Developing an early rapid sustainability assessment tool for responsible innovation

Abstract Early-stage technology transfer projects need rapid, low-cost ways to anticipate sustainability implications, but established assessment approaches are typically data-intensive, partial in scope, and applied too late to shape upstream decisions. This creates a need for cost- and time-efficient mechanisms that enable sustainability screening from project inception through to transfer and commercialization. We present a novel early-stage anticipatory tool that provides rapid screening of projects across environmental, societal, and economic dimensions relevant to technology transfer. By operationalizing Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), the tool structures qualitative deliberation around the principles of Anticipation, Inclusion, Reflexivity, and Responsiveness (AIRR). It was piloted in participatory workshops with engineering biology researchers at three UK research institutes and two SMEs. Findings indicate that the tool complements existing assessment practices by integrating interdisciplinary knowledge from natural and social scientists, supporting sustainability-oriented research and innovation pathways while working within documented limitations of early-stage upstream assessment. In practice, Early Rapid Sustainability Assessment (ERSA) produces user-friendly outputs that surface sustainability strengths, weaknesses, trade-offs, and ar­eas of uncertainty requiring further attention. We argue that the ERSA tool can serve as a structured primer for subsequent detailed analyses and inform research and technology transfer decision-making. In doing so, it offers a pragmatic way to engage with the dilemmas of technological control under uncertainty, while enhancing the capacity of early-stage projects to address sustainability considerations in technology transfer.