Policy coordination to advance the implementation of the ERA gender equality and inclusiveness objectives within Member States
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01-81
- Programme
- European Research Area
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- June 22, 2021
- Deadline
- September 23, 2021
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €5,000,000
- Keywords
- Social InnovationSexual orientation and gender identitySexual & Gender-based Violence Equality between women and menInclusionEqual opportunitiesGender equalitySocial sciences and humanitiesGender researchPeople Integration different races/ethnic originsSocietal EngagementPeople Integration with disabilities/special needsIntersectionalityInclusiveGender equalityGEPGender
Description
Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Development of a consistent and sustainable coordination network of national representatives on gender equality and inclusiveness in support of the implementation of the ERA Communication policy objectives, leading to better coordination of Member States' efforts.
The new European Research Area (Communication of 30 September 2020 on “A new ERA for Research and Innovation”) is foreseeing strong measures to promote inclusive gender equality plans in Research and Innovation (R&I) organisations, in line with the European Strategy for Gender Equality for the period 2020-2025, to which R&I, and Horizon Europe, must contribute actively. As the new ERA Communication and the Council Conclusions of 1 December 2020 on the new ERA underline, there is a need for policy coordination to advance the implementation of the ERA gender equality and inclusiveness objectives within the Member States. Ensuring the active promotion of equal opportunities for all includes opening up gender equality policies in R&I to diversity, and more specifically to: social categories and grounds for discrimination intersecting with gender, such as ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or else socio-economic status; geographical inclusiveness; and opening to the innovation and private sector. This new inclusive approach to gender equality is also embedded in the new European Commission Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025.
Building on related projects and actions supported through Horizon 2020, including project GENDERACTION, the action focuses on the establishment of a sustainable network of national representatives from all EU Member States and Associated Countries, both from national bodies (e.g. ministries) and from national research funding organisations, to support the implementation of the gender equality and inclusiveness objectives of the ERA. During its lifetime, the action should:
- Develop various innovative and engagement activities, connect citizens, experts and policy makers, as well as contribute to policy making at national and European administration level.
- Provide support and advancing the knowledge of representatives of widening countries is of particular importance. The action should also develop knowledge and build capacities, competences and expertise for gender equality and mainstreaming in R&I with a variety of European and national stakeholders. Special consideration will be given to mutual learning exercises to enhance the competence of national gender equality representatives, including helping less experienced national gender representatives to acquire expertise.
- Establish a transnational Community of Practice of R&I funding organisations for the promotion of a gender-inclusive culture change in R&I institutions across Europe, linked through a Memorandum of Understanding. Specific attention should be paid to promoting the development of incentives or setting requirements at research funding level to foster institutional change in organisations, as well as establishing a zero-tolerance policy on gender-based violence including sexual harassment in R&I organisations.
- A specific focus should also be placed on promoting the integration of the gender dimension into R&I content, with an opening to intersectionality. For this, the action should foresee mobilising national expertise on the integration of the sex and gender analysis in R&I content to support the different Horizon Europe National Contact Points in all EU Member States.
- The work by this action should be performed in coordination with ERA-related official groups, and in collaboration with the European Commission, in line with ERA objectives.
The participation of at least 23 Member States, and in addition, of national representatives from Associated Countries, to the consortium, is strongly encouraged, and the project must engage and deploy activities with all EU Member States and, as much as possible, with all Associated Countries.
Cross-cutting Priorities:Societal Engagement
Social Innovation
Socio-economic science and humanities
Destination & Scope
Introduction
Horizon Europe has a new level of ambition – to maximise the impact of EU research and innovation funding for European science, economy and the wider society. It marks a paradigm change in the design of the EU R&I Framework Programmes (FP) from an activity-driven to an impact-driven programme. Coupled to this ambition is the relaunching of the European Research Area (ERA) as described in the recently published Commission Communication entitled A new ERA for Research and Innovation (COM/2020/628 final of 30.09.2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of R&I cooperation to deliver solutions to society’s most demanding needs. Delivering Europe’s recovery is a priority as are the green and digital twin transitions. To match these challenges, a new level of ambition that links better R&I with the economy, as well as with education and training, is necessary to put the EU’s scientific knowledge to work.
The new ERA calls for deepening existing priorities and initiatives through new and stronger approaches. The green and digital transitions and the recovery call for cooperation between the Commission and the Member States. They require the setting of new priorities, launching ambitious joint initiatives and developing common approaches between policies.
To address these requirements, Destination 3 of Annex 11 of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, will support efforts to reform and enhance the EU R&I system. Destination 3 is built around four strands corresponding to the four objectives set out in the ERA Communication: 1. Prioritise investments and reforms; 2. Improve access to excellence; 3. Translate R&I results into the economy and 4. Deepen the ERA. The principle of excellence, meaning that the best researchers with the best ideas that respond best to the societal challenges obtain funding, remains the cornerstone for all investments under the ERA.
Strand 1 recognises the importance of prioritising investments and reforms to accelerate the green and digital transformation and to increase competitiveness as well as the speed and depth of the recovery. It offers support for policy makers and addresses the need for better analysis and evidence, including simplifying and facilitating the inter-play between national and European R&I systems.
Strand 2 addresses the need to improve access to excellence and to increase the performance of R&I systems, building on dedicated Horizon Europe measures as well as complementarities with smart specialisation strategies under the Cohesion Policy.
Strand 3 addresses the importance of translating R&I results into the economy. R&I policies should aim to boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and societies.
Strand 4 addresses the challenge of deepening the ERA and includes Open Science, Higher Education and Researchers, Citizen Science, Science Education, Gender and Ethics. It aims at underpinning a new ERA benefiting from knowledge creation, circulation and use. This empowers higher education institutions and research organisations to embrace a transformative process; where a highly skilled workforce circulate freely; where research outputs are shared; where gender equality is assured; where the outcomes of R&I are understood, trusted and increasingly used, by educated informed scientists and citizens to the benefit of society.
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts:
- Reform and Enhance the EU R&I system
- Prioritisation of investments and reforms, realisation of the recovery and the twin transitions
- Improved access to excellence
- Greater quality of the scientific production and stronger translation of R&I results into the economy
- Deepen the ERA
- Coordinated national and regional R&I programmes by pooling national resources and contributing to the alignment of national research and innovation policies
- Improved knowledge for policy making about the networking patterns of research support staff and research management
- Synergies between research & innovation and higher education policies and programmes
- Modernised higher education sector, benefitting from targeted transformations in higher education, research, and innovation
- Increased number of interconnected knowledge ecosystems, strong in knowledge creation, circulation and use
- Researchers benefit from attractive careers
- Inclusive gender equality is promoted in the European research and innovation system
- A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
- Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a modus operandi of modern science
- Increased engagement of citizens with research and innovation
- Increased alignment of strategic research with society needs, expectations and values
- Identified synergies between second and third level education, and between education and business;
- Increased trust in science and R&I outcomes, and greater two-way communication between science and society
- Knowledge and a highly skilled workforce circulate freely
- Improved capacities within the EU R&I system to conduct open science
- A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
5. Evaluation and award:
- Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
- Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
- Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the specific topic of the Work Programme
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE CSA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
MGA
Call-specific instructions
Essential Information for Clinical Studies
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 12. Missions
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
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The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
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