CALIPER project: Linking research and innovation for gender equality

We are happy to announce the launching of the CALIPER Project and that the Decision Support Systems Laboratory of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens is participating in this project.

The CALIPER Project is a Horizon2020 Action that aims to support 7 Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) and 2 Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) across Europe to design, implement, evaluate and expand Gender Equality Plans (GEPs).

CALIPER will create strong linkages between the research and local innovation ecosystems in the countries of the involved Partners to ensure structural and institutional changes targeted at the following levels:

  • Recruitment, working conditions and career development of women.
  • Governance/management structures and the role of women.
  • Research content and programs and their gender dimension.
  • Research funding.
  • Innovation and its transfer to the market.

To achieve these changes CALIPER will leverage the methodology proposed by GEAR toolkit and implement the tailor-made GEPs through five phases:

  • Phase 1: Assessment of external framework, mapping of internal conditions and identification of gender bias at each RPO and RFO involved in the project.
  • Phase 2: Participatory co-design of individual tailor-made GEPs at each RPO/RFO to achieve a balance between top down and bottom up orientation.
  • Phase 3: Implementation of the measures to address gender bias targeting career access and development, governance and management structures, working conditions/recruitment and the gender dimension in research programs and in public funding.
  • Phase 4: Development of a concrete assessment methodology and indicators for monitoring and evaluating the progress made during the GEPs implementation in each institution.
  • Phase 5: Expansion to different university departments and to external stakeholders. Targeted follow-up, raising-awareness and sustainability activities.

Through the elaboration of the GEPs, CALIPER will result to five key impacts to enhance the gender balance in STEM fields and promote a greater engagement of female researchers with research and innovation procedures as well as with the research's transfer to the market:

  • Contribute to increasing the number of research organisations and higher education establishments implementing gender equality plans.
  • Contribute to increasing the participation of women in research and innovation and improvement of their career's prospects.
  • Improve the gender balance in decision-making bodies in research organisations.
  • Include, where relevant, the gender dimension in research content and increase the quality and societal relevance..
  • Contribute to the achievement of the gender related ERA objectives in the medium to long term.

More information is available at project’s Website

You can follow the CALIPER accounts in Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin!