Call for Abstracts
Submission Deadline: 16 February 2026
Track descriptions: download here
Questioning the contributions of Science and Innovation to Society
Rapid technological change and the spread of radical innovations have heightened the interest in the effects on society of these changes. This departs from the dominant view in the 20th century which considered the results of scientific research and innovation to be, essentially, positive. Research and innovation could produce undesired effects, but such could be identified, bounded, and addressed with specific policy interventions. In the main, however, scientific research and technological innovation were seen as positive forces for society. This view still permeates how policy goals are often framed: higher R&D investments are considered desirable, and academics and politicians will often decry low levels of R&D investment. Increasing R&D investment remains a core guiding principle for many science and technology strategies.
Yet, some of the effects of the model of economic growth that has developed thanks to the diffusion of science-based new technologies have proved to be problematic. Depletion of natural resources, global warming, pollution, social inequalities, and loss of biodiversity are but some of the deleterious effects that, at some point or another, have been traced to the massive deployment of new technologies and the new social habits that have accompanied them. Further, new technologies like Artificial Intelligence have raised existential fears rooted in the possibility that they may take over human decisions and thus autonomously shape future societies.
Concern about such developments is progressively penetrating the formulation and implementation of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies. A set of interrelated policy strategies and objectives, broadly designated as the “normative turn” in STI policy, are triggering profound changes in science and innovation policies and practices. This Conference will aim to reflect on these changes, describe their nature, analyse their implications, and discuss examples of changing approaches to research and innovation and their outcomes and impacts.
Please submit your extended abstract (1,000–2,500 words) no later than 16 February 2026. Kindly note that this deadline is final and will not be extended. Please be advised that although you can submit more than one abstract, during the conference, authors can only present one paper each.
If you require assistance with the submission of your abstract, please do not hesitate to contact us at euspri2026@conftool.com
Below, we provide the range of themes and tracks that will structure the conference. Please note that once the call is open, authors can submit their work to one of the 22 tracks or to the “open track” if they feel their abstract does not fit any of them. Abstracts can be submitted through the ConfTool Platform (See link). A detailed description of every track can be found directly in the platform.
Governance and Public Policy
Standardisation and regulation as societal governance mechanisms for science and innovation
Keywords: standards, desirable directions, STI, technological products and processes
Proponents: Jyri Paasonen, Knut Blind, Kai Jakobs, Geerten van de Kaa, Jussi Heikkilä
Science-policy research collaborations for the public good
Keywords: science-policy research collaborations, societal challenges, public goods, stakeholder engagement, policy impacts
Proponents: Philippe Larrue, Ian Hughes, Kai Husso, Sylvia Schwaag Serger, Susanne Meyer, Nannan Lundin
Democratising the public management of Green Urban Transitions: new roles and capabilities for public sector innovation
Keywords: urban innovation, public administration, Green Transition, democratic governance, transformative capacities
Proponents: Stephanie Daimer, Marta Strumińska-Kutra, Matthias Weber, Marcus Jandt, Antonio Moya Latorre, Alejandra Boni
How can funding instruments support S&I policies? The rationales, design and effects of different funding instruments on science and innovation
Keywords: research funding, research targeting, funding instruments, funding design, funding effects
Proponents: Josie Coburn, Carter Bloch, Emer Brady, Ismael Rafols, Ohid Yaqub
Implementing missions: frameworks, governance, and learnings
Keywords: missions, governance, policy, place-based, regional
Proponents: Barbara Hedeler, Simon Baumgartinger-Seiringer, Lasse Bundgaard, Carolina Resende Haddad, Douglas Robinson, Matthias Weber
How well do we understand the tools we are offering science policy? Approaches and methodologies for ensuring robustness before policy application
Keywords: bibliometric indicators, theoretical grounding, validation, policy application
Proponents: Jochen Gläser, Tommaso Ciarli, Ismael Rafols
Private and public research organisations in transforming innovation systems: rethinking governance, capabilities and shared value creation for change
Keywords: research organisation, R&I governance, innovation ecosystem, innovation system, transformative capabilities
