TetRRIS is a Horizon 2020 EU funded project that started its 3 year program on July 1st, 2020. The project aims to bring responsible research and innovation in alignment with the smart specialization paradigm and governance within 4 experiment pilot regions from the European Union, namely: Tampere, Finland; Karlsruhe, Germany; Cantabria, Spain; and Szeged-Timisoara region, a cross-border region between Hungary and Romania. The objective is to systematically integrate RRI practices into the territorial research and innovation system and development approach within each region and help push forward value-driven transformation. Working across diverse European regions allows to share learning outcomes, best practices, policy recommendations, promote mutual learning through exchanges and interaction throughout the duration of the project. It also enables the possibility to give visibility and compare different politico-economic contexts and their effects on the implementation of RRI. The outlier region, Szeged-Timisoara, has offered a unique opportunity to influence and make tangible impact in the region, as RRI is a relatively new concept there. Overall, the project aims to implement open, transparent, and democratic territorial R&I actions, trigger a measurable transformative and opening effect on the organisations involved, and promote a systemic change that is sustainable beyond the lifetime of funding.

To achieve these objectives, TetRRIS follows 4 phases over the course of the projects duration:

1) Identifying and scoping RRI within the pilot regions;

2) Framing and orchestrating the issues at stake while ensuring engagement and participation from stakeholders in the projects research activities.

3) Co-design, deployment and continuation of activities focusing on integrating RRI within the pilot regions.

4) Policy messages and insights, extracting the learnings of the project to enable replication and continuation.

While actively involved throughout the duration of the project as a scientific partner and case leader (for the Szeged-Timisoara Region), YAGHMA particularly provided experience in reporting on RRI and non-financial values and risks. In the third phase of the project, YAGHMA took the lead on road-mapping and developing action plans for the continued operation of the different pilot projects, and contributed to increase the number of participants and stakeholders involved in the pilot region(s) activities. For all pilots, these activities ranged from mutual learning workshops, focus groups, as well as interviews and consultations with experts from the region. YAGHMA maintains frequent contact with all pilot regions to reflect and propose possible methods and approaches to address challenges that arise during pilot activities. In short, YAGHMA contributes to monitoring the risks and key opportunities to inform pilot and overall projects’ strategies moving forward.