1. 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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

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

11. WORKPLAN

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

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

17. Timing

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

19. 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)

20. 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 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

21. 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)

22. 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)

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

24. Risks and contingency plans1.
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

25. Risks and contingency plans2.
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

26. Risks and contingency plans3.
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

27. Risks and contingency plans4.
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

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

29. 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

30. 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

31. Thank you for your kind attention