory into practical guidance for ethical participation.
The approach offered by this book is general enough to be relevant for institutions related to the funding of R&I, to ethics committees and potentially to any institution or organization in the field of R&I either interested in or already implementing participatory practices. Although it is impossible to encapsulate all practices, this study gathers a variety of different approaches, methodically combined into a clarification of what an ethical participation is. Regardless of the sector or the national context, or even the objectives of a given institution, this new insight into the ethical R&I governance of participation could be of interest to anyone willing to challenge the current trends of participatory democracy.
Among the prominent features of this book, the reader will find: a state-of-the-art analysis of European regulatory frameworks on ethics and participation; a conceptual analysis of R&I ethics and of participatory mechanisms; and an attempt to merge both ethics and participation in what could be defined as ethical participation. Also, new classifications aiming at a clearer view regarding new publics invited in the arena of R&I processes are suggested, in addition to the identification of key factors worth considering for responsive participation. This book ends with a final suggestion for the design of an ethics framework, which is meant to be used as a tool for reflection and adaptation in any R&I context to properly identify who participation will be undertaken with, why and when, as well as the participatory mechanism that is relevant.
The analysis of the different publics embraced in participatory democracy leads to the distinction of different cases, such as citizens, stakeholders, organized civil society or experts, for instance, all of them being different representations of public participation. Regarding these discrepancies, the involvement of a group of participants is motivated either by their present or future implication regarding the science and technology developments at stake. This entails the identification of concerned or affected publics, with a variety of underlying justifications for their involvement. These latter can occur at different time frames, through different processes, which must be identified. Having a general overview of these processes and the tools to guide the proper “matching” between these options appears as a guarantee of the legitimacy of or ethical approach to participation. Citizen and stakeholder participation involves resources as well as a feedback and accountability which can jeopardize the legitimacy of the process if the inadequacy of the process, the time frame or the feedback loop is not tailored to fit the specific context.
The “responsive” quality of participatory practices is not an attribute that can either be part of the initial intent or part of the ex post justification: it implies a commitment to always address the adequacy of the participatory features, at all times (Reber, 2022). Beyond regulatory constraints or stable checklists, a responsive quality is part of a malleable set of checks and balances. As such, an ethics framework is the guarantor of a democratic approach to science and technology.
Through a state-of-the art review of the literature and of regulations, combined with an original empirical study of European research funding organizations, this book presents a novel insight into the intricacies of the governance of participatory practices. The findings of this study point out the current need for guidance in institutionalized approaches of participation, setting the ground for the shaping of ethical participatory practices.
This book aims at qualitative indicators through which the added value and legitimacy of participation can be assessed. This original viewpoint is an indirect critique of participatory inflation: the expansion of participatory democracy is not as such the precursor of a greater correlation between democracy and innovation.
To the often-encountered view of the need for “more participation”, this book opposes a qualitative view, which might hinder this quantitative expansion. The main assumption is that only qualitative ethical processes can help bridge the gap between science (and technology) and society, not “more” participation (Reber, 2016). Running counter to the usual discourse on public participation, this study demonstrates why only ethical participation can be the answer in the long run. The tools and the guidance provided in this study may help reshape participatory initiatives in the governance of R&I and more broadly the way public policies refer to public participation. Demonstrating that the added value and the positive impact of participation is dependent on a qualitative and ethical approach, this book opens new avenues for qualitative investigation into the legitimacy and the long-term impact of participatory practices on individuals and society at large.
Bernard REBER
May 2022
Acknowledgments
This book stems from past work undertaken in the European project PRO-Ethics (the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program), including previous drafts and a case study that appeared in the form of project deliverables. In this respect, the authors acknowledge that this work has been possible thanks to the support provided by the European Union’s funding. This book reflects the views of the authors and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views or the policies of the European Commission.
