The EFARRI call was launched on September 14th 2015 in the framework of support for and understanding of the incorporation of Responsible Research and Innovation in Europe. To be eligible applicants had to adhere to the following criteria:

• The scientific research project or research programme addresses a responsible research practice and is conducted by a university, research centre, industry, civil society organization or other type of organization.
• The research coordinator must be located in the European Research Area.
• The research must be on-going or have been finalised not earlier than 2013.
• The coordinator of the research and his/her team must agree to participate in a case study analysis if shortlisted by the jury.
• The research team endorses the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity.

In total 211 projects were submitted before December 8th 2015.

Between December 2015 and March 2016 four pre-selection rounds took place to reduce the amount of applications from 214 to 15. After the eligibility check the projects were assessed on their contribution to a Responsible Innovation philosophy:

• whether the research team is able to articulate how the project contributes to a societal challenge;
• the level of inclusion the team has adopted with respect to stakeholder orientation;
• the extent to which the team has given follow-up on new insights it has gained throughout the research project.

Subsequently the selected projects were analysed in-depth regarding:

1. The scientific quality and results obtained to date by the researcher or research team.
2. Successful integration of the RRI process requirements at various stages of the research process:
   • Diversity & inclusion: the research team involves a wide range of stakeholders (researchers, citizens, policy makers, industry, educators, etc.) throughout the research process, pertinence of involvement and clear articulation of the balance regarding under and over inclusion.
   • Anticipation & reflection: the research team incorporates a systematic learning approach to conduct adequate analysis of the present research avenue and possible alternatives with respect to the research context (societal role, diverging problem definitions…), addressing ethical, legal, social and/or environmental aspects, envisioning plausible futures and facilitating deliberation on values, perceptions, needs and interests.
   • Responsiveness & adaptive change: the research team has instigated a systematic learning system to include and translate new information, circumstances and insights into the research in order to respond to changing values of stakeholders and the general public.
   • Openness & transparency: the research team can express it has taken clear measures aiming at proper, honest and clear communication of information (given the rules of confidentiality and non-disclosure) about processes, roles, content and results and give transparent public information in order to facilitate fast innovation, constructive collaboration among peers and productive dialogue with civil society.
3. Replicability of the methodology.

On March 4th the independent jury selected the fifteen most inspiring and promising research and innovation practices.

The fifteen finalists are visited and thoroughly analysed by the scientific coordination team from Delft University. An interview protocol was developed that included interview topics covering the indicators of RRI. The interview focused on the complexity of the social issues related to the grand challenge and how the researchers dealt with potential conflicts between stakeholders and their values arising from this complexity. Second, the interview was aimed at identifying concrete evidence of RRI practices in the research projects. Based on the information in the application form and the additional (online) investigation on each project, the interview questions were adapted to ensure that white spots in the data were filled. The results of these interviews and analyses are to be consulted in 15 case study reports that are collated and published in “Rewarding RRI. A case study collection from the European Foundations Award for Responsible Research & Innovation”.

Based on the reports of the case studies and additional information including CVs of the research team members, publication list, dissemination list of the research activities and some fragments from Internet pages, the members of the jury deliberated together on the selection of the three projects that incorporate the aspects of RRI best.

On November 21st the winners of the EFARRI award are announced and receive €20.000 each. The ‘vote of the RRI community’ will also be handed out to the project that generates the most support from the participants of the RRI Tools final event.