The winners of the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) Health Awards, organised by the ORION partner Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) has been announced. Three winning proposals from three different Spanish Health Research Institutes (IIS) have been awarded 10,000 euros each in this first edition of the RRI Health Awards, out of a total of 26 proposals received. The winning projects were Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute in Barcelona, the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba and the Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital Health Research Institute in Madrid, focus on citizen participation, science education and ethics, respectively. The call was open to Spanish Health Research Institutes that have developed significant institutional RRI activities during 2019.
The aim of the RRI Health Awards was to recognise, support, promote and disseminate the work of ISCIII funded Health Research Institutes to incorporate the principles of RRI in their activities and projects. The contest included six modalities of participation; ethics, governance, gender equality, open access, public commitment and health education, in line with the six objectives of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), a concept that seeks to encourage active participation and involvement of society in science and innovation from the earliest stages of research projects to ensure that future results are as aligned as possible with societal needs.The three awarded initiatives are:
- “Co-creación y participación ciudadana en el diseño del Estudio PENSA de Prevención de Deterioro Cognitivo en Personas con Quejas Subjetivas de Memoria” (Co-Creation and Citizen Participation Project in the Design of the PENSA Study of Prevention of Cognitive Impairment in People with Subjective Memory Complaints) by Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute in Barcelona.
- "Lo que realmente importa" (What really matters) by Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba.
- “Promoviendo la conducta responsable en investigación: desarrollo de las políticas de Integridad Científica” (Promoting Responsible Conduct in Research: development of Scientific Integrity policies) by Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital Health Research Institute in Madrid.
In this first edition, the awards have been aimed at recognizing the work of the IIS, biomedical research centers established in hospitals of the National Health System with which universities, other research organisations and companies are associated, and whose objective is to generate and develop translational and multidisciplinary knowledge to respond to the health needs of citizens. There are 31 ICI-accredited IISs in Spain, bringing together more than 162 institutions with more than 24,000 researchers.
The focus of the winning projects
The project "Co-creation and citizen participation in the design of the PENSA Study of Prevention of Cognitive Impairment in People with Subjective Memory Complaints" by the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute in Barcelona stands out for its application of citizen participation in the design of a clinical trial, an added value that allows the reorientation of the project facilitating that it is better adapted to the needs and expectations of the participants.
The initiative "What really matters" by the Maimonides Biomedical Research Institute of Cordoba is an innovative approach in the area of science education. It focus on the inclusion of the different stakeholder involved, mainly focusing on generating interest in science among the youth population, a key group to promote scientific culture.
The third winning project "Promoting Responsible Conduct in Research: Development of Scientific Integrity Policies" by the Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital Health Research Institute in Madrid stands out for its contribution in the area of ethics and integrity in the development of science, by proactively offering an effective implementation of the regulatory frameworks necessary for its application from the most institutional level.
"All of the projects proposals, and especially the three winners, imply diverse, though complementary, visions, approaches and starting points on how to implement the principles of RRI in the Institutions and at different levels. Each one of the chosen winning project proposals represent unique examples that contemplate alternative perspectives with practical utility and transformative capacity, with relevance to sustainability in its application, possibility of replication and development in a broad and long-term time horizon”, says the jury of the ORION RRI Health Awards
The RRI Health Awards initiative has been organised within the framework of the ORION Open Science project by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) which is the leading Public Research Institution which funds, administers, and performs biomedical research in Spain.
For more information about the RRI Health Wards please see the ISCIII website and get in touch with Iris de San Pedro Botas at ISCIII.