Limits to responsible innovation

Figures & data

Table 1. Barriers to responsible innovation.

Barrier to RI	Dimension of RI threatened (following Stilgoe, Owen, and Macnaghten 2013)	Engagement with this barrier
Material barriers to innovation	Responsiveness	Researchers and farmers in Hassan were aware of material barriers. Farmers limited their participation in the project. The project’s researchers were unable to find a solution to the barriers identified, such as water shortages.
The price of exnovating an existing practice	Anticipation; responsiveness	RI literature, to the best of our knowledge, does not explicitly discuss the importance of taking the exnovation of existing practices into account in an RI process. Similarly, the researchers at Hassan Bio-Fuel Park and policy-makers in Bangalore showed very little concern with exnovation, while the farmers clearly did take this into account, leading to their partial participation in the project.
Power differences and dependencies	Inclusiveness	Both farmers and researchers argued they had no other option but to operate within existing power structures. They were all aware of the difficulties that these power structures created and sometimes used able to use them to their own advantage.
Lack of clear demarcation of responsibilities	Reflexivity; responsiveness	This barrier particularly applies to the effect of the project’s researchers trying to generate political support. They did not acknowledge responsibility for potential negative effects of Karnataka’s state’s biofuel policy, to which they contributed as part of solidifying their position as biofuel experts deserving support from the political establishment.
Strategic behaviour	Inclusiveness; responsiveness	Similar to the way power differences and dependencies were engaged with, both farmers and researchers argued that they had no other option but to act strategically in order to make sure their needs would be met.
Different, diverging and contradictory interests	Responsiveness	Farmers and the project’s researchers each dealt with this by giving their own interests higher priority than those of others. However, considering the material barriers to innovation encountered in this project, it would be very difficult and perhaps impossible to address the interests of all stakeholders to an extent that would keep these stakeholders interested in the project.

Stilgoe, J., R. Owen, and P. Macnaghten. 2013. “Developing a Framework for Responsible Innovation.” Research Policy 42 (9): 1568–1580. doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2013.05.008

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