OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT SHEMERA Euro-Mediterranean research cooperation on gender and science: SHE Euro-Mediterranean Research Area OVERVIEW OF THE PROJECT Kick-off meeting Brussels, 4th-5th May 2011 Maria Caprile

Table of contents OBJECTIVES WORKPLAN ORGANISATION RISKS & CONTINGENCY PLANS KICK-OFF MEETING

OBJECTIVES WHAT? Enhancing research cooperation on gender and science between the EU and the MPCs MPCs (Mediterranean Partner Countries): Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian-administered areas, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia WHY? Research cooperation is aimed at Understand the roots of gender inequality in science in the area, taking into account cultural diversities and traditions Analyse how the MPCs are addressing this issue Develop recommendations for enhancing gender equality in science in the area HOW? Focus on three key themes Statistics on women in science Gender equality policies in science Research on gender inequalities in scientific careers

Concepts Science Gender equality in science Science understood in its broadest sense, including social sciences and humanities as well as research and technological development Gender equality in science Organisation: women’s balanced presence in science Contents: mainstreaming sex and gender analysis in basic and applied research

Specific objectives 1. To provide state of the art description, data collection and relevant comparative analysis of the following topics in all MPCs Horizontal and vertical segregation in science careers; the underlying causes and effects of these two processes Policies and core stakeholders, including government, funding agencies, academia, and civil society organisations

Specific objectives 2. To develop the state of the art description, data collection and relevant comparative analysis taking into account cultural diversities and traditions in the MPCs ensuring consistency with existing approaches, methodologies and models at European level in order to facilitate future targeted comparison with available data and research from European countries Key references are She figures in the field of statistics on women in science Benchmarking report in the field of gender equality policies Meta-analysis on gender and science research study for the analysis of scientific literature

Specific objectives 3. To make the results accessible to the research community, policy makers and society at large in all MPCs via an online database, publishable reports and workshops

Specific objectives 4. To enhance networking and to steer policy-making on gender and science in the years to come, in particular developing recommendations for policy makers aimed at enhancing gender equality in science

Strategic impact Increasing knowledge on gender issues in science in the MPCs Enabling further development of Euro-Mediterranean research cooperation in the field Increase awareness among policy makers and other relevant stakeholders Empowerment of women in science in the Mediterranean area

Table of contents OBJECTIVES WORKPLAN ORGANISATION RISKS & CONTINGENCY PLANS KICK-OFF MEETING

WORKPLAN

Stage 1 Management WP1 – administrative and financial management of the project

Stage 2 State of the art, data collection and comparative analysis WP2 – conceptual and methodological points of departure, taking into account the EU experience and the most distinct trends of the situation in the MPCs The state of the art, data collection and comparative analysis will be then developed in WP3 – statistics on women in science WP4 – gender equality policies WP5 – scientific literature on gender inequalities in the scientific careers They will follow the approaches, methodologies and models already developed in EU-funded research, as well as the more specific guidelines agreed in WP2

Stage 3 Networking and policy debate WP6 – awareness and policy debate on gender and science issues in the Mediterranean area, by involving the main players on national level and promoting the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue of gender-sensitive scientific associations The findings obtained in stage 2 will be presented with the aim of discussing policy recommendations

Stage 4 Conclusions and recommendations It relies on the results of the previous stages with the aim of drawing the final conclusions and recommendations WP7 will provide A synthetic and comprehensive overview of the main findings of the project A set of recommendations for policy-makers aimed at enhancing gender equality in science A synthetic comparative report will be elaborated, as well as one national report for each MPC

Stage 5 Dissemination WP8 – In charge of the dissemination of all the findings, activities and outcomes of the project

Timing

Table of contents OBJECTIVES WORKPLAN ORGANISATION RISKS & CONTINGENCY PLANS KICK-OFF MEETING

Geographical coverage All MPCs. At least one partner from each MPC, except in the case of Libya, in which the consortium counts with the contribution of an individual consultant Partners from the EU and associated countries (Belgium, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Spain and Turkey)

Expertise & distribution of tasks CIREM and ULB will lead the WPs related to the state of the art, data collection and comparative analysis (WP3, WP4, WP5) ULB will lead WP3 (statistics) CIREM will lead WP4 (policies) and WP5 (scientific literature) ULB is the coordinator of She figures 2009. CIREM is the coordinator of the ‘Meta-analysis of gender and science research’ project and includes in its team the coordinator of the report ‘Benchmarking of national policies on women and science’. TETALAP will lead WP6 (networking and policy debate). It has an extensive expertise on supporting actions in the field on gender and science EKT/NHRF is the leader of the tasks dealing with the website and the online database (tasks 8.3 and 8.4). It is a leading institution in the field of advanced S&T information services and digital library. IDIS will be in charge of the tasks related with the e-newsletter and the Euro-Mediterranean workshop (tasks 8.5 and 6.3). It is a prominent institution in the field of RTD dissemination and science and society dialogue ITU will be in charge of the organisation of the Euro-Mediterranean conference (task 8.8) and coordinate, with TETALAP, the organisation of the national workshops in the MPCs (task 6.2). It plays a leading role on gender and science awareness activities in the Mediterranean area

