ETHNA System: Literature review and state of the art description Mapping examples of good governance of research and innovation (R&I) related to responsible research and innovation (RRI), in Higher Education, Funding and Research Organisations (HEFRs) in Europe

ETHNA System Project – Deliverable 2.1.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of governance theory and practices in the research
and innovation (R&I) sector related to the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). The
report is based on findings from a review of the RRI literature related to the governance of research
and innovation processes, and interviews with 22 European-based experts on R&I governance in the
area of RRI. The purpose of the report has been to present some of the governance options - or
building blocks - available when constructing the ETHNA system, both conceptually and practically
speaking. Applying the governance framework of the EC-funded project Res-A-Gora, “The
Responsibility Navigator”, the identified examples of governance practices were organized under the
following ten governance principles: inclusion, deliberation, and moderation; modularity and
flexibility, subsidiarity, and adaptability; capabilities, capacities and institutional entrepreneurship;
and culture of transparency, tolerance and rule of law. The principles are referred to in the present
report as modules. The concept of a module is used to articulate the idea that the principles of the
Res-A-Gora framework can be understood as building blocks, which one can pick and choose from
when constructing the ETHNA governance system. The cases organized under each module are meant
to serve as an inspiration when reflecting on how a module could be adapted to a given institutional
context.