The Role of Participation in the Responsible Innovation Framework for Biofuels Projects: Can It Be Assessed?

Abstract

The growth in biofuels’ investment brings with it concerns about the social and environmental impacts of the sector. Several tools and frameworks have been used to address these concerns, including the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework. This paper analyzes whether this framework can be applied in contexts where local culture and values shape differently the freedom of speech and engagement, such as in developing countries in which biofuel innovation projects are often implemented. A literature review focused on eight case studies of other authors was used to explore the role of “participation” as a structural element of the RRI framework and the impact of its absence where effective participation in the innovation development process is not possible. In conclusion, we highlight how this inspirational normative framework, designed to influence innovation, is misused to judge its impacts. More than that, the conclusions of such misused applications reflect more the difficulties involved in applying guidelines than the responsible character of the innovation, whose impacts are usually defined upfront materially and measurably.

Capability Approach and Inclusion: Developing a Context Sensitive Design for Biobased Value Chains

“…We have not focused on procedural justice here, because the conditions for participation and just procedures can be suboptimal in some contexts, for instance because of lack of trust in authorities or political inequality (Postal et al, 2020). Then, other factors such as institutional arrangements and design choices can be more important than participation for achieving inclusion (Robaey et al, 2022).…”

“…Secondly, not all participants will have the capability of participating in a constructive discussion about what their future should look like (Simpson & Basta, 2018). This may be due to institutional factors such as unreliable governance leading to low trust amongst individuals in that society (Postal et al, 2020), or cultural norms that prescribe that women shouldn't publicly voice their opinion (Oosterlaken et al, 2012), or mobility issues due to bad roads or lack of transport.…”

“…However, biomass producers are often located in the Global South where conditions for inclusion can be suboptimal, for instance because of weak institutions (Postal et al, 2020) 1 . Additionally, cultural values and practices between producers and other actors in agricultural (and biobased) value chains may vary widely (Ros-Tonen et al, 2019;German et al, 2020) as may access to resources (Devaux et al, 2018).…”

Special Issue on Assessing the Modern Bioenergy Potential and Strategies for Sustainable Development: Transformations through Nexus, Policy, and Innovations

“…Several tools and frameworks have been used to address these concerns, including the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework. Postal et al [18] analyze whether this framework can be applied in contexts where local culture and values differently shape the freedom of speech and engagement, such as in developing countries in which biofuel innovation projects are often implemented. A literature review focusing on eight case studies of other authors is used to explore the role of "participation" as a structural element of the RRI framework and the impact of its absence where effective participation in the innovation development process is not possible.…”

Inclusion in sugarcane ethanol expansion

“…However, the majority of respondents (194) believe that working conditions did not worsen due to the arrival of sugarcane to the region and offered several examples of benefits and improvements in labour practices. The most cited was the formalization of contracts (74) followed by better wages (26), training and qualifications of labour ( 21), safety conditions (18), health insurance (17), 8-hour workdays (10), timely payments (10) and proper transportation for workers (7). Other benefits were grouped together as they received less than 5 mentions (food stamps, overtime, basic goods package, profit sharing, discounts on medication, career plan, paid vacations and dental plan).…”