Responsible Research and Innovation in Practice: Development of Sustainable Productive Catalytic Living Materials

Description

Transitioning to bio-based chemical production demands not only technological innovation but also systemic inclusion of responsibility towards society and the environment. Catalytic living materials, developed in the M-ERA.NET LivMat project, are a promising platform cultivating AI-guided microbial consortia within 3D porous structures for CO₂ sequestration and sustainable synthesis of bio-monomers like ε-caprolactone or adipic acid. While this technology has the power to create notable change, we must consider both positive and negative potential consequences and establish integrative practices to address society's concerns, needs, and long-term sustainability goals within research.
We present an approach to guided implementation of the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) principles adapted for a biotechnology research project. Building on the Societal Readiness Thinking Tool [1], the approach combines internal reflection through a sequence of thematic questionnaires with external dialogue facilitated by a dedicated stakeholder RRI board, including industry, consumer, and policy representatives. This dual process is developed to facilitate systematic reflection and proactive action across four key RRI dimensions - ethics, gender, open science, and public engagement.
This approach is expected to provide the project team valuable insights directly influencing their research practices. These insights may include the adoption of new protocols for transparent data management, ethics, and the early recognition of socio-economic impacts of gender-related gaps, environmental significance, and public perception.
By integrating RRI systematically rather than ad hoc, this approach offers a transferable model for responsible innovation in multidisciplinary biotechnology projects. It provides researchers with a practical toolset to anticipate societal impacts, align technology pathways with sustainability goals, and increase public trust in emerging biotechnologies.

Period	1 Oct 2025 → 3 Oct 2025
Event title	6th Congress of Baltic Microbiologists
Event type	Congress
Conference number	6
Location	Riga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International