The PRO-Ethics project involved 15 European institutions, including: Sciences Po (France), TU Delft (the Netherlands), Nesta (the UK), the Danish Board of Technology (Denmark), the European Network of Research Ethics Committees (EUREC), the Centre for Social Innovation (Austria), the Eureka network and several research funding organizations from different European countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Romania and Spain).
The authors of the present book would like to thank all past collaborators in the PRO-Ethics project for their insights, the real-life testing of the assumptions and the overall unique dialog that has been undertaken, both formally and informally, structuring the way toward ethical participation. For his technical help with the visualizations included in this book, the authors would like to thank Diégo Antolinos-Basso from Sciences Po’s Médialab.
Also, special thanks are given to all PRO-Ethics collaborators with whom this work has been discussed, tested and adjusted: Ascensión Barajas, Reda Cimmperman, Davide Delaiti, Madeleine Gabriel, Gerda Geyer, Radu Gheorghiu, Alex Glennie, Philipp Hövel, Xavier Hulhoven, Marie-Louise Jørgensen, Dirk Lanzerath, Zbynek Machat, Ilse Marschalek, Sabine Mayer, Niki Naska, Anila Nauni, Juliet Ollard, Ingeborg Owesen, Kristoffer Revke, Maria Schrammel, Klaus Schuch, Stefanie Schürz, Julian Stubbe, Dorothea Sturn, Lisa Tambornino, Cedric Verstraete, Erna Wenche Østrem, Martijn Wiarda, Anne Winsnes Rødland, Nyangala Zolho and many more.
External feedback has proven very useful in the orientation of the previous studies leading to this book. The authors also thank Roberta Monachello and Lisa Diependaele from the European Commission, as well as Professor Margaret Gold, for their critical reviews and positive remarks on the past work undertaken.
Last but not least, during previous research, individual interviews were conducted with renowned experts selected for their expertise in ethics and/or in participatory practices. Their views were included in a confidential report for the European Commission and have confirmed some important takes leading to the ethics framework presented in this book. We are grateful to Anne-Marie Ducroux, Vidar Enebakk, Maura Hiney, Lars Klüver, Ilse Kryspin-Exner, Mircea Leabu, Arne Manzeschke, Ana Marušić, Silvia Salinas Mulder, Tom Saunders and Loreta Tauginiene.
Introduction
Whether labeled “citizen participation”, “stakeholder participation” or “public participation”, participatory practices in science and technology are not easily defined as a stable process with a specific output. The participants, the format, the objectives and the outcomes differ, as well as the legitimacy of these processes and their connection to decision-making. With particularly high challenges, the field of R&I encompasses all scientific and technological fields and any sector using new technological developments – thus virtually extending to all sectors. When it comes to R&I, the participation, also termed “engagement” or “involvement”, of the public (citizens and stakeholders, broadly considered) is all the more crucial as the high stakes and the potentially affected publics automatically justify the opening of any R&I processes to public scrutiny. The question, however, is whether R&I governance is equipped with the sufficient tools to design, implement and assess participatory processes in an ethical manner. Is participation always connected to R&I ethics? Is there any link between the ethics of R&I and participation in R&I and how could it be effectively formalized? In the governance of R&I what would be the relevance of an ethics framework for participatory practices and what would its features be? How could it embrace the geographical, sectoral, legal and cultural discrepancies in ethical considerations? Would such a framework allow for a proper guidance of participation?
Under the common labels of citizen or stakeholder participation (or engagement), multiple mechanisms challenge the way science and technology processes are usually handled with the promise of greater transparency, public acceptance and greater accountability. In line with the foundations set by the RRI framework, this book delves into the way participatory practices interfere with the co-production of solutions to global challenges and the purposeful science, upstream engagement (Wilsdon and Willis, 2004) and reflexive responsibility of scientists and innovators (Owen et al. 2012).
