ELSA Norway network II

The ELSA Norway project has coordinated the network of ELSA/RRI researchers in Norway since 2012. The aims of the network are to enhance cooperation between ELSA/RRI researchers by creating a forum for information and discussion, to map Norwegian ELSA/RRI expertise, activities and outcomes in order to facilitate cooperation between ELSA/RRI researchers and other expertise and partnerships. The name ELSA Norway has been kept, despite the RRI designation that has become more dominant for the field nationally and internationally. ELSA Norway is preferred because it is established and unifying. It has been an important aim for ELSA Norway to embrace a wide field of competence. One feedback from our international speakers at the ELSA Norway conference was that ELSA Norway stands in an international perspective in a unique position, as the network has been successful in bringing together researchers from a wide range of disciplines and research networks. The network serves both external and internal purposes: Externally there is a need for a coordinated information channel. Internally there is a need for venues that can assist researchers and institutions in identifying, building and maintaining ELSA competence in Norway. ELSA Norway focus on two activities 1. The ELSA Norway biennial conference. First conference were held in Oslo 2012, the second in 2014 onboard at Hurtigruten (Trondheim-Bergen). This conference were held in Norwegian. ELSA Norway organized the third national conference onboard Hurtigruten in April 2016 (Trondheim-Tromsø). The conferences have focused on the Norwegian research community and their projects, and gathered 38 (2014) and 44 (2016) researchers, both senior and junior researchers, and three invited international keynote speakers: Erik Fisher, Gaymon Bennett and Tsjalling Swierstra. The conferences have confirmed the value of venues across the diverse backgrounds of ELSA Norway members for discussion of individual projects, as well as continuing education and discussion about international trends. There is a need for a biannual national conference to discuss the ramifications of these changes in a Norwegian context. The ELSA Norway conferences have proven to offer unique opportunities to connect researchers that, in spite of differences, share interests in research that identify, analyze and respond to ethical, legal and societal concerns of emerging science and technology. Researchers value the opportunity to discuss with researchers they otherwise would not meet, although funded under the same headline of ELSA or RRI. Detailed information on the ELSA-Norway conferences are available on our webpage: https://www.ntnu.no/blogger/elsa/conferences/2016conference/ In addition to the conference at Hurtigruta, the steering group decided to support the Bergen group of the network with 90 000 NOK arranging the 2016 S-Net conference in Norway, Bergen. ELSA Norway konferansen 2018 «How do we proceed?» took place 2-4 November 2018 onboard on Hurtigruten from Tromsø til Trondheim with 40 participants. ELSA Norway konferansen 2018 «How do we proceed?» took place 2-4 November 2018 onboard on Hurtigruten from Tromsø til Trondheim with 40 participants and two international speakers Hub Zwart and Tsjalling Swierstra https://www.ntnu.no/blogger/elsa/conferences/elsa-conference-2018/. 2. The ELSA Norway website provides a) an information and communication tool for the research community nationally and internationally, and b) an expertise directory for persons and groups seeking partnership with ELSA researchers. The network's website was established in 2013, revised and renewed in 2016, and is found here: https://www.ntnu.no/blogger/elsa/. The page aim to provide a wide and as complete picture of Norwegian ELSA / RRI activity as possible in addition to updated competence catalog with descriptions of Norwegian ELSA / RRI scientists and their research projects. We are an open network and are active in inviting persons. The flow of news on the website is continuously broadcast on the network page on Facebook. The work of updating the hompage is compensated on an hourly basis and NTNU receives regular input from representatives in Tromsø, Bergen and Oslo. ELSA Norway homage has been continuously updated. The homepage provide a valuable overview over Norwegian ELSA/RRI research, profile and priorities. No activity in 2019 ELSA Norway have not supported or taken any initiative to discuss how to continue the network after the project period. The RCN put out a large call for a virtual centre for RRI and CSR, and ELSA Norway did not want to play a role in the application process. The remaining founds in ELSA Norway are returned to RCN.

ELSA Norway has established a network of ELSA/RRI researchers in Norway by means of biannual ELSA Norway conferences and the ELSA Norway website (www.ntnu.edu/elsa). The researchers in the network share an interest in identifying, analysing and responding to ethical, legal and societal concerns of emerging science and technology. ELSA Norway has enhanced cooperation, provided a forum for information and discussion, and promoted Norwegian expertise, activities and outcomes. ELSA Norway has offered a distinctive Norwegian network-approach, counteracting the sharp separation of the communities internationally (like cultural studies, STS, applied ethics, and technology assessment). A diversity of fields is vital to deal with full range of normative challenges in shifting science-society relationships. This attempt to create a community of communities has aimed to supplement rather than replace the methodological discussions of the separate communities.

This project coordinates the network of ELSA/RRI researchers in Norway called ELSA Norway. The aim of the network is to enhance cooperation between ELSA/RRI researchers, serve as a forum for information and discussion within the field and expose Norwegian ELSA/RRI expertise, activities and outcomes. The project has two main activities: 1) Running the ELSA Norway website (http://www.ntnu.edu/elsa) and 2) Arrange biannual national conferences. ELSA Norway is governed by a national committee and coordinated from the Program for applied ethics at NTNU. The committee consists of representatives from the four main universities and associated institutions appointed locally through local institutions like GenØk, SVT and SME. The task of the national committee is to a) represent local communities and ensure information flow b) supervise national conferences and c) continually evaluate the role of the ELSA Norway network. We apply for 300k NOK in total. These funds will be supplemented by the surplus of 410k from the ELSA Norway 2013-2014 project. The funds cover maintenance of a web page (200k), two network conferences (350k), an evaluation seminar (90k) and travel/administrative expenses (70k). In addition will the Program for applied ethics contribute with the necessary man-hours for coordination of the network (280k).