Gender Equality Academy and dissemination of gender knowledge across Europe

In an initial phase, this project will design training material for trainers, practitioners and researchers on a variety of issues relevant for gender equality in research and innovation (gender balance, gender dimension, gender bias, etc.). The project should clarify the minimum quality standard of the training material. It should draw knowledge from the GEAR Tool and the Gendered Innovations report, as well as on new knowledge, developed in Horizon 2020, across and beyond Europe.

In a second phase, the project will carry out a series of trainings, such as Moocs[[Massive Open Online Courses]], workshops, summer schools, modules, webinars accessible in all the Member States and Associated countries. The project shall target trainers and researchers, in particular in the early stage of their careers with tailored-made activities. The activities shall be designed in a way that they attract men as well as women. A pan-European network of trainers will be established, with the aim of enhancing the sharing of knowledge and practices.

To address this specific challenge, proposals may benefit from a broad coverage. It is therefore suggested that consortia could include at least entities from 10 different Member States or Associated Countries.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of the order of EUR 2.00 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Gender equality is not only a matter of social justice but also of research performance. Indeed, including a sex and gender analysis enhances the research quality and the societal relevance of the produced knowledge, technologies and innovations. It is therefore recommended that researchers across Europe and beyond acquire adequate knowledge on gender equality and the gender dimension[[i.e. taking into account the biological characteristics and the social /cultural features of women and men]], in general and in their specific fields of research. Universities with gender studies departments are still a minority, and those including gender issues in the curricula of other disciplines are even fewer,[[Gender Equality Policies in Public research- 2013 – p.36- http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/gender-equality-policies-in-public-research-pbKINA26565/]] limiting the sharing of existing knowledge. The Horizon 2020 interim evaluation recommends further sharing and disseminating knowledge on gender in R&I.

A better understanding of gender issues within the R&I community. A better uptake of gender issues in R&I and consequently an improvement of the quality of the produced research and innovation. A pan-European trainers' network to better share gender knowledge and practices.