This theoretical investigation focuses on policy-making and therefore institutionalized processes. The interaction of innovation with society is a constant reciprocal adaptation, as scientific and technological innovation continually remakes society, which in turn accommodates, manages and redirects innovation (Guston and Sarewitz, 2002). In the fast-evolving course of R&I, participation can be leveraged as an ethical safeguard to confront new features with social and economic development. This book addresses the conditions for responsive innovation through participatory practices. Responsiveness carries the ambition of reaching R&I processes that are more adapted to the needs, values and expectations of society (Van de Poel and Sand, 2021) while including dimensions of anticipation, reflection and inclusive deliberation in policy- and decision-making (Owen et al., 2012).
Aiming at responsive ethics and participation, this study delves into the notion of responsibility and the role of ethical principles in participatory practices. Together, ethics and participation do not benefit from any straightforward connection: the latter needs to be explored and defined. Bringing together innovation ethics with participatory practices implies setting up a broad ethical perspective, preventing ethics from being reduced to formalized or standard procedures only and avoiding their occasional confusion with the legalization of ethics (soft law, ethical compliance), which also blurs the scope of their contribution. Ranging from applied ethics to meta-ethics (Reber, 2016), ethics is an extended field that cannot enter pre-designed boxes or turnkey toolkits, but as a rather open-ended approach, it helps decipher the legitimacy, the tensions and the adequacy of processes and legal compliance in regard to contextual criteria. By opening up the meanings of “participation” in R&I, this study methodically settles the boundaries of our knowledge basis: although the legitimacy of participation in R&I can be seen as self-evident, the lack of definition may lead to poorer forms of participation if the questions of purpose and the participants’ roles are not clarified.
Stemming from a critical review of multi-level regulatory dimensions of participation and ethics practices, this book combines scientific and gray literature on ethical practices in R&I, unveiling general principles and methodologies of participatory practices in innovation and matching them with the basic features and concerns of contemporary ethics in the field of R&I, regulatory gaps and potential controversies. At the root of this study lies the challenge of merging the complex field of R&I ethics with the even more blurred landscape of participatory processes, as participation does not allow for a single definition. This holds true for research, innovation and new forms of democratic debates. This entanglement of meanings and practices of diverging nature could be pictured as the Tower of Babel of ethics within the specific field of participatory practices in R&I1.
Given the very wide spectrum of the field of R&I, the present book focuses on publicly funded R&I processes from the viewpoint of governance approaches, that is, the institutions designing, conducting or implementing R&I processes. These latter can encompass projects, programs and research and development processes with any sectoral focus and any range of application. Within the governance of R&I, a specific focus is given to research funding organizations (RFOs), taking stock of their specificity in relation to the way funding can operate as a lever and to the fact that they operate with more restrictive frameworks, including standard ethical procedures.
This implies that this work does not reflect general views on innovation processes in general, but only those supported by public policies. The focus on policy-making brings into consideration the institutionalization process, while it also includes analysis that falls beyond this viewpoint. The interaction of R&I processes with society is a constant reciprocal adaptation, as scientific and technological innovation continually remakes society, which in turn accommodates, manages and redirects innovation (Guston and Sarewitz, 2002). This book explores the way participatory practices in R&I processes can be ethically handled, with a view to ensuring their legitimacy, the effectiveness of their action and the proper use of public funding schemes as a lever to advocate for such mechanisms in achieving better social outcomes. In the fast-evolving course of innovation – and especially technological innovation – participation can be leveraged as an ethical safeguard to confront new features with social and economic development.
From the viewpoint of R&I governance, participatory democracy bears the promises of public acceptance, ensuring the legitimacy of future policies and technological developments. Although the institutional mechanisms can vary as well as the actual connection to decision-making, citizen and stakeholder participation remains a legitimate process, with few mechanisms to prevent initiatives which would not be ethically justified. With the case of RFOs, the allocation of funding schemes has to comply with criteria of fairness, equity and legitimacy. In that respect, RFOs have an advanced and arguably impartial take on the development of participatory democracy, since this latter comes as a tool rather than an external justification. This book focuses on the case of RFOs for specific views on participatory mechanisms.
