Professor Richard Owen
Chair Responsible Innovation, Director of Postgraduate Research

Profile

Richard’s research involves understanding concepts of responsibility in the context of innovation as a collective, uncertain and future-oriented activity.  He studies how innovation (and science) might be governed and stewarded towards societally desirable and acceptable ends, the challenges, tensions and opportunities this brings, and how responsibilities are perceived and distributed.  His research is  strongly interdisciplinary, with a continuous emphasis on practice – he has worked closely with the UK Research Councils and others in this regard, being funded by ESRC and EPSRC to develop a framework for responsible innovation based on dimensions of anticipation, reflection, deliberation and responsiveness. He is currently investigating  its further development and application in diverse areas of emerging science and innovation, from  geoengineering and nanotechnologies  to finance and synthetic biology . His research group is researching concepts that include the cultural framing of responsibility, the governance of financial innovation,  horizon scanning, innovation of sustainable business models and eco-innovation at the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ – how some of the World’s poorest people are innovating to rise to the challenges of resource scarcity and sustainability. He is increasingly fascinated by the ambiguous concept of responsibility itself, what this means to people, and how it shapes our lives and futures.

Richard is a strategic advisor to EPSRC and co-ordinates the RCUK Environmental Nanoscience Initiative (www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/nanoscience/

As Director of Postgraduate Research he looks after the 150 strong PhD community at the Business School.  He teaches responsible innovation on the One Planet MBA and MSc courses.  

Nationality:

British 

Qualifications

BSc, PhD

Links

• A Framework for Responsible Innovation (Book Chapter)
• Richard Owen Talks About Responsible Innovation (YouTube)

Contact details