Summary of the impact

In the face of perceived public concerns about technological innovations, leading national and international bodies increasingly recognize the need for dialogue between policy makers, scientific researchers and social actors in order to develop the technologies to address the grand challenges facing our societies in a way that meets social needs and gains public trust. The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the EU, the UK Government and many funding bodies are addressing this issue by insisting on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in the development of emerging technologies, yet the mechanisms for implementing RRI remain largely unspecified. Researchers in SSHM (Rose, Singh, Marris and colleagues) have established a Foresight and Responsible Research and Innovation Laboratory (FRRIL) that has devised and implemented the first detailed frameworks for applying the principles of RRI in the regulation of synthetic biology, novel neurotechnologies and cognitive enhancement; providing important, replicable models for translating the principles of RRI into policy and practice in emerging biotechnologies.

Summary of the impact

This case study is based on research at the interface of computer science and biology, undertaken at MMU. Subsequent inter-disciplinary work was partly supported by the EPSRC Bridging the Gaps: NanoInfoBio project, and led to the creation of a new "citizen science" organization, which is now one of the leading groups of its type in the world. The specific impacts are (1) generation of revenue for a new business operation created as a result of the project, (2) the stimulation of and influence on policy debate, and (3) the stimulation of public interest and engagement in science and engineering.

Summary of the impact

Since its formation in 2005, the Interaction Research Studio (IRS or `the Studio') has developed distinctive practice-based research into new interactional possibilities afforded by digital technologies. Over the course of eight externally-funded projects the Studio has worked on during this time, it has made methodological and conceptual contributions in the course of producing exemplary research products.

• Research products — the Studio develops highly-finished research products that serve as landmarks of new interaction paradigms, application domains, and product genres.
• Methodological — methods such as Cultural Probes have travelled widely to influence commercial research in Design, HCI, contextual research and related fields.
• Conceptual — the Studio's promotion of playful engagement, ambiguity and interpretive flexibility, both methodologically and in the products it develops, has helped influence high-tech industries to investigate non-utilitarian values and approaches.

Summary of the impact

DU research into nanotechnology and geoengineering has used deliberative forms of public engagement involving focus groups with lay publics to explore the complexity of societal concerns about emerging technologies. The results of this research have made a major contribution to the development of a framework of responsible innovation. This framework has been applied to RCUK-funded research, where it led to the withdrawal of the UK's first field trial of a prospective geoengineering technology. This framework has had direct impact on European policy debate and on the UK's Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, which has begun to embed responsible innovation in an operational context.