BackgroundPromoting Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a major strategy of the “Science with and for Society” work program of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. RRI aims to achieve a better alignment of research and innovation with the values, needs, and expectations of society. The RRI strategy includes the “keys” of public engagement, open access, gender, ethics, and science education. The Structural Transformation to Attain Responsible BIOSciences (STARBIOS2) project promotes RRI in 6 European research institutions and universities from Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, in partnership with a further 6 institutions from Brazil, Denmark, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States.ObjectiveThe project aims to attain RRI structural change in 6 European institutions by implementing action plans (APs) and developing APs for 3 non-European institutions active in the field of biosciences; use the implementation of APs as a learning process with a view to developing a set of guidelines on the implementation of RRI; and develop a sustainable model for RRI in biosciences.MethodsThe project comprises interrelated research and implementation designed to achieve the aforementioned specific objectives. The project is organized into 6 core work packages and 5 supporting work packages. The core work packages deal with the implementation of institutional APs in 6 European institutions based on the structural change activation model. The supporting work packages include technical assistance, learning process on RRI-oriented structural change, monitoring and assessment, communication and dissemination, and project management.ResultsThe project is funded by Horizon 2020 and will run for 4 years (May 2016-April 2020). As of June 2018, the initial phase has been completed. The participating institutions have developed and approved APs and commenced their implementation. An observation tool has been launched by the Technical Assistance Team to collect information from the implementation of APs; the Evaluation & Assessment team has started monitoring the advancement of the project. As part of the communication and dissemination strategy, a project website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account have been launched and are updated periodically. The International Scientific Advisory Committee has been formed to advise on the reporting and dissemination of the project’s results.ConclusionsIn the short term, we anticipate that the project will have a considerable impact on the organizational processes and structures, improving the RRI uptake in the participating institutions. In the medium term, we expect to make RRI-oriented organizational change scalable across Europe by developing guidelines on RRI implementation and an RRI model in biosciences. In the long term, we expect that the project would help increase the ability of research institutions to make discoveries and innovations in better alignment with societal needs and values.Internat...

The term „Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)” has been increasingly used for over a decade. The RRI concept is not currently well defined. The theory of RRI is not developed enough and there are still conceptual divergences. This paper introduces the issue of Responsible Research and Innovation and addresses the following key questions: How do we define RRI? Where do we stand in terms of understanding the RRI dimensions presented in literature? What is the role of RRI in the university technology transfer activity? The study is based on literature search on the Scopus (www.scopus.com), EBSCO (www.ebsco.com), Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) and Google Books (books.google.com) databases to obtain articles published in peer reviewed journals, related to the concept of RRI and technology transfer. The search terms (for title and topic) were: responsible innovation, responsible research and innovation, RRI, technology transfer. Critical analysis of the state of knowledge allowed to propose a set of seven conceptual dimensions (inclusion, anticipation, responsiveness, reflexivity, sustainability, care and economic) of the Responsible Research and Innovation concept that may be implemented in technology transfer processes executed at universities. RRI concept is still under development. A discussion around the conceptual dimensions of RRI will be followed by the strategic challenges of universities. The study resulted in two conclusions. Firstly, the RRI concept may shift the focus of TTOs (Technology Transfer Offices) from outcomes (revenues, cash flow, rate of return, patents, license fee, etc.) to processes, which further leads to the second conclusion, that all seven presented conceptual dimensions should indicate particular types of processes in university TTO. Fulfillment of these two conclusions makes possible to implement RRI on University in a wider perspective, than just fulfill the requirements of administrative funders.

Purpose-Identification of efficiency and effectiveness of usage of the EU structural funds in Poland directed to financing of SME sector enterprises in the years 2014-2020. Methodology-Review and assessment of Polish and international documentary and research papers concerning the financing of SME sector enterprises with EU structural funds. Findings-The most substantial support for small and medium-sized enterprises has been planned as part of the Smart Growth or the Eastern Poland Operational Programmes and the Regional Operational Programmes. The total funding allocated to small and medium-sized enterprises within two thematic objectives stands at over EUR 15.7 billion. The European Union's Cohesion Policy towards supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in the years 2014-2020 will provide them with easier access to EU funds thanks to new flexible rules. These include the submission of reports on the use of EU funds via the Internet, limiting to the degree of control over small enterprises, easier criteria for qualifying projects or a greater number of financial instruments and greater access to them. Research implications-Results of the paper may be used in further researches regarding the use of European structural funds in Poland as far as SME financing is concerned. Practical implications-Results of the paper may influence the government organisations and raise the effectiveness of the distribution of structural funds among proper enterprises, which will improve the general efficiency in spending European Union's Structural Funds. Social implications-Results of the paper may foster the improvement of awareness of proper allocation of European Union's Structural Funds in Polish SME sector enterprises. Originality/Value-The paper supplements knowledge regarding the financing of SME sector enterprises by European Union's Structural Funds in Poland in the years 2014-2020. Type of article-A theoretical paper.

Rynki finansowe, zawierające w sobie sektor bankowy oraz ubezpieczeniowy, ulegają ciągłym przeobrażeniom ze względu na dynamiczne zmiany gospodarki globalnej. Podmioty funkcjonujące w warunkach silnej konkurencji powinny charakteryzować się umiejętnością szybkiej reakcji na wszelkiego rodzaju zmiany oraz dostosowywania się do rosnących potrzeb konsumentów. Utrzymanie silnej pozycji na rynku wymaga pionierskiej postawy, nowoczesnych rozwiązań i skutecznych strategii. Nieustanne zmiany warunków ekonomicznych są bodźcem dla instytucji finansowych do ekspansji, poszerzania działalności i rezygnacji z tradycyjnych schematów działań. Banki komercyjne otwierają się na zmiany, wkraczając na nowe pola aktywności finansowej.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie rozwoju koncepcji bancassurance w Polsce na zintegrowanym rynku usług finansowych. Z badań rynku bancassurance wynika, że klienci stają się bardziej wymagający i dokonują rewizji swoich oczekiwań i preferencji odnośnie do kanałów zakupu usług finansowych oraz roli banku i towa-Pobrane z czasopisma Annales H -Oeconomia http://oeconomia.annales.umcs.pl

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