During the first half of 2021 an analysis of the R&I eco-systems and stakeholders was carried out to identify the existing practices in RRI and to find a list of relevant stakeholders susceptible to integrate the RRI approach in four territories with each specific policy foci:
- Western Macedonia (Greece): Economic transition to low-carbon economy, a smooth and innovative transition from the coal value chain towards an alternative development paradigm.
- Sofia (Bulgaria): Support for innovation; digital transition and new skills; youth employment and entrepreneurship; and sustainable urban development.
- Thalwil (Switzerland): Energy transitions and climate change responsiveness.
- Sabadell (Catalonia, Spain): Smart Specialisation in circular economy in industrial systems; active ageing and intelligent design in industry.
First, a round of interviews was conducted in March and April 2021 for mapping and identifying stakeholders with:
- high levels of interest in relation to RRI in practice
- high levels of experience in RRI
- high levels of power
- high levels of influence on RRI in practice
90 interviews were made with relevant stakeholders of the Quadruple Helix (39 policymakers, civil society actors and citizens; 23 academia and researchers; and 26 companies) for their chosen policy areas. Three questionnaires, adapted to each kind of stakeholder, were used with common questions about their knowledge of the RRI framework, current and best practices in their organisations, internal and territorial barriers and drivers. This initial contact allowed analysing the knowledge, relationship, interest, and experience that the territorial actors have with the RRI keys and, thus, identifying those ones relevant for RRI.
Additionally, four policy workshops were organized within each territory in April 2021 to exchange experience between different groups of interests/stakeholders and thus screening the weakest points and identifying opportunities for the integration of RRI keys and even synergies between the participants.
As a result of both processes, the document “Map on stakeholder relationships and interdependencies and report on stakeholder need, interest, power and influence”, integrating the findings of the four territories, was published in June 2021 (this document has not yet been reviewed by the European Commission. Its content might therefore change as a result of the review process).
Read the Mapping Reports per territory (extracts from the previous document):