Despite efforts to reduce fragmentation across the European Research Area, the European scientific system is still facing challenges in achieving gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research and innovation. In this context, and in line with ERA policy goals and national contexts, Gender-NET Plus ERA-NET Co-fund was launched September 15, 2017 and will run until 2023.

The consortium of 16 committed organisations from 13 countries aims to promote the integration of sex and gender analysis into research. The 16 project partners have done so by implementing a joint co-funded call for research integrating a gender dimension in addressing urgent societal challenges. This integration gives new knowledge and insights, which ultimately will benefit all genders. 13 research projects in health & medicine, social sciences and humanities are co-funded in the frame of the Gender-NET Plus project.

Furthermore, the Gender-NET Plus consortium aims to strengthen transnational collaborations between research program owners and managers, and provide support to the promotion of gender equality through institutional change. In particular, it contributes to knowledge creation in relation to promoting gender equality in research performing and funding organisations by producing comparative analytical reports on various topics.

Gender-NET Plus pursues the set of priorities identified by GENDER-NET, that finished in 2016.

Work Packages

GENDER-NET Plus is composed of seven work packages which are organised around two types of activities:

1) Activities related to the co-funded call and the consortium management

2) Communication and dissemination

Within the first set of activities, the first work package (WP1) is transverse to the other six WPs as it is dedicated to coordinating and managing the project and its consortium as a whole. This WP will also be devoted to exploring possibilities of extending the partnership and seek opportunities to pursue its work after the project’s end. This WP will run throughout the 60 months foreseen to implement this project.

Four WPs were carefully thought through to ensure an effective and efficient implementation of the co-funded call.

Preparation and launch of the co-funded call (WP2) and evaluation and selection of projects (WP3) to be funded will run during the first 12 months of GENDER-NET Plus. The selected projects will be funded for three years. Co-funded projects will be closely monitored (WP4). GENDER-NET Plus foresaw a specific WP to communicate about the co-funded joint call and disseminate key messages about the co-funded projects (WP5). Therefore, it will be running from the preparation of the joint call until GENDER-NET Plus concludes its activities. This will ensure that proper visibility is given to the funded projects and their results.

The second set of activities comprise of transnational joint actions of distinct nature (WP6) as well as communication and dissemination activities about the project and its overall results (WP7). These transnational activities will be initiated after having launched the co-funded call and will run until the end of the project. Communication and dissemination activities will run throughout the project’s 60 months.

Further Reading

GENDER-NET Project (2013-2016)

GENDER-NET is a pilot transnational research policy initiative funded by the European Commission under the Science in Society workprogramme of the seventh Framework Programme (FP7), designed to address the common challenges still facing European research institutions in achieving gender equality in research and innovation. GENDER-NET Plus is built on the work of GENDER-NET.

Gendered Innovations Project

The peer-reviewed Gendered Innovations project:

1) develops practical methods of sex, gender, and intersectional analysis for scientists and engineers;
2) provides case studies as concrete illustrations of how sex, gender and intersectional analysis leads to innovation.

Gendered Innovations was initiated at Stanford University, July 2009. From 2011-2013, the European Commission funded an Expert Group, “Innovation through Gender/Gendered Innovations” under their Framework Programme 7, aimed at developing the gender dimension in EU research and innovation. The U.S. National Science Foundation joined the project January 2012. From 2018-2020, the Horizon 2020 Expert Group, Gendered Innovations (G12), updated and expanded the Gendered Innovations methods and case studies.

Further resources on sex and gender in health research

GE Academy Training

GE Academy is an Horizon 2020 project developing and implementing a high-quality capacity-building programme on gender equality in research, innovation and higher education.