Imaginaries and instruments: conceptual tools for problematizing responsible innovation

摘要: One objective of the Working Group on Built-in Renewable Energy and Architecture of the Observatory for Responsible Innovation is to clarify the conceptions of responsibility that underpin various approaches to the interface between renewable energy and architecture, through a series of encounters and debates with experts in energy policy in 2012. The Working Group itself counts on a variety of backgrounds among its members: architecture, decision-making, urban planning, innovation expertise, public administration and academic research. This work's point of departure is not a fixed definition of responsibility but rather the identification of issues that should be made available for political discussions, an objective crucial to democratic societies. This question is addressed through imaginaries and instruments, two useful concepts for framing the debate. This policy paper provides a repertoire for describing the modes of responsible innovation in architecture and renewable energy. It signals key political issues related to this topic, key entry points for identifying the challenges associated with a democratic discussion of what it means to innovate responsibly in architecture and renewable energy.