Expertise & distribution of tasks AARC will ensure the overall consistency and meaningfulness of the research approach for the MPCs, leading WP2 (points of departure) and WP7 (conclusions and recommendations). It is an institution specialised on African-Arab research and consultancy in the field of development, civil society and gender issues. ASRT will be the leader of WP8 (dissemination). It is a key institution in the field of Euro-Mediterranean research cooperation and RTD technical support. All the other partners are leading RTD institutions in the MPCs and have longstanding expertise on gender issues. They will mainly concentrate their efforts in the work to be done at the national level: the state of the art, data collection and analysis (WP3, WP4 and WP5) the activities related with networking and policy debate (WP6)

Expertise & distribution of tasks The organisation of the international events will be based on the co-operation of one MPC partner and one European partner: the Euro-Mediterranean workshop will be held in Naples, co-organised by IDIS (Italy) and FSB (Tunisia) the Euro-Mediterranean conference will be held in el Cairo and co-organised by ITU (Turkey) and ASRT (Egypt)

Table of contents OBJECTIVES WORKPLAN ORGANISATION RISKS & CONTINGENCY PLANS KICK-OFF MEETING

Risks and contingency plans 1. Difficulties for Euro-Mediterranean research cooperation Risks Not all the partners have experience in the Euro-Mediterranean research cooperation Cultural and language-related difficulties may appear The high number of partners (17) also may entail cooperation problems Contingency plan WP2 will be devoted to establish a common conceptual and methodological framework for the project. The WP leader has expertise in comparative research in the Mediterranean area The coordinator will pay especial attention to establish an inclusive working approach in order to recognise and acknowledge the expertise of each organisation

Risks and contingency plans 2. Difficulties in statistical data collection Risks The project will collect, for the first time, harmonised sex-disaggregated data on gender and science in the MPCs The EU experience in this field shows that it is not an easy task Difficulties may be related to poor statistical procedures, but also lack of political interest Contingency plan These difficulties and the ways to overcome them will be discussed during WP2 and the technical statistical workshop The involvement of key stakeholders (policy makers) in the Task Forces should facilitate the collection of data Similar to the experience with She Figures, it is possible that the project will only be able to collect the most basic data. However, this first step will make it easier to improve the collection of harmonized data in the future

Risks and contingency plans 3. Lack of interest among RTD policy-makers Risks In MPCs, as in most countries, the relevance of gender equality measures in science is not widely-accepted among RTD policy makers Contingency plan The WP6 is mainly devoted to this objective. Partners will use existing networks and key linkages for contacting policy-makers, establishing the national Task Forces and organizing the national workshops The composition of the Task Forces may be uneven. However, the Task Forces are not an objective ‘per se’: the objective is to enhance collaboration on gender and science among RTD policy-makers, RTD institutions and scientists In some countries, this will be already achieved with the establishment of the Task Force; in other countries the key point will be the organization of the national workshop The coordinator and the leader of WP6 will pay especial attention to the assessment of the situation in each country and discuss with MPC partners the best way to proceed

Risks and contingency plans 4. Lack of experience in Framework Programme Risks Some of the partners have never participated in FP. This may entail difficulties for the administrative and financial management of the project Contingency plan The coordinator will make sure that all the partners understand the rules of participation in FP7 and comply with them. This issue will be extensively discussed at the kick-off meeting A regular reporting system will be established. This system will allow to identifying any potential deviation from the workplan and discuss remedial actions The coordinator will devote a large amount of person-months in management-related activities to give support to all the partners

Table of contents OBJECTIVES WORKPLAN ORGANISATION RISKS & CONTINGENCY PLANS KICK-OFF MEETING

Objectives To launch the study Project overview by CIREM Remarks from DG-Research Partners’ presentations and overall remarks about the project To review the administrative and financial management of the study Administrative management by CIREM Financial issues by DG-Research To discuss the logo, website and dissemination plan (WP8) and the networking plan (WP6) Logo and dissemination plan by ASRT Website and database by EKT Networking by TETALAP

Objectives To discuss in depth WP2 – State of the art and methodological approach European models Statistics (She Figures) by ULB Policies (Benchmarking) by CIREM Scientific literature (Meta-analysis - GSD) by CIREM Overview of gender and science in MPCs: Statistics, policies, scientific literature Discussion and summary by AARC To organise the work for the next months Detailed timing, agreed tasks and deadlines by CIREM/all partners

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