Responsible innovation in nanotechnology: response to grand societal challenges

Abstract

The biosphere of the Earth is confronted with enormous sustainability challenges. An essential method for addressing these challenges is through innovation. Grand Societal Challenges (GSCs) are intricate, multi-faceted issues that necessitate collaborative efforts from many stakeholders, including public, corporate, and non-profit sectors, for effective resolution. Responsible innovation (RI) is a framework that facilitates the governance and assessment of innovations regarding their possible detrimental effects and beneficial impacts on societal concerns. Insights from the natural sciences can facilitate the evaluation of technological innovation possibilities, operationalize their contributions to the resolution of GSCs, illustrate system interdependence, and quantify the effects of innovation on GSCs, including both the potential detriments and advantageous societal impacts of business innovation. There is limited research in nanotechnology on RI addressing Grand Societal Challenges. This study aims to thoroughly examine the existing literature on responsible innovation, nanotechnology, and Grand Societal Challenges, while proposing avenues for further research. The PRISMA framework is employed to systematically select articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases in this conceptual review. The search terms used were “Nanotechnology,” “Responsible Innovation,” and “Grand Societal Challenges”. The systematic selection process, in conjunction with the application of VOSviewer software for keyword co-occurrence analysis, not only identified prospective under-explored research areas but also highlighted valuable insights, thereby paving the way for future development in these critical fields. The study revealed eight innovative clusters with deep insights into the research. Future research efforts may focus on RI in nanotechnology in addressing GSCs. This is a pioneering study that integrates RI, nanotechnology, and GSCs.