Introduction

The theme of Responsible Innovation. Ethical and societal exploration of science and technology (abbreviated to MVI) is one of NWO's thirteen themes. Those themes are multidisciplinary research programmes concentrating on current issues with both scientific and societal relevance.

The thematic programme MVI focuses on issues concerning technological developments for which it is reasonable to suspect that they will have a dramatic impact (whether positive or negative) on people and/or society. On the one hand, those developments concern new technologies (such as ICT, nanotechnology, biotechnology and neural sciences), and on the other, technological systems in transition (for example agriculture and healthcare). The thematic programme contributes to responsible innovation by increasing the scope and depth of research into societal and ethical aspects of science and technology. It focuses on proactive research into the ethical and societal aspects of technological development projects. The programme has an international orientation and context: it involves not only Dutch innovation projects, but also innovation projects in other countries or parts of the world. The research explicitly devotes attention to the global context and aspects, and in particular those that are relevant to developing countries. Interaction between research into humanities, technological and social sciences is one the programme's emphases. The valorisation of the research will receive a great deal of attention, both at the level of the programme and at the level of the individual projects.