Description: The Rome Declaration is a policy statement by EU member states endorsing RRI principles. It explicitly calls for shared responsibility and responsiveness among all R&I stakeholders, including civil society, in governing the processes and outcomes of research and innovation. The declaration emphasizes openness, co-production of knowledge, and that excellence in R&I must include societal relevance and ethics.
Key Resources: Issued under the Italian EU Presidency (2014), the declaration (available via the EC’s “Science with and for Society” archive) underlines that decisions in R&I must respect fundamental values and involve society. It highlights that RRI “requires that all stakeholders including civil society are responsive to each other and take shared responsibility” in R&I.
https://ispa-finba.es/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/rome_declaration_RRI_final_21_November.pdf#:~:text=minorities,in%20full
How It Helps Researchers: The Rome Declaration set the tone for European research policy, encouraging researchers and institutions to embed ORRI governance practices. It reassures researchers that addressing societal needs and ethical considerations is a mainstream expectation, not an add-on. Practically, it has led funding bodies to ask for RRI plans in proposals, thus helping researchers integrate governance (like stakeholder boards or ethics reviews) into project design from the outset.
