Implementing RRI in the HBP: an updated anthology
The Human Brain Project’s (HBP) commitment to ethics and societal values is a distinctive and sustainable approach to brain research, allowing for a broader, more inclusive perspective. To share their work in a sustainable and accessible way, the Ethics & Society team published a series of essays that reflect on their efforts. These contributions aimed…
An overview of the ethical issues across the Human Brain Project
We prepared an overview of the ethical issues across the Human Brain Project, compiled in the context of the Ethics Rapporteur Programme and in our Ethics Trilateral Meetings. In the overview, we summarise some of the ethical issues and challenges identified by Ethics Rapporteurs across the Human Brain Project during the last phase of the…
Inconsistencies in the treatment of disorders of consciousness: 200+ professionals surveyed
Research on patients who have impaired consciousness, especially those who acquired severe brain injury or who have suffered from prolonged disorders of consciousness, has exploded in the last decade, not least within the Human Brain Project. With two international guidelines (one from Europe and one from the United States) available to facilitate care for these…
A neuroscience perspective on ethics dumping & animal data governance
Animal welfare regulation varies across the globe. While non-human primates (NHPs) are crucial in neuroscience research, their use is increasingly restricted in many countries. A recent paper in Frontiers in Neuroinformatics explores how to put an end to “ethics dumping” – where researchers move experiments to locations to circumvent animal welfare regulation – and argues…
EHDS: Meeting the Challenges of Responsible Data Governance
Data is a cornerstone for innovation and better health care. Responsible data governance is key to the public’s trust in science and the sustainability of research. The European Health Data Space (EHDS) is the European Commission’s response to the pressing need for a trustworthy health data infrastructure that reaches across member states. Needless to say,…
Developing capability for responsible research and innovation across the Human Brain Project
How can we build and promote scientists’ capability to respond and act in a responsible way? A recent paper from the Human Brain Project looks at how responsible research and innovation practices can be promoted and developed through capacity-building activities and what can be learned from our work over the past decade. The Human Brain…
Recommendations from European Citizens to EBRAINS
To ensure the success of EBRAINS, the research infrastructure that became the product of the Human Brain Project, it is important that the public trusts researcher with their data. In order to do so, it is necessary to engage the public in a conversation about their vision and fears about sharing their data with a…
The environMENTAL Consensus Conference: An Open Invitation
Are you interested in the link between the environment and mental health? Would you like to engage with researchers from a large EU-funded research project to reflect on how research in this area can be done? Are you interested in collaborating and networking with others with similar interests? Would you like to spend a weekend…
Implementing responsible research and innovation in the Human Brain Project
Attention to ethical and societal issues have been an important and integral part of the Human Brain Project. From the very beginning in 2013 until today. Over the years, researchers from the social sciences and the humanities have developed governance structures and mechanisms to integrate responsible research and innovation (RRI) practices across the project. But…
Time to rethink the AI ethics narrative
Artificial intelligence is challenging frameworks for both ethics and human rights and becoming a hot topic for both societal and scientific debate. AI is also placed at the top of the agenda for research and innovation policy makers. A recent publication in Technological Forecasting and Social Change presents the results from a Delphi study, inviting…