Abstract
The transdisciplinary Assisted Living project conducts research within (ICT), health science, social science and ethics. The overall aim of the project is to advance responsible research and innovation (RRI) in the field of welfare technology. By adapting an RRI framework, the project aims to: (a) map how stakeholders and experts perceive the state-of-the-art of responsible welfare technologies, focusing on assisted living technologies (ALT), in Norway and internationally; (b) develop ALT solutions for users with mild cognitive impairment and dementia (MCI/D), through an RRI approach; (c) judge by an integrated HTA approach whether technologies introduced through an RRI process score better than currently implemented technologies; and d) create a wider dialogue on responsible welfare technologies for the future, reflecting on alternatives and options. In the project RRI is operationalized as involving four dimensions: (i) A specific focus on addressing significant societal needs and challenges, (ii) A research and development process that actively engages and responds to a range of stakeholders, (iii) A concerted effort to anticipate potential problems, identify alternatives, and reflect on underlying values, and (iv) A willingness from relevant actors to act and adapt according to 1–3. These dimensions are built into the project’s design in different ways. The project, funded by the Research Council of Norway, started December 2015 and we have by now had substantial experience with working with these dimensions in practice. This paper will describe the experiences with including needs assessment, engagement, anticipation, reflection and responsiveness in the project, after 1.5 years operation. The paper will highlight several challenges that have appeared in the project when doing RRI in practice, related to transdisciplinarity, communication, project planning and control, and quality. We believe that the challenges experienced in our project are typical of RRI projects, so it is important to create open discussions about the pros and cons of RRI projects in the community of RRI practitioners.
Highlights
Assisted living technology (ALT) is a generic term for a heterogeneous group of technologies, often used in care for persons with mild cognitive impairment or dementia (MCI/D), involving for example videophones, robotics, GPS technology and monitoring systems to enhance security and safety and enable people to live an independent everyday life at home and in the community
The political interest in ALT has been more pronounced than the actual use of these technologies, because of factors related to organisational culture among care providers, technological alienation among elderly, and a lack of anchoring of the technologies with the relatives of the persons with MCI/D (Calvaresi et al 2017)
Research and Innovation (RRI) has been interpreted as a comprehensive approach of proceeding in research and innovation in ways that allow all stakeholders at an early stage (A) to obtain relevant knowledge on the consequences of the outcomes of their actions and on the range of options open to them and (B) to effectively evaluate both outcomes and options in terms of societal needs and moral values and (C) to use these considerations as functional requirements for design and development of new research, products and services (European Commission 2013a: 3)
Summary
Assisted living technology (ALT) is a generic term for a heterogeneous group of technologies, often used in care for persons with mild cognitive impairment or dementia (MCI/D), involving for example videophones, robotics, GPS technology and monitoring systems to enhance security and safety and enable people to live an independent everyday life at home and in the community. An RRI approach will, have to adapt to this situation by facilitating communication at a level on which the user is able and comfortable to engage, and involve other relatives or supports the user may have. Another specificity of RRI in assisted living technologies is an apparent technological alienation among the main users. The still rather philosophical concept of RRI has been operationalised in the ICT field through projects such as FRRIICT, ETICA and Framework for RRI in ICT, and for assisted living technologies in the Responsible Industry project. There is a need for case studies and experiments with incorporating RRI approaches in technology development in this field, and the Assisted Living project amounts to an important contribution to such experimentation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call