Objectives

PRO-Ethics’ overall objective is to create a comprehensive, co-developed, tested and widely consulted Ethics Framework that enables a more effective handling of the ethical dimension of innovation, with a special focus on the engagement of citizens in participative innovation, to the benefit of more relevant, fair and effective innovation activities.

In order to reach this overall objective, PRO-Ethics has the following specific objectives:

1. To gather and systematise needs, requirements and values of citizens (including the underlying ethical principles) within participatory processes to improve access and avoid a technological divide


2. To create and promote fair and gender sensitive interaction modes taking into account legal frameworks, governance structures and regulations, codes of practice, and tools (including IT Tools)


3. To test, pilot and assess novel participation configurations in three fields of action of RFOs‘ activities: Participation in innovation projects, participation in strategy development and participation in evaluation processes


4. To validate findings in interactive learning formats and in dialogue with stakeholders and ethic bodies


5. To secure a widespread take-up of the developed framework across the European Union (and beyond) by consulting, sharing, and promoting standards, principles, and guidelines

The ethics framework will be co-designed and co-developed with various stakeholder groups in an iterative process throughout the project and condensed into practical standards (code of conduct) and operative guidelines and tools for RFOs and their clients in Europe (and beyond) that are intending to actively involve non-traditional stakeholders in ethically sound ways into innovation processes.

In order to demonstrate a promising pathway to impact at the end of the project, our target is that RFOs in at least 15 European Countries will promote and work with our standards and guidelines. By using them in their specific contexts and ‘markets’, thousands of projects and dozens of strategy and program development processes and evaluations will benefit from this EU project in the medium run.