Blog post: Science and society – a changing framework and the role of RRI

Editorial Team RRI, STARBIOS2

Daniele Mezzana on a changing science-society relationship and the role RRI can play to bridge the gap in a recent blog post on the Uppsala University Ethics Blog based on the Discussion Note for our final event on 29 May: Responsible research in bioscience: Challenges for mainstreaming.

Taking on an approach such as RRI is not simply morally recommendable, but indispensable for attempting a re-alignment between scientific research and the needs of society. […] [A]s the Covid-19 pandemic is challenging our societies, our political and economic systems, we recognise that scientists are also being challenged. By the corona virus as well as by contextual challenges. The virus is testing their ability to play a key role to the public, to share information and to produce relevant knowledge. But when we go back to ‘normal’, the challenge of changing science-society relations will persist. And we will remain convinced that RRI and similar approaches will be a valuable contribution to addressing these challenges, now and in the future.”

Read the full text on the Ethics Blog