The CALIPER project: Linking research and innovation for gender equality

Project Information

CALIPER

Grant agreement ID: 873134

DOI

10.3030/873134

Project closed

EC signature date 14 November 2019

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• Promote gender equality in particular by supporting structural change in the organisation of research institutions and in the content and design of research activities

Total cost

€ 2 896 475,00

EU contribution

€ 2 896 475,00

Coordinated by

VILABS OE
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - CALIPER (The CALIPER project: Linking research and innovation for gender equality)

Reporting period: 2022-07-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Gender equality is a crosscutting issue in Horizon 2020 as part of the strategic approach of the European Commission’s in the field of research and innovation. To address structural (re-)production of inequalities in research and higher education institutions, it is crucial to identify and act upon the mechanisms that need to be changed. Nevertheless, carrying out isolated actions has been proven not to be as effective as addressing the structure as a whole through comprehensive and holistic approaches.

CALIPER supported 7 Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and 2 Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) across Europe to design, implement, evaluate and expand a tailored and inclusive Gender Equality Plans (GEPs). It engaged stakeholders both internal (2079 persons in total) and external (111 persons in total) from the regional/national research and innovation ecosystems creating a dialogue on gender & diversity for excellent research, innovation and growth, identifying the gaps and transferring the gained knowledge beyond academia.

CALIPER via its inclusive Gender Equality Plans influenced towards gender equality the innovation environment of its institutions and addressed the societal challenges.

The project made research organizations more gender equal by increasing the number of female researchers in STEM, improving their careers prospects and integrating a gender dimension in research; promoting structural changes through a change management methodology strongly focused on engaging with a quadruple helix innovation ecosystem in the regional/national context of each RPO and RFO involved in the project.

Applying the quadruple helix approach, CALIPER stimulated dialogue and collaboration between academia, public authorities, professionals and industry players in order to tackle gender inequalities across the research- transfer-to-market pipeline.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

CALIPER supported 7 Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and 2 Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) across Europe to design, implement, evaluate and expand Gender Equality Plans (GEPs). CALIPER inspired by the methodology proposed by the GEAR toolkit: performed on an internal and external assessment of the gender-related situation at the 9 organisations. Then based on the results 9 tailored and inclusive GEPs designed through a bottom-up process and implemented in two iteration phases and refined with the cooperation and consolidated consensus of all managerial levels of the Faculties, Universities and Institutions.

The actions implemented were specifically tailored by partners to address specific institutional context, covering areas such as: human resources, institutional governance, institutional communication, research, teaching, research funding, transfer to market, student services, sexual harassment, intersectionality and collaborative actions promoting the involvement of and collaboration with external stakeholders. In parallel, 5 rounds of bilateral calls (9 parallel calls organized by the coordinator, the scientific coordinator with representatives of the WGs) organized during the first and the second iteration phase of the implementation to support the implementation of the respective GEP actions. 10 dedicated Internal workshops with GEPs working groups in each RPO/RFO and 3 rounds of online training sessions in each GEP WG were organized. 70% of the piloted actions (implemented in the 1st and 2nd iteration phase) institutionalized


Τhe project ongoing results were evaluated internally (2 upgraded reports for each evaluation Step were produced) and externally (1 summative evaluation on site visits at each partner institution was produced) and expanded to the whole academic structure and the overall ecosystem by the end of the project (More than 100 external organizations involved in this process). It is also estimated that approximately 120 RPOs/RFOs engaged and influenced by the project to initiate their own GEPs.

Other results include the development of 30 policy briefs, 1 CALIPER charter endorsed by 70 organizations, 11 win events and a joint final conference with letsgeps (sister project) engaging more than 150 participants (online and onsite).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Unlike most other structural change projects which are taking uniquely an organizational/institutional change perspective, the CALIPER project supported the involved research institutions, that were in an initial stage, investigating the external framework as well for a sustainable solution to gender equality. With the support of the Research and Innovation Hubs which were created by each RPO/RFO, the CALIPER project analysed the external conditions, involving main stakeholders from the research and innovation ecosystem (i.e. policy level officials, business community, research and academic community as well as civil society) in a dialogue on gender & diversity for excellent research, innovation and growth and finally, transfer the gained knowledge beyond academia.

CALIPER vision was to enhance the gender balance in STEM fields and promote a greater engagement of female researchers with research and innovation, contributing to the ERA priorities on Gender Equality and stimulating a dialogue and collaboration between academia, public authorities, professionals and industry players in order to tackle gender inequalities across the research- transfer-to-market chain. The project removed barriers to the recruitment, retention and career progression of female researchers; integrated the gender dimension in research and innovation content; improved the gender balance in decision-making bodies via the implementation of specific actions in the partners tailored and inclusive GEPs.

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