News

First ever professor of Ethics of Water Engineering

‘Take account of the differing opportunities available to citizens’. On Friday, 16 November, Prof. Neelke Doorn will give her inaugural address as professor of Ethics of Water Engineering.

Event

Voorlichting en matchmaking Duurzame Living Labs (fase 2)

NWO organiseert op 22 november i.s.m. TKI Dinalog een voorlichtings- en matchmakingsbijeenkomst voor de tweede fase van de call Duurzame Living Labs. De bijeenkomst is in Utrecht en start om 13.30 uur. Het doel is om geïnteresseerden in de call informatie te geven en om consortiumvorming te stimuleren.

NWO-MVI platform

Young MVI: a fresh perspective

To assure that younger generations of NWO-MVI researchers are actively engaged in the MVI program Young MVI was installed, a group of young researchers from ongoing or recently finished MVI projects. President Wouter Boon – assistant professor at Utrecht University – explains the why and what of Young MVI.

NWO-MVI platform

Suggestions regarding valorisation panels

How do you convince people from public or private organisations to join the valorisation panel of your NWO-MVI project, and how do you keep them engaged?

Funding opportunity

Funding opportunities for NWO-MVI research in 2018-2019

In the forthcoming period the possibilities for Responsible Innovation (MVI) research mainly lie within specific research programmes/initiatives within the top sectors. The underlying reasons for this are that the importance of MVI is increasingly recognised and there is a growing demand to link responsible innovation research to NWO research programmes/initiatives. MVI will be linked to these initiatives from the outset, if possible as soon as the research agenda is drawn up. In view of the interdisciplinary collaboration (between humanities, natural sciences and social sciences researchers) matchmaking events will be organised. Via the MVI newsletter and the MVI webportal more information will be released when a call is published or a relevant meeting is scheduled to take place.

Project update

Links to miscallaneous information on and output of NWO-MVI

List of information on and output of NWO-MVI

Event

Kick-off Innovative Medical Devices Initiative 2.0

Op woensdag 18 april 2018 vond de Innovative Medical Devices Initiative (IMDI) 2.0 kick-off plaats in Utrecht. Tijdens deze middag presenteerde Hans Rietman, voorzitter van de stuurgroep IMDI 2.0, het vervolg van het IMDI subsidieprogramma. In de 2.0 versie van het IMDI zal de benadering van het NWO-programma Maatschappelijk verantwoord innoveren (MVI) een belangrijk onderdeel zijn.

Funding opportunity

Call for Sustainable Living Labs in Logistics

Deadline 27 March 2018
Responsible innovation in real-life situations

NWO published a call for the development of consortia with which living labs in logistics can be started. The aim of this call is to stimulate the formation of viable consortia that will test and implement new solutions in a controlled real-life environment. The responsible innovation approach forms an integral part of the research into the Living Labs in this call. On the afternoon of Tuesday 6 March 2018, a matchmaking event will be held in Utrecht.

News

Six new consortia funded in 2018

In six new research projects the approach of the NWO-MVI programme is leading. The consortia of researchers and public and private partnes received funding of NWO and their partners, and will address complex challenges such as: How to optimise human-robot collaboration in logistic warehouses, which ethical, legal and societal issues play a role in new ways for cancer diagnostics and screening, and how can we develop a new assessment model for promoting social acceptance of sustainable energy policies?

Event

Looking back on the conference Connecting Practices 2018

On Friday January 19th, the Muntgebouw in Utrecht was filled with the chatter of about 200 people, already active in the field of responsible innovation, or interested to join.

NWO-MVI platform

The value of a valorisation panel

A researcher submitting a proposal to the MVI programme does not stand alone: he is supported by a valorisation panel, a group of people with practical experience.

Event

Conference Connecting Practices: insights from the industry

What is there to gain for a company by engaging in responsible innovation initiatives? During the conference Connecting Practices, representatives of industry revealed a myriad of motives.

