Guidance for future application of the precautionary principle
As a last step of the project, the RECIPES team has developed a Guidance for application of the precautionary principle in the EU. The guidance advises on how to deal responsibly with uncertain risks in the development and implementation of technology in the EU. Target groups of this guidance are primarily EU policy makers, EU agencies, and EU policy support organisations and bodies that are concerned with risk regulation or the governance of science, technology and innovation.
The main documents are:
- Guidance for application of the precautionary principle in the EU
- The 3rd policy brief
- The sector-specific briefs that illustrate the application of the guidance to chemicals and gene technology
Themes of the guidance
The guidance for future application of the precautionary principle covers the three meta-themes identified in the needs assessment:
Participation
Organisation and production of expertise
Extent of application
Development process
After having identified the needs of stakeholders for guidance to support the future application of the precautionary principle in a co-creative process, the RECIPES team developed guidance for the three meta-themes identified.
Stakeholder phase 1: Consultation workshops
During June 2021, the RECIPES team consulted twice with stakeholders: During the first consultation workshop, it gathered feedback on the first ideas developed for the three meta-themes. During the second consultation workshop, the RECIPES team asked stakeholders to perform a SWOT analysis for the first draft of the guidance.
Stakeholder phase 2: Multi-criteria assessment
During September 2021, the RECIPES team scrutinized an elaborated version of the guidance via a modified participatory multi-criteria assessment. The purpose was to ensure that the guidance will be of relevance and acceptable for different stakeholders. To this end, the RECIPES team facilitated an open-ended focus group discussion based on a range of criteria, including accessibility and concreteness. The RECIPES methodology developed for planning and implementation of the multi-criteria assessment is available HERE.
Stakeholder phase 3: Policy workshop
In February 2022, the RECIPES team discussed a pre-final version of the guidance at the European Policy Workshop: “Precaution for responsible innovation” with policy makers and policy advisors to further improve its clarity, plausibility and policy relevance.