Taking knowledge production seriously in responsible research and innovation

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) has been the preferred idiom for interrogating the social, ethical and political dimensions of science, technology and innovation for roughly a decade. The uptake of RRI into prominent policy organisations has resulted in a proliferation of policy frameworks as policy makers have attempted to articulate what it means for them to enact RRI. Here, we draw on our experience developing an RRI framework in the ERA Cofund on Biotechnology. We discuss three ways that treating RRI as a form of knowledge production has allowed us to engage with the institutional dimensions of science: as research within scientific projects; as administrative knowledge; and as methodological knowledge. We argue that Science and Technology Studies' concern with knowledge making offers a valuable route to approach RRI within research funding organisations, and reflect on how this approach might be developed in the next European Commission Framework Programme.