Why is mutual learning so important?

The ResBios project aims to root Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) practices in some research organizations in the field of biosciences, through specific “Grounding Actions”. The main dynamic of the project is based on the relationship between some “experienced” mentors (who have already realized activities in this field) and other “beginners” partners, experiencing for the first time the RRI approach.
For both mentors and beginners (as well as anyone working in the field of science) the internal and external environment is in transformation.
First, science as an institution is changing! For instance, we see: increasingly uncertain access to grants, hyper-competition, increasing effort in applied research (basic research is less funded), «publish or perish» approach but high costs for publications, difficulties in generational change, weakness of scientific actors (especially young people and women).
Then, we are seeing increasing social pressure on science. Science is asked to be useful and accountable, there is an increased sensitiveness of public towards science-related risks, but also forms of mistrust against science (e.g. no-vax, no-mask), and stronger political control of science and technology.
All that is multiplied by challenges such as of COVID-19.
Biosciences are at the core of these processes! It’s an area where these changes are strongest: big investments, fast developments, big technologies, new emerging social and ethical issues. So bioscientists need to react, within their organizations and involving other social, economic and political actors. This can allow a more «relevant» and better science. RRI is one of the possible ways to have some control (governance) over this change, at least at the level of research organizations, promoting actions to trigger a change.
But these challenges are so complex, full of perspectives but also dilemmas and uncertainties, that they require the contribution of many actors.
Within this framework, taken as a whole, ResBios intends to create a mutual learning (ML) environment, to foster a continuous process of “co-creating exchanges” of knowledge, information and experiences, and to elaborate and formalize knowledge and learning useful for implementing the other activities of the project: an environment that involves the project partners and, gradually, other stakeholders such as decision-makers, entrepreneurs and exponents of civil society.
In the first ResBios workshop (held in October 2020) it was stated that ML is a form of continuous and participative management of the risks that will be encountered in the implementation of the project, and a tool to gradually promote greater awareness of the issues related to the implementation of RRI. It is also an empowerment of the partners, and a way to reflect upon the role of the researcher within the relationship between science and society today.
In this blog, we will publish some contributions on the work we will do and on what is happening in the relationship between science and society, with particular attention to biosciences.

Daniele Mezzana, ResBios Coordination Team, University of Rome Tor Vergata