Applying responsible innovation in social policies: the Brazilian experience in social assistance and education

• Grant number: 22/14920-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: March 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Public Policies
• Principal Investigator: Rogerio Schlegel
• Grantee: Camila Nastari Fernandes
• Supervisor: Pascale Lehoux
• Host Institution: Escola de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (EFLCH). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Guarulhos. Guarulhos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Université de Montréal, Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/05924-5 - Responsible innovation and resilience in social policies (IRR-PS): a combined analysis of health, education, and social assistance governance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, BP.PD

Abstract

Health, education, and social assistance policy sectors were paramount for mitigating the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Within the context of the need for social distancing, socio-technical innovations played a central role in the adoption of emergency measures (such as the provision of vaccines against the Sars-Cov-2 virus, the massive diffusion of technologies and methods for distance learning, and the development of an application for the enrollment in social benefit programs). This research project applies the concepts and tools of the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) approach to analyze Brazilian education and social assistance policies based on the empirical findings of the same issue in the health sector. The RRI has emerged in the last decade following innovation studies and policy formulation in science and technology. This approach identifies four process requirements to develop innovations in a responsible way: inclusion of diverse stakeholders; anticipation of risks, impacts, and unintended consequences; reflexivity about the norms and values underlying innovations; and responsiveness to unforeseen and undesirable changes. In Fieri's research program, based at the School of Public Health of the Université de Montréal (ESPUM/UdeM), is an international center recognized for its state-of-the-art developments regarding RRI in Health. Working with the team of researchers and under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Pascale Lehoux, the main purpose of a 6-month Research Internship Abroad at In Fieri is to adapt the RRI framework to social assistance and education policies. (AU)