Research funders
Content
Researchers: Robert Smith, Thoko Kamwendo, Deborah Scott and Jane Calvert
Research Funding Organisations have been central to defining the disciplinary make-up of synthetic biology, both in determining acceptable goals and in deciding how research outcomes should be rewarded. The decisions of these organisations and the building of research programmes are thus central to defining what practices eventually constitute synthetic biology. However, these organisations remain an understudied site and basic questions remain unanswered. For example, how are decisions about the scope of a research agenda achieved? How are differing ideas of valuable research negotiated between partners?
Our primary site in this case study is a multinational research funding programme, ERA CoBioTech, and its development of a new approach to Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). ERA CoBioTech aims to build an international community of researchers working on Synthetic Biology, Systems Biology and Industrial Biotechnology. Through a series of collaborations with funding agency staff, we are developing new governance methodologies and exploring questions about the roles and responsibilities of these frequently-overlooked organisations as they shape emerging scientific fields.