Although the ResBios project is coming to a close, we hope that we can leave a legacy of promoting responsible bioscience.
At the ResBios final conference on December 7th, the consortium was very pleased to announce the launch of the International Network for Responsible Biosciences (INRB).
The network aims to build upon the success of the ResBios project and to create a community of researchers, project coordinators, science communicators, etc, interested in promoting responsible practice in the biosciences, through mutual learning and knowledge sharing.
The ResBios consortium will act as the core team for this network and will provide the framework for many of the earlier training materials, events, and communications. But as the network grows it is the hope of the INRB that other members will start to contribute more, and from this, a community will grow!
Being part of the members will give you access to our database of members, our messaging board, our bi-annual newsletter, and a collection of useful resources that will help facilitate responsible research and innovation within the biosciences fields. We will also be organising online workshops and training events, which will be available to members and non-members alike.
If you would like to learn more or to join the International Network for Responsible Biosciences, please click here.
Responsibility in Research & Innovation. Challenges for the Biosciences and Future Policies
ResBios Final Conference
Date: December 7, 2022
Location : Rue Montoyer, 24 – 1000 Brussels (hybrid event)
At the inception of ResBios in January 2020, the project coordinators talked about how the fields of biosciences are a major crossroads, where science and society meet. But then who was to know how true this statement would become?
Over the past three years, the world has had to face a multitude of challenges, and at the centre of many of them were the biosciences, and with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued impact of other “wicked problems”, such as climate change, food security and health, the way society interacts with research has been brought front and centre.
It has therefore become increasingly apparent that we need to rewrite the societal contract, changing how bioscience research is conducted and putting the needs of society at the forefront. During the lifetime of the ResBios project, all of our partners have strived to promote positive changes within our implementing partner research institutes, using the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework, focusing on 5 RRI keys (Gender, Open Access, Public Engagement, Education and Ethics), guided by the EU’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Although it has not been smooth sailing throughout, the ResBios project has reached the end of its journey and would like to share what they have learnt with the wider bioscience community. So on December 7th, ResBios will be hosting its final conference: “Responsibility in research & innovation. Challenges for the biosciences and future policies”, organised in partnership with EURADA (European Association of Development Agencies), and the Horizon 2020 project TetRRIS – Territorial Responsible Research and Innovation and Smart Specialisation.
At this conference, ResBios will share their key outcomes from the project, as well as invite key speakers from related initiatives to share their thoughts on responsible bioscience research and innovation. The ResBios project will also be sharing its recently published manifesto on Responsible Bioscience and the Transformation of Science-Society Relations, as well as announcing the launch of the International Network for Responsible Bioscience.
This will also be an opportunity for the ResBios consortium to share their experience in implementing the RRI framework within their institutes, and to talk about how we hope to sustain these changes beyond the lifetime of the ResBios project, including contributions from the partners from the Institut de Ciències del Mar (Spain), Democritus University of Thrace (Greece), University of Zagreb (Croatia), and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Ukraine).
We would also like to take a moment to thank all our stakeholders and advisors who have assisted in making the ResBios project the success that it has been, and we hope to see you all on the 7th of December, either in person or online.
Although the ResBios project is soon to come to its conclusion, we hope to see that the impact of this project will have long-term positive change, and moving forward we can help create a more responsible bioscience environment, where the needs of society are always considered as a top priority.
For more information about the ResBios conference, please click here!
Photo was taken of the last hybrid ResBios Steering Committee Meeting in Gdansk
Research organisations from across Europe have launched a major new project which aims to embed Responsible Research and Innovation into the biosciences.
Over the next three years ResBios will draw on the expertise of 12 partners from 11 countries to bring sustainable institutional changes into biosciences research.
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) provides a framework for bringing research closer to the needs and values of society, within a changing context. The biosciences sector is seen as a crossroads in the relations between science and society.
The EU-funded project is coordinated by the University of Rome Tor Vergata, and four European institutions have been selected for putting RRI into practice: Ivan Franko University of Lviv, in Ukraine; Democritus University of Thrace in Greece, Marine Sciences Institute of the National Council of Scientific Research in Spain and the University of Zagreb in Croatia. These four organizations, supported by other partners having already participated in STARBIOS2 (an EU project about RRI in biosciences), will implement a series of “Grounding Actions” based on key elements of RRI (gender, open access, science education, ethics and governance), the 4 dimensions of RRI (anticipation, reflexivity, inclusiveness, responsiveness), and guided by Sustainable Development Goals.
These Grounding Actions work with a self-reflective process that each institution will develop, to reveal the areas where science can perform in a more open and inclusive way, and bonded with current societal needs. They are structured into three strands. A “co-reflexive” strand will develop dialogues with potential stakeholders in the co-design of research. A “pro-active” strand will implement the Grounding Actions within the research organizations, in connection with local and regional stakeholders. An “institutional strand” will implement changes within an organisation and develop permanent spaces for closer integration with society, taking into account the idea of the Quadruple Helix, which represents the relations that occur in society among Academia, Industry, Government and Civil Society. “We want to turn science affairs into social affairs” as Professor Vittorio Colizzi wisely stated.
ResBios will launch its website in March 2020. Meanwhile, you can follow its work on Twitter (@resbios) and Facebook (@resbioproject).
The Facts
ResBios is coordinated by the University of Tor Vergata, in Rome, Italy.
The project involves 12 partners from 11 European countries: Ivan Franko University of Lviv (UA), Faculty of Agriculture Zagreb University (HN), Democritus University of Thrace (GR), National Council of Scientific Research -CSIC (ES), Knowledge and Innovation SRL (IT), EUSEA (AT), University of Bremen (DE), University of Gdansk (PL), AgrobioInstitute (BG), University of Primorska (SI) and Aarhus University (DK).
Runs from January 2020 until December 2022
Funded by the European Commission with 1,5 MM €
Project Coordinator: Vittorio Colizzi, colizzi@bio.uniroma2.it Project Management: Daniele Mezzana, mzzdnl02@uniroma2.it; Carla Montesano, montesan@uniroma2.it; Gian Luca Porinelli, porinelli@amm.uniroma2.it For communications: Andrea Troncoso, andrea.troncoso@eusea.info
Network INRB 