Proponents: Vitaliy Soloviy, Marcus Jandt, Petra Wagner, Matthias Weber, Michael Dinges, Ralf Lindner, Henning Kroll, Mateusz Ziembla
Policies for transformation
Public demand for innovation: moving forward the transformative potential of public procurement
Keywords: public procurement of innovation, public demand, market formation, scale-up and diffusion of innovation, public-private interactions
Proponents: Pelle Berkhout, Ruben Nicholas, Elvira Uyarra, Xin Deng, Bastian Krieger, Anne Rainville
The role and governance of science and technology organizations in innovation policies: addressing grand challenges
Keywords: transformative innovation policy, missions, STI organisations
Proponents: Arthur Moreira, Özgür Özer
Transformative evaluation in the making: emerging approaches to monitoring, evaluation, and policy learning for transformative innovation policies
Keywords: formative evaluation, societal transformations, iterative process, societal impact
Proponents: Renée van Dis, Michal Miedzinski, Erik Arnold, Rowan Conway, Gemma Derrick, Carolina Haddad, Matthijs Janssen, Stefan de Jong, Mireille Matt, Will McDowall, Karol Olejniczak, Emily Wise, Harald Rohracher
Market (trans)formation for environmental innovations
Keywords: market formation, market transformation, lead market, demand-side policy, innovation policy
Proponents: Matti Pihlajamaa, Tuukka Mäkitie, Helmi Hämäläinen, Ville Valovirta, Pauli Komonen
From policy complexity to ungovernability? Exploring limits of innovation policy for transformative change
Keywords: mission-oriented innovation policy, transformative innovation policy, governance, politics, directionality
Proponents: Iris Wanzenböck, Taran Thune, Håkon Normann, Joeri Wesseling, Elvira Uyarra, Bonno Pel
Alternative perspectives on STI
Social innovation in turbulent times
Keywords: social innovation, STI, social change, stakeholders, exnovation
Proponents: Karina Maldonado-Mariscal, Jürgen Howaldt, Rick Hölsgens, Bonno Pel, Elisabeth Unterfrauner, Doris Schartinger, Matthias Weber, Marthe Zirngiebl, Katrin Ostertag, Jakob Edler
Dialogues on the directionality of innovation: alternative innovation paradigms from the Global South
Keywords: alternative paradigms of innovation, global south, directionality of innovation, Buen Vivir, Social Technology
Proponents: Álvaro Fernández-Baldor, Karina Maldonado-Mariscal, Tiago Brandão, Carolina Bagattolli
Practice theories and the world of science, technology and innovation
Keywords: STI policies, practice theories, grand challenges
Proponents: Cédric Gossart, Laura Porta, Maria Rabadjieva, Stefan Philipp
Deep patterns, new directions: exploring multi-system pathways for change
Keywords: Deep Transitions, industrial modernity, polycrisis, multi-system, historical approach
Proponents: Diana Velasco, Johan Schot, Phil Johnstone, Lis Suarez
Open, collaborative and participatory science: rethinking knowledge legitimacy, policy and science futures
Keywords: openness, common based peer production, digital platforms, Open Science, Citizens Science
Proponents: Mayo Fuster Morell, Álvaro Fernández-Baldor, André Sica de Campos, Janaina Pamplona da Costa, Alejandro Fernández del Río
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) in science: critical perspectives from responsible innovation
Keywords: artificial intelligence, scientific practice, knowledge work, responsible innovation, governance
Proponents: Barbara Esteves-Ribeiro, David Barberá-Tomás, Priscila Ferri, Philip Shapira
Integrating artificial intelligence in science and innovation policy: opportunities and risks
Keywords: artificial intelligence, science technology policy, AI opportunities, AI challenges
Proponents: Arash Hajikhani, Arho Suominen, Catherine Beaudry, Davide Pulizzotto, Carlos Montalvo, Jasper van Kempen, Benedetto Lepori, Daniele Rotolo, David Howoldt, Daniela Valenzuela, Sebastian Schmidt, Johannes Dahlke, Bernd Beckert, Jue Wang, Christopher Palmberg, Diana Hicks
Public value mapping for artificial intelligence
Keywords: artificial intelligence, public value, research and innovation trajectories, science of science
Proponents: Jack Stilgoe, Tommaso Ciarli, Cian O’Donovan, Ismael Rafols, Noortje Marres
Sectoral issues: health and security
Increasing interconnections between security and transforming innovation policy
Keywords: transformative innovation policy, mission-oriented innovation policy, security, defence, geopolitics
Proponents: Paula Kivimaa, Matthijs Janssen, Marja Sivonen, Wouter Boon, Carolina Resende Haddad, Yoran Beldengrün, Matthias Weber
Responsible Research and Innovation in Health: emerging challenges for governance and practice
Keywords: responsible research and innovation in health, health research governance, biomedical research policy
Proponents: David Barbera-Tomás, Oscar Llopis, Adrián A. Diaz-Faes, Joaquín Azagra-Caro, Pablo D’Este, Katharina Hast, Julius Wiegand
Open Track
The Open Track welcomes high-quality submissions that do not clearly align with the conference’s designated tracks.
