The analysis of the document is based on different sources, referring to activities carried out by all the PRO-RES partners in 2019 and 2020, summarises the origins and background of RRI, a strategy aimed at modifying the established social model of production and reproduction of science in order to connect it strongly to societal expectations, needs, concerns and problems. Next, the text describes the formulation and scope of RRI, to introduce the added value of the RRI approach for research ethics.
Finally, recapitulating the arguments for a profound renewal of ethics in the non-medical sciences, the report focuses on the potential contribution of the RRI approach to the PRO-RES ethical guidance framework and, more generally, to help navigate the uncertainty characteristic of the contemporary research and innovation landscape. In particular, RRI is seen as a way for ethics to broaden its horizons, grasping in advance the implications of scientific and technological development, while contributing to the formulation of better evidence-based policies.