The responsible innovation approach emphasizes advancing research and commercialisation under conditions of trust and trustworthiness, as well as in alignment with societal rather than pure market needs. To achieve this, deliberation and engagement with civil society actors are key.

Deliberative processes can be used to co-design technology strategies and agendas with policy makers, science advisers, other experts and citizens. This requires an iterative exchange of views and reasoned discourse in hopes of finding common ground. It may require the creation of physical or virtual spaces and is thus may be more demanding than public engagement. 

A responsible innovation approach helps to embed ethical considerations and public values throughout the innovation process, for example during planning and design stages of technology development. The alignment of public support, societal values and economic incentives is key in these early innovation stages.

“Ethics-by-design” or “sustainability-by-design” approaches to governance are examples. These approaches can aid the assessment and integration of sustainability or ethical considerations of new technologies at different innovation stages. The “Safe(r)-by-Design” concept, encourages industry to reduce uncertainties and risks to human and environmental safety, covering the whole innovation value chain (or life cycle for product development).

Responsible technology development and effective governance must involve the private sector as a central actor early on, given that companies (and especially start-ups) are at the forefront of innovation in emerging technologies today. At the same time, companies have a key interest in demonstrating responsibility and integrity, since public trust can be undermined by the actions of a single bad corporate actor.  

Given unique social, ethical and legal aspects of different technology domains, governance approaches are not always easily translatable from the public to the private sector and vice versa. Still, there are emergent good company practices like developing guidelines and principles, advisory boards, responsible technology transfer and socially responsible investment. 

Strategic intelligence comprises the analysis and knowledge of the prospects and implications of an emerging technology. Rather than decision making, it identifies upstream desirable (and undesirable) future outcomes, potential risks, risk benefit trade-offs and dilemmas. It is important that these processes are inclusive and involve expertise from all stakeholders, including both traditional and non-traditional innovation communities.

Countries and the international community should enhance their capacity to develop strategic intelligence through forward-looking and inclusive technology assessments. These both depend on and support the expression of key values, which underpin the analysis of potential benefits and harms, and the responsible innovation trajectory of emerging technologies.

Adopted in 2019, the OECD Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology lays out a responsible innovation approach. It seeks to provide guidance at each step of the innovation process. It articulates the importance of (1) high-level values such as stewardship, trust, safety, and privacy in this technological context, (2) building the capacity of key institutions like foresight, oversight and advice bodies, and (3) processes of societal deliberation, inclusive innovation, and collaboration.

The OECD  Neurotechnology Policy Toolkit provides governments and other innovation actors with guidance and best practice examples on how to implement the Recommendation’s Principles:

• Promoting responsible innovation
• Prioritising safety assessment
• Promoting inclusivity 
• Fostering scientific collaboration 
• Enabling societal deliberation 
• Enabling capacity of oversight and advisory bodies 
• Safeguarding personal brain data and other information 
• Promoting cultures of stewardship and trust across the public and private sector
• Anticipating and monitoring potential unintended use and/or misuse.