Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GILL (Gendered Innovation Living Labs)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-12-31
Living Labs (LLs) are open innovation ecosystems in real-life environments based on a systematic user co-creation approach that integrates research and innovation activities in communities, placing citizens at the centre of innovation.
The EU-funded GILL project developed a pan-European collaboration Hub grounded in Living Lab principles as a framework for European actors committed to open, gender-responsive innovation. The project co-created and validated sustainable mechanisms to increase Gender Responsive Smart Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GRSIE) across European ecosystems.
GILL, coordinated be ENoLL, the largest international network of Living Labs, focused on four macro-objective: (I) to enable organisational and cultural change, (II) to enhance professional development, (III) to increase the integration of gender and diversity into product design, technologies, and innovation, (IV) to allow gendered educational practices.
These objectives were operationalised through 15 Action Oriented Experimentations (AOEs) conducted in eight European countries, engaging stakeholders from the Quadruple Helix model: citizens, public authorities, academia, and the private sector.
Through two full iterative cycles structured around understand, co-design, implement, and evaluate phases, GILL generated validated methodologies, tools and services for GRSIE. The project consolidated more than 40 gender-responsive methods and made them publicly accessible through the GILL Hub, which evolved into a fully operational digital ecosystem integrating many different resources.
By enabling cross-country experimentation and joint validation, GILL created a shared evidence base and a common methodological language for gender-responsive innovation in Europe.
The EU-funded GILL project developed a pan-European collaboration Hub grounded in Living Lab principles as a framework for European actors committed to open, gender-responsive innovation. The project co-created and validated sustainable mechanisms to increase Gender Responsive Smart Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GRSIE) across European ecosystems.
GILL, coordinated be ENoLL, the largest international network of Living Labs, focused on four macro-objective: (I) to enable organisational and cultural change, (II) to enhance professional development, (III) to increase the integration of gender and diversity into product design, technologies, and innovation, (IV) to allow gendered educational practices.
These objectives were operationalised through 15 Action Oriented Experimentations (AOEs) conducted in eight European countries, engaging stakeholders from the Quadruple Helix model: citizens, public authorities, academia, and the private sector.
Through two full iterative cycles structured around understand, co-design, implement, and evaluate phases, GILL generated validated methodologies, tools and services for GRSIE. The project consolidated more than 40 gender-responsive methods and made them publicly accessible through the GILL Hub, which evolved into a fully operational digital ecosystem integrating many different resources.
By enabling cross-country experimentation and joint validation, GILL created a shared evidence base and a common methodological language for gender-responsive innovation in Europe.
During its implementation, GILL moved from conceptual framework development to large-scale validation and consolidation of results.
Overall, the project:
(I) Developed and refined the GRSIE conceptual framework and the “fourth fix of culture” approach to address structural gender biases in innovation systems.
(II) Designed, tested and validated more than 40 gender-responsive methods addressing organisational practices, inclusive facilitation, behavioural dynamics, bias mitigation in AI and culture transformation mechanisms.
(III) Implemented 15 Action Oriented Experimentations across diverse thematic areas including inclusive AI, urban mobility, healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship ecosystems and public sector deployment.
(IV) Executed two full iterative experimentation cycles, engaging hundreds of stakeholders and generating empirical evidence in real-life contexts.
(V) Designed, launched and operationalised the GILL Hub as a pan-European digital ecosystem integrating methodologies, tools, capacity-building materials and other gender-responsive resources.
(VI)Produced policy-relevant outputs, scientific publications and dissemination activities supporting EU gender equality and innovation objectives.
Overall, the project:
(I) Developed and refined the GRSIE conceptual framework and the “fourth fix of culture” approach to address structural gender biases in innovation systems.
(II) Designed, tested and validated more than 40 gender-responsive methods addressing organisational practices, inclusive facilitation, behavioural dynamics, bias mitigation in AI and culture transformation mechanisms.
(III) Implemented 15 Action Oriented Experimentations across diverse thematic areas including inclusive AI, urban mobility, healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship ecosystems and public sector deployment.
(IV) Executed two full iterative experimentation cycles, engaging hundreds of stakeholders and generating empirical evidence in real-life contexts.
(V) Designed, launched and operationalised the GILL Hub as a pan-European digital ecosystem integrating methodologies, tools, capacity-building materials and other gender-responsive resources.
(VI)Produced policy-relevant outputs, scientific publications and dissemination activities supporting EU gender equality and innovation objectives.
GILL advanced beyond the state of the art by moving from gender mainstreaming principles to operational, validated and transferable methodologies embedded in innovation processes.
The project:
(I) Systematically embedded gender-responsive approaches within innovation cycles through structured co-creation and real-life experimentation.
(II) Validated methods across multiple countries and sectors, ensuring cross-context comparability and transferability.
(III) Integrated methodological content, experimentation evidence and digital infrastructure into a coherent, open, and accessible framework.
(IV) Demonstrated that gender-responsive approaches enhance innovation quality, organisational learning, and stakeholder engagement.
The combination of all these aspects represented a significant step forward gender-responsive innovation.
GILL demonstrated potential impacts at multiple levels:
• Organisational level: improved governance practices, enhanced inclusiveness in innovation processes, and strengthened capacity for gender-responsive design and decision-making.
• Ecosystem level: creation of a shared European evidence base and methodological language for GRSIE.
• Policy level: contribution to cross-cutting Horizon Europe objectives and European Research Area priorities.
• Digital infrastructure level: establishment of a scalable platform supporting long-term knowledge exchange and uptake.
The project generated conditions for sustained adoption of GRSIE practices across innovation ecosystems beyond the project.
The project:
(I) Systematically embedded gender-responsive approaches within innovation cycles through structured co-creation and real-life experimentation.
(II) Validated methods across multiple countries and sectors, ensuring cross-context comparability and transferability.
(III) Integrated methodological content, experimentation evidence and digital infrastructure into a coherent, open, and accessible framework.
(IV) Demonstrated that gender-responsive approaches enhance innovation quality, organisational learning, and stakeholder engagement.
The combination of all these aspects represented a significant step forward gender-responsive innovation.
GILL demonstrated potential impacts at multiple levels:
• Organisational level: improved governance practices, enhanced inclusiveness in innovation processes, and strengthened capacity for gender-responsive design and decision-making.
• Ecosystem level: creation of a shared European evidence base and methodological language for GRSIE.
• Policy level: contribution to cross-cutting Horizon Europe objectives and European Research Area priorities.
• Digital infrastructure level: establishment of a scalable platform supporting long-term knowledge exchange and uptake.
The project generated conditions for sustained adoption of GRSIE practices across innovation ecosystems beyond the project.