Responsible research and innovation (RRI) in regional innovation strategies (RIS) – related practices in the Polish innovation ecosystem

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate and identify the RRI (Responsible Research and Innovation) related practices within the Polish innovation ecosystem. Design/methodology/approach: The article uses the analysis of regional strategic documents which are regional innovation strategies of provinces of Poland. Key words related to the assumptions of RRI were identified, and a congruence analysis of their meaning was conducted. This enabled the creation and presentation of quantitative summaries of the identified and verified concepts included in the strategy documents. Findings: The analysis conducted shows limited presence of the RRI concept in Polish regional innovation strategies. In detail, the frequency of the occurrence of individual concepts in the aggregate and regionally was shown. Those components of the RRI that generally did not occur in the analyzed documents were pointed out. In the methodological layer, the challenges relating to the conducted study and methods of overcoming them were presented. Research limitations/implications: For reasons of completeness, the authors decided to use in the analysis the strategic documents of Polish provinces relating to the period 2011-2020. Some Polish regions have not prepared documents for the period 2021-2030 (Podlaskie province) or strategic documents were developed immediately for the period 2011-2030 and have not yet been updated (Łódź, Pomeranian, Warmian-Masurian provinces). Practical implications: The results of the study indicate areas that should be completed when updating regional innovation strategies. Originality/value: The paper presents the results of the first analysis of the compatibility of planned activities in regional innovation strategies with the RRI. The article proposes and tests a methodology that can be used to analyze documents of subsequent periods, and is a basis for further improvements.