Is Open Science Inclusive Science? - An Investigation of Inclusive Research and Innovation in Collaborative Deep-Tech Research and Innovation Projects

Werker, Claudia; Feenstra, Marielle; Pruschak, Gernot (21 April 2024). Is Open Science Inclusive Science? - An Investigation of Inclusive Research and Innovation in Collaborative Deep-Tech Research and Innovation Projects In: Open Innovation in Science Research Conference 2024. London, UK. 21/05/2024-23/05/2024.

Individuals deviating from the conventional average face disparities in research and innovation processes and outcomes like medical treatments, algorithmic discriminations, and safety issues. Yet despite policy makers stimulating researchers and innovators to embrace inclusivity through various funding schemes, the adoption remains suboptimal, particularly in STEM. At the same time, corporate and academic researchers and innovators have more and more opened up their research and innovation processes to external stakeholders to enhance their technological and business success chances. Considering STEM particularly, prior research showed that life scientists facing frequent touchpoints and interactions with patients increased scientists’ motivation to engage in innovation activities extending beyond basic research whereas citizen- and crowd-science projects involve laypersons in all steps of the research and innovation process, thus enhancing its societal relevance. Because the inclusion of end-users and volunteers provides avenues for increasing the diversity of research and innovation processes, we explore potential links between opening up academic research and innovation processes, team diversity, and the inclusivity of technological solutions. To identify potential causal relationships, we conduct qualitative theory building case study research focusing on five STEM research and innovation projects conducted within the ATTRACT consortium, funded by Horizon 2020. Because ATTRACT provides initial funding, training, network access and interdisciplinary exchange platforms and requires projects to collaborate with academic and non-academic partners, this constitutes a prime opportunity to investigate inclusivity in an open innovation in science setting. Our interviews with project leaders and team members reveal a paradox — despite diverse participating organizations and international collaboration, low diversity exists within the characteristics of the project team members, predominantly comprising STEM-educated individuals. Moreover, whereas all project teams include women and men, all women work either on the legal or business administrative aspects of the projects. Given the low degree of diversity within the research teams, it is not surprising that none of the projects considered the inclusivity of their technologies at first. However, because project leaders agreed on the importance of ensuring inclusivity in their technologies, the interviews triggered an unexpected shift: Multiple project teams started to consider the diversity of human beings as project leaders indicated in the follow-up interviews six months later. They highlight the positive influence of openness in terms of co-creation with diverse partners and early engagement with end-users in fostering inclusivity. However, they also state that such open approaches demand more time and resources because they had to overcome resistance, especially from younger, academically oriented team members. Last, entrepreneurially experienced project team members emerge as catalysts, motivating their colleagues to perceive the business value of inclusive practices. Our findings underscore that openness and inclusivity do not inherently coexist. To fully leverage an open innovation ecosystem, it is imperative to secure diverse research teams both in terms of demographic characteristics as well as in terms of backgrounds, end-user involvement, and robust financial support for societal inclusivity. This broader inclusivity not only reduces inequalities but also fosters responsible, ethical, and socially acceptable solutions.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Abstract)
Division/Institute:	Business School > Institute for Applied Data Science & Finance Business School > Institute for Applied Data Science & Finance > Applied Data Science Business School
Name:	Werker, Claudia; Feenstra, Marielle and Pruschak, Gernot
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management H Social Sciences > HF Commerce Q Science > Q Science (General)
Language:	English
Submitter:	Gernot Pruschak
Date Deposited:	06 Aug 2024 15:02
Last Modified:	06 Aug 2024 15:02
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/22024