Scotland Beyond Net Zero’s step-by-step toolkit follows the structure of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) responsible innovation ‘AREA’1 Framework and adapts it to focus on sustainability. Implementing AREA involves integrated approaches and collaboration between different expertise in fields such as Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), social sciences, arts and humanities, ethics or community engagement practitioners.
Describe and analyse the sustainability impacts, intended or otherwise, that might arise from your research outputs and outcomes. Support the exploration of possible impacts (such as economic, social and environmental) and implications that may otherwise remain uncovered and little discussed.
Reflect on the purposes of, motivations for and potential implications of the research, together with the associated uncertainties, areas of ignorance, assumptions, framings, questions, dilemmas and social transformations these may bring.
Open up such visions, impacts and questioning to broader deliberation, dialogue, engagement and debate in an inclusive way.
Use these processes to influence the direction and trajectory of the research and innovation process itself.