The equal proportion of scientific and gray literature in this book does not quite cover some major gaps stemming from the uncertain and complex ground on which R&I evolves. The identification of varying levels of discourse also underlines this difficulty in acquiring a single view on the subject. Indeed, as some resources interchangeably use diverse terms to refer to participation, the adoption of a methodological step-by-step approach seemed indispensable. Moreover, the often vague or extremely diversified understanding of participatory practices and their use in R&I can also be problematic within the same context of actors: diverging practices and ways of considering the notion of “participation”, or that of “participants”, are competing. Taking stock of this difficulty, this study aims at clarifying the levels, angles and approaches, so as to better understand the standing point with regard to ethics, innovation and participation, in each discourse and practice. Despite a great number of studies undertaken at the European level in the field of ethics assessment and participatory issues in R&I2, the extent of the remaining blind spots confirms the need to connect the findings of previous research and achievements on the matter with new questions. Accompanying gray literature on RRI and the ethics of innovation at the European level has been gathered in a selection of legal frameworks, either concerning ethics or soft law considerations on participation.
What is the responsibility of governance structures in setting R&I priorities in view of ethical concerns and participatory approaches? What is the capacity of new innovation configurations to integrate participatory approaches? Should regulations be applied to new forms of participation in R&I? What should be the scope of an ethical framework for new participatory approaches in publicly funded R&I? The various underlying questions that are addressed aim to define ways to better include ethical, legal and social issues through participatory approaches in order to deliver the desired outcomes, identify the role of stakeholders as well as their involvement in R&I, and deliver insights on how R&I processes might be advanced through a proper inclusion of participation in public funding.
Further to reflections undertaken in the field of ethics of technology and also – and foremost – through the EU’s RRI framework, participation is addressed here beyond its identification as a pillar of a procedural nature. While taking stock of existing reflections, regulations and policies, participation is analyzed through a methodical opening up of its dimensions and implications, also considering the very connection of ethics with participation, which is not a self-evident assumption, depending on the ways participation is dealt with. To address public concern over the impact of emerging technologies and innovations, participation can be thought beyond technology assessment procedures as they exist, in order to include a broader array of participants and allow interested or affected parties to take part in discussion and decision-making. The extension of the science–society discourse toward co-production supports a new pathway to confront the complexity and unpredictability of innovation with shared responsibility.
If ethics is considered along with participation, the reason for this interest – and the broader ambition of this book – is to respond to the great expansion of participatory practices in public policies in general, and in R&I in particular, by providing ethical guidance, which is currently lacking. This is also aligned with the current trend in RRI, which promotes a deepening of the science–society dialog through public participation. The definition of participation is far from obvious, given the very unspecific categories of “citizens” and “stakeholders”; similarly, the added value of these practices is often taken for granted and processes are applied in a one-size-fits-all manner, whereas these practices are context-dependent in their (proper) design, implementation and assessment or justification.
The first chapter of this book focuses on some theoretical grounds relating to ethics and participation, using a state-of-the art analysis of the existing scientific literature on the ethics of R&I through the scope of RRI theories and RRI policies, connecting them with theoretical considerations on participatory practices. In an attempt to define ethics and participation in the field of R&I, this theoretical section unveils the connections of participation with the ethical approach to R&I and suggests a first analysis grid based on types and the values that legitimate the conduct of participatory practices in R&I.
The second chapter explores the current European regulatory landscape on ethics and participation in R&I. This part unveils profound discrepancies between ethics regulations and the regulatory vacuum on the side of participation. These boundaries are connected to relevant features on the side of soft law that could be considered as possible pathways for future regulatory framings on ethics and participation.
Guided by the initial contribution of RRI to the promotion of public engagement as a pillar of an ethical approach to innovation, this study expands toward the analysis of all possible understandings and levels of participation. Combining theoretical resources with the analysis of existing policies, regulations and R&I contexts, the common thread in this exploration is the critical review and classification of the various overlapping dimensions. The third and last chapter examines the legitimacy and expectations from participatory practices in R&I and the ways impactful and ethical participation can be shaped in institutionalized settings – from the side of R&I governance. To do so, novel taxonomies are proposed as tools for a common framing of ethics and of participation in R&I.
