“Stirring up” TERRITORIES: Integrating social and ethical considerations into radioecology

In this presentation, we present initial results from a coordinated series of studies designed to collaboratively integrate social and ethical considerations into radioecology and radiation protection research. This collaborative approach is now an integral part of the EU TERRITORIES research project, which aims to develop more integrated and graded risk management for long-lasting radiological exposure situations (https://territories.eu/). It builds on the sociotechnical integration research (STIR) framework (Fisher & Schuurbiers 2013), which has previously been applied only to new and emerging technologies. Integration is achieved by having an embedded social scientist interact with laboratory practitioners by closely following and documenting their research, attending laboratory meetings, holding regular interviews and collaboratively articulating decisions as they occur. The collaboration is based on a decision protocol that maps the evolution of research and helps feedback observation and analysis into the laboratory context itself. More than other social science approaches currently deployed in radioecology, STIR seeks to develop radioecologists’ adaptive capacities and reflexivity, ultimately with the aim of building more socially responsive research agendas, processes, and institutions.