The neoclassical (Solow-Swan) model of growth suggests that material technologies and innovations are required to increase social progress. Acknowledging that innovations often have uneven impact, responsible innovation (RI) was originally conceived as a way of negotiating acceptable risk and shaping innovation towards filling real social needs rather than merely increasing profit and national Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, the embedding of RI into science funding policies, particularly as Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in the European Union's Horizon 2020, has increasingly been used to strengthen the same growth paradigm it was meant to challenge.

Drawing on insights from ecological and steady-state economics, and from science and technology studies (STS), we question how the growth paradigm shapes and limits the innovation space, and consider how innovation can facilitate progress in a more environmentally and socially responsible manner.