Event

The MVI approach: a gain for society

‘If we can do better by innovation tomorrow, we have an obligation to innovate today.’ That motto from the NWO-MVI movie clip shown during 'Connecting practices' is the leading principle for the MVI-approach, illustrated member of the NWO-MVI Committee and Professor at Delft University of Technology Jeroen Van den Hoven during the closing debate.

Event

Connecting practices: sure, but how?

How does a cooperation between academic researchers and public and private partners in the field of responsible innovation come about? What are the challenges, and how to overcome them? During the conference Connecting practices, ample best practices were shared, and during several workshops possible solutions and suggestions were discussed for practical problems that can arise when working on a (sensitive) societal issue.

News

MVI approach visible in NanoNextNL theme

Responsible innovation is increasingly being integrated in new initiatives and programs. For example, the RIVM has developed the concept Safe-by-Design in the context of the NanoNextNL consortium and its Risk Analysis and Technolpogy Assessment (RATA) theme.

Nanotechnology offers possibilities to increase the quality of life. At the same time the past has shown us that ‘unknowns’ about potential human, environmental and societal risks are raised. Attempts to address these ‘unknowns’ are generally carried out in the privacy of discussions about risks.

However, proceeding in this way will lead to questions being raised about safety issues that come along with innovations at too late a stage of innovation, and hinder the full exploitation of potential benefits. Authorities and industry want to know which information is pivotal to assess whether a nanomaterial or nanotech application is safe.

News

Granted NWO-MVI projects 2016

Within NWO-MVI, nine new research projects, all related to the top sectors, were honored at the beginning of 2017. These projects identify early ethical and social issues of (technological) innovations, to make sure these can be taken into account in the innovation process. This increases the level of acceptance among stakeholders.

Event

Conference Connecting Practices: presentations of research projects

During the first day of the two-day NWO-MVI conference Connecting practices, researchers met for an intimate meeting at the Muntgebouw in Utrecht.

Event

Announcement: NWO-MVI conference on 19 January 2018

At the 'NWO-MVI Connecting practices' conference, the added value of the MVI approach for practice and society is central. The connection and dialogue between science, business and society is an important approach. In the plenary programme, Jeroen van den Hoven (Delft University of Technology), Luuk Klomp (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy), Maarten-Jan Kallen (BeDataDriven) and Françoise Rost van Tonningen (Rabobank) address MVI and the digital society. There are also workshops on MVI and smart mobility, energy, and circular economy. There are also workshops on collaboration between researchers and (public and private) partners, as well as on MVI and 'Learning Communities'. During the day we work on two questions from corporates to which NWO-MVI can contribute.

NWO-MVI platform

Paulien Herder on the NWO-MVI Platform

In the section 'Uitgesproken', from the NWO magazine Hypothesis, experts respond to a new development of NWO. In November 2016, Paulien Herder (Professor of Engineering Systems Design in Energy & Industry at Delft University of Technology) responded to the announcement of a new knowledge platform on socially responsible innovation (the NWO-MVI Platform) - intended for science, business and social organisations.

NWO-MVI platform

Experience MVI! video on ethical decisions in the design process

Experience MVI with this introductory animation! The animation can be viewed with VR-glasses, but also on a computer (with your mouse it's possible to adjust the viewpoint) or on your cellphone (by moving your phone, the viewpoint changes).

Event

Impression Pitch & Date Event, May 2017

A group of researchers and other professionals interested in responsible innovation (MVI) gathered in ‘de Zilveren Vosch’ in Utrecht to familiarise with the open MVI call for proposals and to get in contact with each other. Young MVI researchers Johanna Höffken (Eindhoven University of Technology) and Wouter Boon (Utrecht University) hosted the event, together with Jasper Roodenburg (NWO).

NWO-MVI platform

Infographic on NWO-MVI approach

Identifying ethical and social issues at an early stage and taking these into account in the design process will lead to responsible innovations that enjoy broad social consensus. This approach also reduces failures or costly adaptations at a later stage.

Event

NWO-MVI gepresenteerd op Hannover Messe 2017

Van maandag 24 tot en met vrijdag 29 april nam NWO deel aan de grootste technologiebeurs ter wereld, de Hannover Messe. Het centrale thema van 2017 was Integrated Industry – Creating Value.