Finding ways to facilitate ethically acceptable and sustainable innovation with the notion of participation involves some blind spots, such as the way to deal with minimum standards in the field of emerging technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence and bioethics), primarily concerning the boundaries of uncertainty. Considering moral pluralism and the issue of responsibility in innovation, there might be “no normative baseline on which we could judge the positive impacts and benefits of technologies”3 – and any type of innovation, more broadly.
Notes
1
Even though the scope of this study is publicly funded innovation, this analysis can also be relevant for the private sector – to the extent that it can be involved as beneficiary of or adjunct to the funding processes or to the extent that publicly funded R&I frameworks can be considered as good practices.
2
Especially in research funded by the European Commission through projects supported by Horizon 2020 and in particular the Science with and for Society (SwafS) program.
3
Understood here in the scope of moral pluralism. See Von Schomberg (2013).
1Defining Ethics and Participation
The connection between science and democracy is first explored through the scope of theoretical considerations on the ethics of R&I. As a separate strand, the connection to participation is then the focus of a broad investigation of its meanings in the governance of R&I. With a view to circumscribing the links between responsibility in R&I and participatory practices, this first chapter examines ethics and participation as two separate strands with various meanings and institutional responses.
With a view to better defining, on the one hand, the ethics of R&I and, on the other hand, participatory practices in R&I, this chapter explores both dimensions in an equal manner. To do so, each strand is observed through the scope of RRI and the concept of responsibility more broadly. This diversity of ethics of R&I and participatory practices in R&I reveals a multidimensional understanding of what responsible R&I might be. While the ethics of R&I and attempts at participatory processes both overlap and are at the same time supposed to strengthen the science–society relationship, defining “ethical participation” in R&I is far from being obvious. In this perspective, trying to set the foundations of ethical participation in R&I depends closely on the identification of the ethical challenges to be found in R&I (section 1.1), on how the notion of responsibility is understood (section 1.2) and on the different understandings of participatory democracy (section 1.3). Following these distinctions, an attempt at classifying the diverse field of participation is made (section 1.4) in order to better identify the different participatory practices and their meaning.
To further define participation, and given the current theoretical gaps in the definitions, some categories are outlined as a first taxonomy. These new categories serve to provide a more granular delineation of the common understanding of public (or citizen/stakeholder) participation (or engagement), in order to clarify these blurry categories as part of a renewed definition of what is termed “participation”.
1.1. Ethical challenges in research and innovation
1.1.1. Ethics in governance of research and innovation
Under the umbrella notion of R&I, a variety of scientific and technological fields refer to innovation strategies in a different way, each with different ethical challenges, depending on the type of funding, the end product, the beneficiaries and the maturity stage of the product or process at stake1. The identification of key ethical issues in R&I is inevitably a seriously flawed ambition that cannot embrace all new innovative features and the sectoral specificities that may arise. We here focus on the general ethical issues in R&I, broadly considered, and the specific needs that arise from this in terms of participatory practices.
Observing new innovation configurations (e.g. frugal innovation, grassroots innovation, inclusive innovation, open innovation and social innovation), each bears a strong yet different connection to society (the way science and technology developments connect with society). The overall goal that could be considered as a common denominator across all these forms is enhancing the democratic governance of R&I processes. Across the various emerging innovation approaches, participation is primarily taken into account in recent innovation literature, with a growing concern on deliberations and participatory approaches.
Ethical challenges can be found both in the governance of emerging technologies as well as in the implementation of new innovation modes, where they stem from the way societal challenges are dealt with, the ways of prioritizing these challenges, and the ways of addressing competitive interests. On the side of R&I governance, ethical features raise the challenge of reaching an efficient balance between innovation dynamics and regulatory constraints, while the specific challenges of emerging technologies raise issues regarding internationalization and the precautionary principle, which will be hereafter examined. Particularly at the European level, these ethical challenges are under scrutiny either on a flexible basis in privately financed R&I or with a high adherence in the case of R&I supported by European Union (EU) funding.
