Executive summary

• Author: Tornasi, Zeno; Delaney, Niamh
• Pages: 4-5

4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Research and innovation are essential to finding solutions to the pressing challenges we

face. It requires opening up the research and innovation system to the participation and

collective i ntelligence of society, embedding high integrity and ethics standards, raising

interest in science, and supporting Europe’s brightest minds engage in scienti fic careers.

Put simply, Europe ca nnot thrive without ensuring the best possible match between the

immense potential achievements science has to offer and the needs, values and

aspirations of citizens.

The objective of this report is to convey the achievements of the gender equality

projects funded under the Science with and for Society (hereinafter referred to as

SwafS) part of Horizon 2020. Its purpose is to serve as input for the p reparation of the

Horizon Europe programme implementation.

Overview of SwafS Implementation in Horizon 2020

A budget of EUR 462 million was earmarked for Swa fS in Horizon 2020. Close to 2,000

proposals submitted in response to the annual calls for proposals, conveys strong

interest in SwafS matters.

The annual evaluations are deemed to be highly robust. So far, they resulted in 150

funded projects and close to 50 more projects are expected to stem from the fi nal calls

under Horizon 2020. Since the start of this Fram ework Programme, REA Unit B.5

manages the projects. SwafS projects are typicall y composed of large consortia with an

average of 11 partners and tend to run for around 3 years.

Gender equality

Since the Commissi on’s ERA Communicati on of 2012, gender equality as a p riority has

strengthened progressivel y. Three objectives were identified: gender equality in careers

at all levels; gender equality i n decision making; integration of the gender dimension

into Research an d Innovation (R&I) content. To achieve these objectives the EC has

devised a comprehensive strategy to supp ort national reforms a nd foster an institutional

change1 within research funding and research-performing organisations, including

universities, through the implementation of gender equality plans (GEP), supported

under SwafS.

The ERA Communication of 2012 outlined mi nimum requirements for a GEP. Al ong with

these, and building on lessons learned from EU-funded GEP projects, the GEAR tool

(developed by the European Insti tute for Gender Equality in collaboration with DG R&I)

offers step-by-step guidance with concrete examples to develop GEPs i n Research

Performing Organisations (RPOs). GEP projects produced a wealth of resources useful for

organisations seeking to develop such plans, including a glossary of gender equality-

related t erms, ha ndbooks on the recruitment and promotion processes, i ndicators etc.,

as well as a suite of trainings.

In addi tion, policy- related projects support a coherent f ramework of activities including

trans-national policy networks, communities of practice on GEPs, a gender equality

academy for GEPs, tackling gender bias in allocation of funds, integrating a gender

perspective in international cooperation as well as pan-European data collection and

analysis on gender in R&I within the She Figures publications.

1 An institutional change is a change (with meaningful impact) in ter ms of how a beneficiary governs or structures itself in

relation to any of the RRI dimen sions (public engagement, open access, gender, ethics, science education), and lasts beyond

the lifetime of project funding. See more on the explanation of the notion here.