Project update

A role for emotions in design

Emotions play an important role in the debate on innovations such as wind parks, robot carers and genetically-modified food. A team of MVI researchers is investigating the role of these emotions in the design of socially-responsible innovations.

In the media

Verbeek wins World Technology Award on Ethics

In December 2016, the prestigious World Technology Award was awarded to Peter-Paul Verbeek, professor in philosophy of technology at the University of Twente.

Event

Highlights MVI-Conference 2016

On 10 June 2016, the NWO-MVI research programme organised a special EU presidency 2016 edition of its annual conference at the Amsterdam Science Park Congress Centre. The conference focused on concrete tools for applying responsible innovation and was aimed at researchers, entrepreneurs, policy makers and representatives from NGOs. Participants shared experiences and best practices. Researchers highlighted examples of current research projects within the NWO-MVI programme, which is aligned to all top sectors and the Dutch National Research Agenda.

showcase

Big data: threat or public good?

ICT is being used to facilitate urbanisation and enhance urban life. The City of Amsterdam is one of the Dutch cities experimenting with 'smart' streetlamps: these will have cameras, microphones, and sensors that can 'follow' citizens in the street and also perform a range of measurements (air quality, traffic congestion). Cities can also develop other ways to collect data from the behaviour of citizens. A city 'on remote control'?

News

Handel in hoop

Should patients with no further treatment options be given access to unregistered drugs through a commercial company? And if so, under what conditions? Researchers in the NWO MVI Responsible Innovation programme are examining this question.

showcase

‘An idea whose time has come’

The Responsible Innovation programme is now entering its sixth year. In January a fourth round of research projects will start. Jeroen van den Hoven, professor of ethics and technology at Delft University and chair of the programme committee, reflects on the past five years and takes a look forwards. Kees Linse, a member of the programme committee and board member of Technology Foundation STW, adds his comments. Linse speaks from the perspective of his extensive international experience in industry.

Event

Symposium ‘Small labels, big challenges’

Het projectteam van het NWO-MVI project ‘Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Innoveren in de voedingsindustrie’ organiseerde op 26 januari 2017 een multidisciplinair symposium over gezondheidskeurmerken, getiteld ‘Small labels, big challenges’. Tijdens het symposium werden de wetenschappelijke uitdagingen achter een gezondheidskeuzemerk vanuit verschillende wetenschappelijke disciplines belicht. Het doel van het symposium was om uitwisseling en samenwerking binnen de Wageningen Universiteit te stimuleren.

showcase

David Molenaar: 'We aim to make clear, balanced choices'

David Molenaar, country division head Wind Power at Siemens Nederland, is involved in a Responsible Innovation study on wind power. 

showcase

Why Royal HaskoningDHV joined a project on emotions

Emotions in innovation processes. With his experiences as a project manager, Carl de Cock is very familiar with this subject. 'I have worked at Royal HaskoningDHV for nearly twenty years. Four years ago I stepped back from a management position and became a senior project manager. All of the projects I have been a part of since then have involved social impact or stakeholder management. I have repeatedly observed that dealing with emotions is a key success factor for finding support for a project and, when necessary, being able to make the right adjustments.'

Funding opportunity

Call: Designing for public values in the digital world

On 7 February, NWO will publish the call for proposals for the programme "Responsible innovation. Designing for public values in a digital world". This programme is a collaboration between NWO, The Hague Municipal Council, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice and Security. The deadline for submitting concise (compulsory) pre-proposals is 19 March 2019.

Event

Save the date: Young-MVI conference

Responsible Innovation: The Challenge of Ambiguity
Monday April 8, 2019

Funding opportunity

Call for submissions for blockchain innovations

The call for submissions for Fundamental knowledge for responsible blockchain innovations has been launched. Multidisciplinary consortia can request funding for coherent research into socially responsible blockchain innovations as described in the Dutch Blockchain Research Agenda.