Assessing the Degree of Responsibility of a Health Innovation

Abstract

This chapter describes how the Responsible Innovation in Health (RIH) Assessment Tool supports a rigorous assessment of a health innovation’s degree of responsibility. We begin by explaining why we developed this tool and how it differs from existing Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) evaluation tools. We summarize the stepwise process of its development where the validity of its constructs was established with international experts in RRI, health technology assessment, engineering, and bioethics, and the reliability of its results thoroughly measured. Then we explain how to correctly use the RIH Assessment Tool within a formal evaluation process and how to interpret its results. After discussing findings from the application of the Tool to a cohort of 16 enterprises in Canada and Brazil, we describe how it can be used to inform decisions at an early stage in the development of a wide range of health and social care solutions.