Significant public and philosophical concerns regarding the ethical, social and economic impacts of R&I are arising in many areas that could be identified as key sectors in terms of ethical/societal challenges (e.g. brain research, artificial intelligence and robotics) and emerging technologies (e.g. CRISPR/Cas9). In the face of these concerns, publicly funded R&I is confronted with the internationalization of the debate, with regulation discrepancies, ethical divides and the varying leverage of publicly funded R&I across countries. This debate raises the question of EU/non-EU relations, as the hindrance of regulations may result in the relocation of R&I activities in geographical areas not covered by applicable laws. Beneath this issue lies the already existing over-regulatory spectrum of R&I at European level: a decade ago, the European Commission Expert Group on Science and Governance stated:
there has been a shift towards the legalization of ethics in the governance of research, which may undermine the processes of ethics in society […] The Expert Group suggests that there has been a shift to non-binding governance or “soft law” – codes of practice, guidance, and reporting measures. (European Commission, 2010, p. 147)
This observation underlines the growing internalization of ethics in legal affairs, while, more fundamentally, it points out the blurry frontier between the ethical and the legal spheres. As ethics processes exceed the legalization of ethics, the reinforcement of this latter may hinder R&I ethics and the possibility of an ethics of participation. In the context of the internationalization of R&I, the governance of emerging technologies may find efficient tools on the side of ethics to better tackle such issues. Similarly, R&I actors can rely on ethics as they provide adapted guidance on viable pathways, encompassing both legal compliance and public acceptance.
As a first overarching commonality, all ethical considerations in R&I mainly abide by the precautionary principle, which aims at avoiding either irreversible and/or large-scale damage and ensuring security despite high scientific uncertainty. This principle is usually applied in the context of scientific controversies or in the acquisition of new knowledge. The framing of the precautionary principle is a pivotal question in R&I ethics, intervening either upon existing regulations and laws or beforehand, where regulations and laws do not exist yet (Von Schomberg, 2012a). First embedded in European policy in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty for environmental policy, it has expanded to other fields of policy (Von Schomberg, 2012a) under EU law, where it intervenes as “provisional risk management measures”, before adverse effects are obvious. This principle is used in public decision-making situations, “where following an assessment of the available scientific information, there are reasonable grounds for concern for the possibility of adverse effects on the environment or human health, but scientific uncertainty persists” (Von Schomberg, 2012a, p. 147). The principle can be applied in cases: (1) of potential adverse impacts on the environment or human health with serious consequences; and (2) when governmental action should be taken regarding controversies over/lack of/insufficient scientific knowledge (Von Schomberg, 2012a). Usually, this principle applies within EU product authorization procedures, as an incentive to make safe and sustainable products (Von Schomberg, 2013). However, abuses of the principle can occur, such as disguised protectionist measures in the trade sector, which led the European Commission to set up guidelines for the precautionary principle’s application (Von Schomberg, 2012a).
The precautionary principle is akin to the notion of responsibility: the key feature of its definition relates to its fundamental anticipatory nature and it “does not allow uncertainty on the scientific side of assessment to be used as an excuse when serious presumptions of significant and/or irreversible damages have been made” (Reber, 2018, p. 40). As a general rule, all cases associated with the precautionary principle imply an assessment of the state of affairs in science and technology and a review of the type of uncertainties involved, precisely because “uncertainty” can relate to several cases, depending on the context:
– hypothetical effects and imaginary risks requiring independent, transparent and publicly accessible scientific evaluation;
– defined and quantified risks requiring a risk management approach from policymakers;
– fully or partially unreliable scientific information systems requiring an estimation of possible adverse effects thanks to a precautionary approach;
– impossibility of scientifically established cause–effect relationships
