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Met4Tech Responsible Innovation Workshop

Innovation workshop poster
About this event
The aim of this workshop is to outline draft guidelines for responsible innovation related to creating a technology metals circular economy.

This Met4Tech Workshop will be a ‘deep dive’ exploration of key products containing technology metals, and will explore how past events and turning points affected the future development and markets for these products, through discussion of several Examples of Responsible Innovation (RI). The workshop participants (industry partners, researchers, policy-makers) will share the ‘learning lessons’ gained from the past/present situations and talk about the needs for more responsible innovation in future. The main aim of this workshop is to outline draft guidelines for responsible innovation that can be applied towards the establishment of the National Virtual Data Observatory (NVO), working together with project partners on the new Case Studies, and the development of the new Technology Metals Circular Economy Roadmap. These guidelines will be revisited throughout the project, so please join us for this very important initial workshop on Responsible Innovation.

Workshop Programme

9:30 Welcome & Introduction – Prof. Frances Wall (PI – Met4Tech, Exeter) and Prof. Frank Boons (Manchester)

9:40 Break-Out Groups – First Session: Examples of Responsible Innovation

  1. Catalytic Convertors – Platinum Group metals
  2. Lithium Ion Batteries – Lithium, Cobalt
  3. Nano-Applications – Silver
  4. Mobile Phones – Tantalum

10:25 What did we learn about Responsible Innovation? – Prof. Frank Boons and Dr Gavin Harper (Birmingham)

10:35 Coffee/Tea Break

11:00 Break-Out Groups – Second Session: Exploring the Needs for RI Guidelines

  1. Setting up the National Virtual Observatory Database
  2. Working with Industry Partners
  3. Developing the Roadmap

11:30 Plenary Session – Defining the Guidelines for Responsible Innovation – Prof Frances Wall and Prof. Frank Boons

12:15 Close of Workshop

Defining Responsible Innovation

Responsible Innovation is defined by Von Schomberg as a transparent and interactive process by which societal actors and innovators actively engage with each other to ensure the (ethical) acceptability, sustainability and societal desirability of the innovation process and its marketable products.

In the context of Met4Tech, this activity covers:

  • engagement with stakeholders and their values during the development of new technologies/business models and technology metals circular economy roadmap;
  • uncovering potential unintended consequences of innovations and avoiding them; and
  • handling any contestation of technologies and business practices (i.e. responsible sourcing) and ensuring a move towards more ethical and sustainable (circular) practices.