Concluding remarks

• Author: Tornasi, Zeno; Iagher, Raluca; Delaney, Niamh
• Pages: 35-36

35

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Since 2014, t he p rojects funded under ‘Science with and for Society’ contributed to its

primary aims set out in the EU Regulation establishing Horizon 2020, notably to

effectively build cooperation between science and society, recruit new talent for science

and pair scientific excellence with social awareness and responsibility. 61

One of the key ways of working towards these three SwafS objectives, and ensuring

impact, is the implementation of institutional changes in beneficiaries. This is

demonstrated by th e Key Performance Indicator for Swafs being ‘Percentage of research

organisations funded implementing actions to promote Responsible Research and

Innovation, and number of institutional change measures adopted as a result ’.62

The results of a sample of twelve RRI projects revealed that almost 250 individual

institutional change actions ar e implemented or in the p rocess of being implemented by

this part of the SwafS portfolio63.

The pioneers of institutional changes are Gender Equality projects dedicated to the

implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEPs). Out of 168 institutions involved in GEP

projects, 130 institutions (78%) implemented or are in the process of implementing a

GEP.

SwafS wi ll well and truly surpass it s target of 100 i nstitutional changes in beneficiaries

by the end of Horizon 2020.

SwafS stakeholders are in an excellent position to take a leading role in supporting other

entities, for example universities envisaging institutional transformation. As

Commissioner Gabriel’s portfolio encompasses innovation, research, culture, education

and youth, exploiting synergies between research and innovation and education i s

particularly pertinent.

Networking is key to ensure that projects learn from each other and build on existing

know-how. Liaising with other SwafS projects was fo rmally encouraged in the 2018-2020

work programme which foresees the in clusion of ‘additional dissemination obligations’

requiring consortia to share their strategies and methodologies from the outset with a

view to reaping the full benefits of syn ergies. This grant condition was a key element in

efforts to build a knowledge and collaboration ecosystem. Project co-ordi nators

demonstrated strong willingness to work together.

International cooperation is one of the priorities of Commissioner Gabriel. SwafS

projects have embraced international cooperation an d involve partners from around the

world.

In practice, RRI is i mplemented as a packa ge across its five dimensions: science

education, gender equality, ethics, open access/open data and public engagement .

Science Education is the basis for recruiting new talent for science. It is crucial to

continue to invest in science education to nourish young curious minds a nd invest in

Europe’s future researchers. The high submission rate of proposals throughout Horizon

2020 convey the research community’s strong interest in this domai n.

61 Regulation (EU) No 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Counc il establishing Horizon 2020

62 Horizon 2020 indicators

63 This data collection exercise did not cover projects dedicated to gender equa lity, ethics, or open access/open data, which, to

various degrees, focus also on institutional changes.