Ana Godonoga
MY BACKGROUND:
I work as a Research and Teaching Associate at the Institute for Higher Education Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria. My core responsibilities include independent research, teaching and student support activities. I am also pursuing a PhD, which focuses on university social responsibility. Before starting my PhD, I worked for the OECD and the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning in France, where I contributed to the development and implementation of international research projects on higher education governance and performance management. I hold a joint Master’s degree in Research and Innovation in Higher Education from Danube University Krems, Austria and Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Germany; and a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from the College of Wooster, United States. My research interests relate to university social responsibility, societal impact of research, and quality and performance management in universities.
WHY AM I INTERESTED IN RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION:
Responsible research and innovation aligns very well with my research interests and the topic of my PhD thesis, which focuses on social responsibility and societal impact in the context of universities. Research is a key driver of economic growth and social development. Research has high potential to address societal challenges, but this requires new modes of knowledge production that are more open, inclusive, relevant and participatory. Responsible research and innovation is a model of knowledge development and dissemination concerned not only with delivering high-quality research, but also useful, relevant and impactful research that carries benefits for the scientific community, policy makers, and society at large. I believe that a mission for research and innovation that focuses on openness, stakeholder participation, shared and inclusive governance, and wider societal impact is a step towards more inclusive, useful and relevant knowledge systems.
WHAT DO I HOPE TO LEARN / CONTRIBUTE AS COUNTRY CORRESPONDENT:
Being part of the SUPER MoRRI project, I hope to contribute to expanding the knowledge base on the benefits and impacts of responsible research and innovation. Namely, by undertaking research to facilitate the development of indicators and collection of data, I hope to support the mainstreaming of responsible research and innovation across national policies, knowledge institutions and research funding organisations in Europe and beyond. I hope to understand better how policies can lead to better practices for responsible research and innovation, and how such practices can be better monitored, assessed and sustained so they can generate a positive impact over the long term. Finally, I look forward to being part of the SUPER MoRRI network and learn from other colleagues about the current state of knowledge on responsible research and innovation in other countries.