Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SUPPORTER (SecUring sPORTs Education thRough innovative and inclusive Gender Equality Plans)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2024-04-01 do 2025-09-30
Sport contributes significantly to economic growth and social cohesion and, when strategically supported through sports education, can promote gender+ equality. However, the sports ecosystem remains largely male-dominated, highly competitive, and shaped by non-intersectional practices that reinforce inequalities and gender-based violence.
SUPPORTER addressed these challenges by promoting inclusive gender equality in eight sports-focused higher education institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. With tailored training and mentoring from expert partners, each institution developed an intersectional, innovative, inclusive, and impactful Gender Equality Plan (4I-GEP) adapted to its context and explicitly addressing gender-based violence.
Using reflection, and implementation, the project combined learning, co-creation, and dissemination activities with broad stakeholder engagement. This intersectional approach strengthened institutional capacity, improved inclusiveness and research excellence, and supported progress towards gender+ objectives within the European Research Area (ERA).
Beyond the partner institutions, SUPPORTER aims to generate wider impact by inspiring gender+ transformation across the sports ecosystem, contributing to long-term systemic change in line with the Ljubljana Declaration.
SUPPORTER addressed these challenges by promoting inclusive gender equality in eight sports-focused higher education institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. With tailored training and mentoring from expert partners, each institution developed an intersectional, innovative, inclusive, and impactful Gender Equality Plan (4I-GEP) adapted to its context and explicitly addressing gender-based violence.
Using reflection, and implementation, the project combined learning, co-creation, and dissemination activities with broad stakeholder engagement. This intersectional approach strengthened institutional capacity, improved inclusiveness and research excellence, and supported progress towards gender+ objectives within the European Research Area (ERA).
Beyond the partner institutions, SUPPORTER aims to generate wider impact by inspiring gender+ transformation across the sports ecosystem, contributing to long-term systemic change in line with the Ljubljana Declaration.
SUPPORTER conducted a substantial workplan of technical and scientific activities to build institutional capacity for intersectional gender equality and GBV prevention. A structured capacity-building process was implemented, comprising six specialised training sessions on data, policy, monitoring frameworks, intersectionality, innovation, and organisational resistance to change. These were supported by two in-person workshops, three online sessions, bilateral consultations, and five rounds of mentoring and progress monitoring, enabling partners to apply analytical and evidence-based approaches within their institutions.
A major achievement was the updating and implementation of eight institutional roadmaps. These roadmaps integrated intersectional perspectives and GBV prevention measures, guiding each institution towards drafting and formally adopting its own 4I-GEP. To ensure methodological consistency, the project produced final guidelines and recommendations for 4I-GEP implementation and GBV prevention, supported by two policy briefs.
Under WP3, all planned capacity-building, mutual learning, and mentoring activities were completed and documented in the D3.2 Capacity Building Report. WP4 finalised the implementation of the eight roadmaps and achieved the formal adoption of eight 4I-GEPs, with detailed reporting provided through deliverables D4.2 and D4.3.
Overall, the project achieved significant institutional transformation through the adoption of evidence-based, intersectional 4I-GEPs. Partners strengthened their technical capacity in gender analysis, monitoring, and organisational change, while collaborative networks expanded through engagement with the SUPPORTER community and related initiatives. All technical deliverables, milestones, and expected impacts were achieved.
A major achievement was the updating and implementation of eight institutional roadmaps. These roadmaps integrated intersectional perspectives and GBV prevention measures, guiding each institution towards drafting and formally adopting its own 4I-GEP. To ensure methodological consistency, the project produced final guidelines and recommendations for 4I-GEP implementation and GBV prevention, supported by two policy briefs.
Under WP3, all planned capacity-building, mutual learning, and mentoring activities were completed and documented in the D3.2 Capacity Building Report. WP4 finalised the implementation of the eight roadmaps and achieved the formal adoption of eight 4I-GEPs, with detailed reporting provided through deliverables D4.2 and D4.3.
Overall, the project achieved significant institutional transformation through the adoption of evidence-based, intersectional 4I-GEPs. Partners strengthened their technical capacity in gender analysis, monitoring, and organisational change, while collaborative networks expanded through engagement with the SUPPORTER community and related initiatives. All technical deliverables, milestones, and expected impacts were achieved.
During the second reporting period, SUPPORTER advanced beyond the state of the art by successfully completing the transition from design to implementation of inclusive and transformative institutional practices across eight sports higher education institutions. The project achieved the formal adoption of eight Inclusive, Innovative, Intersectional, and Impactful Gender Equality Plans (4I-GEPs) - the first comprehensive frameworks of their kind tailored specifically to the sports education sector. These 4I-GEPs operationalise gender equality in institutional governance, curricula, and research, while explicitly integrating the prevention of gender-based violence (GBV) and an intersectional approach addressing multiple and overlapping forms of discrimination. They combine evidence-based methodologies, practical monitoring tools, and sport-specific dimensions such as teamwork, inclusion, and fair play, thereby translating equality principles into the unique context of sports academia.
At the methodological and policy level, SUPPORTER’s results establish a replicable model for institutional transformation that can be scaled across Europe and other sectors. The project developed and implemented an integrated capacity-building, mutual learning, and mentoring framework – including six training sessions, workshops, bilateral exchanges, and reflection tools – that strengthened institutional capacity and fostered peer-to-peer learning. The SUPPORTER Guidelines and Recommendations (D4.3) and open-access resources (training materials, policy briefs, and video) provide a robust knowledge base for policymakers, educators, and sports organisations seeking to embed gender equality and inclusivity in practice. By embedding sustainability mechanisms such as internal audit procedures, formal endorsement of 4I-GEPs, and the creation of the SUPPORTER Network, the project ensured lasting institutional change. Collectively, these achievements position SUPPORTER as a European pioneer in mainstreaming intersectional gender equality and GBV prevention within sports education and research environments, setting a new benchmark for inclusive institutional reform.
At the methodological and policy level, SUPPORTER’s results establish a replicable model for institutional transformation that can be scaled across Europe and other sectors. The project developed and implemented an integrated capacity-building, mutual learning, and mentoring framework – including six training sessions, workshops, bilateral exchanges, and reflection tools – that strengthened institutional capacity and fostered peer-to-peer learning. The SUPPORTER Guidelines and Recommendations (D4.3) and open-access resources (training materials, policy briefs, and video) provide a robust knowledge base for policymakers, educators, and sports organisations seeking to embed gender equality and inclusivity in practice. By embedding sustainability mechanisms such as internal audit procedures, formal endorsement of 4I-GEPs, and the creation of the SUPPORTER Network, the project ensured lasting institutional change. Collectively, these achievements position SUPPORTER as a European pioneer in mainstreaming intersectional gender equality and GBV prevention within sports education and research environments, setting a new benchmark for inclusive institutional reform.