Mapping the RRI landscape : An overview of organisations, projects, persons, areas and topics

Increased attention in politics and academia coincided with a rapid expansion of the RRI discourse. As a consequence, the proliferation of RRI approaches and projects has made it harder to maintain an overview of the discourse. Accessing and keeping track therefore is difficult, especially for newbies, of which there are many now that RRI is being engrained in R&I policies. To untangle the RRI discourse a landscape study was undertaken providing a comprehensive overview of the main contributors, the terms RRI is perceived and the areas it is being applied to. Deploying a qualitative research methodology 536 persons emerged from the sources, affiliated to 246 organisations that reside in 89 different countries. Of these, 312 are authors and 168 involved in 18 RRI projects. Also, the study revealed 14 areas of application, 17 features and 4 methods in relation to which RRI is currently being addressed. Furthermore, the analysis shows which actors act as hubs in the different thematic or regional segments that together make up the discourse. Lastly, the study hints towards future directions of the discourse that are relevant to both policy-makers and RRI researchers. Well-represented areas and terms of addressing may be interpreted as important and therefore in need of further attention, while underrepresented areas represent opportunities for further research or justify further policy attention.