Final Report Summary - SAPGERIC (Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organisations)
Executive Summary:
The SAPGERIC project aimed at the organization of the Lithuanian presidency conference “Structural changes promoting gender equality in research organizations”. The main goal of the conference was to reflect the current state of activities at EU level for promoting gender equality in research institutions and to enhance the effective dialogue and knowledge sharing between academia, research institutions, funding agencies, researchers, policy makers and society.
The concept of the conference included three closely related aspects: a political, an institutional and a “scientific”, covering different areas of activity: policy making, governmental, institutional and specific role of scientific society each having different tasks and challenges.
The conference brought together stakeholders from 34 European countries and offered them a platform for sharing and learning from the best practices gained in promoting gender equality in research. The conference provided an input to the European strategy and sustainability to perpetuate the results and reflect on how the stakeholders should collaborate.
The LT presidency priorities allowed to broaden the frame of the EU gender mainstreaming policy in research offering the possibility to include gender issues into running international and regional EU programmes closely linked to research activities.
The participation of high level speakers ensured high level and European visibility of the conference.
The VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were worked out by the Conference participants were submitted to the EU Council on Competitiveness under the LT Presidency.
On the basis of the Conference results a ROADMAP presenting the suggested activities for post project period was drafted and a set of recommendations for the inclusion of gender equality actions in the research components of international Eastern Partnership and regional Baltic Sea Strategy programmes were developed.
A wide dissemination campaign and the use of social media and communication tools led to raising awareness among research institutions, funding agencies researches and society at large on the best practices for modernizing research institutions and promoting gender equality in research.
It is expected that the project results will contribute strongly for effective implementation of gender equality in research organizations in Europe.
Project Context and Objectives:
Gender equality in science is one of the European Union challenges while implementing ambitious goals targeted at the creation of the Innovation Union, with competitive economics based on scientific achievements. EU strategic documents are emphasizing the significance of the enlargement of the talent pool in sciences by including more women researchers to further research and development in Europe. The gender equality problem in research has two main aspects of discrimination: a vertical one and a horizontal one.
Vertical discrimination reveals itself in gender imbalanced research governing structures (male researchers in all scientific fields usually occupy the highest academic positions), control of human and financial resources, as well as the determination of the science development directions. The horizontal one manifests itself in large gender disproportion in different scientific fields (male counterparts are prevailing in hard and technological sciences when female ones in social and humanitarian sciences). Analyzing the statistics presented in the She figures 2012 one can conclude that irrespectively of the noticeable growth resulting in more balanced representation during the last decades, the carrier opportunities in research are not yet equal for male and female researchers, as well as only about 20 percent of all researchers are women in so called “hard sciences” such as physics, engineering and technological sciences. In spite of many political measures taken by the European Commission during more than two decades the changes are not sufficient.
Structural change aiming at the improvement of framework conditions for research and innovation is one of the key success factors leading to gender equality in research organizations. The measures undertaken implementing structural changes promoting gender equality in research institutions are understood as an important part of research institutions modernization process. Structural change aims at starting changes transforming institutional practices and culture in research and scientific decision-making bodies for supporting gender diversity and equal opportunities between women and men. During the last years EU funded SIS FP7 projects such as PRAGES, Meta-Analysis, GenSET and others identified the best systemic organizational approaches to increase the participation and career advancement of women researchers. The analysis of results obtained shows the necessity to work out the holistic approach how to activate and retain more women in research. The requirements for sustainable structural change were outlined in the materials of the workshop organized by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation. It was stated that the mechanisms for change should be developed and addressed at all levels (EU level, Regional and Member States) and to all sectors of research including high education, government, and business enterprise research. Member States are asked to endorse the institutional standards and guidelines for improving gender equality in research organizations formulated in the ERA Communication. The sustainability of policies and practices can be achieved by using: commitment towards implementation; modernization of research management including methods used for recruiting and retaining women in research organizations, as well as improving working culture. The support of policy makers, administrators and gatekeepers of excellence in research institutions and scientific community is one of the important steps of the entire process. To ensure sustainability of gender equality implementation process it is also necessary to reinforce accountability by setting measurable targets, using benchmarking and gender audits for determining gaps in performance, as well as pointing out effective and efficient ways of moving forward in mainstreaming gender in all research activities.
The main goal of the conference "Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organizations" was to reflect the current state of activities promoting gender equality in research institutions at European level and enhancing an effective dialogue and knowledge sharing among stakeholders (academia, research institutions, funding agencies, researchers, policy makers and society).
Gender equality in research institutions is the final, resulting point of the whole complex process which involves several cultural and social aspects. The "strategy" to solve such problematic issue needs support from all the stakeholders involved. Therefore, the conference “Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organizations" is offering the space to discuss and elaborate a comprehensive strategy to implement gender equality in research organizations. The conference faces three closely related aspects: a political, an institutional and an “academic” aspect, each covering different areas of activity: policy making and governmental area, institutional and academic community area, containing specific tasks and challenges.
The SAPGERIC project was addressed to raise awareness on the best practices to modernize research institutions and promote gender equality in ERA, to stimulate dialogue and cooperation among research institutions, funding agencies, researchers and society at large; and contribute much to their engagement in the implementation of gender equality in research institutions.
The main objectives of the conferences were:
1. To offer a platform for stakeholders for sharing and learning from the best practices gained in promoting gender equality in research. To implement this, we aimed to:
# Create a data base of the most advanced potential lecturers, rapporteurs and moderators in the fields of interest;
# Establish an international programme/advisory committee including scientists and stakeholders internationally recognized, in order to advise and select speakers and presentations;
# Use a participative and inclusive approach when organizing the conference sessions as well as modern IT tools for making conference presentations more attractive and more widely seen;
2. To provide the input to European strategy and sustainability to perpetuate the results. To implement this, we aimed to:
# Reflect the current state of activities at EU level targeted for promoting gender equality in research institutions and present the best practices gained in advanced countries and research institutions. During the conference the following topics will be discussed: Up-to-the-date European science policy and its social aspect - gender equality in science; The political and institutional measures supporting gender balanced science for increasing the quality and relevance of the research; The ways of engagement in partnership funding agencies, research organizations, professional scientific societies and researchers for fostering cultural and institutional change on gender issues; The methods of monitoring and measuring impact of activities implementing structural change promoting gender equality in research institutions;
# Develop recommendations on gender issues in science for running EU programmes included into LT presidency priorities: analyze Action plans of running EU programmes included into Lithuanian presidency priorities; organize debates with Lithuanian and EEA policy makers and on the basis of the best practices in the field gained both from EEA countries and Lithuania develop recommendations for running regional and international EU programmes involved into LT presidency priorities; present the problem during the Conference for discussions;
# Create the short movie on “hidden” discriminations as an effective measure lowering the resistance to the structural changes promoting gender equality in institutions for scientific communities where the masculine culture is prevailing.
3. Reflect on how the stakeholders should collaborate within. To implement this, we aimed to:
# Organize special debates among the stakeholders on the topic during the conference and analyze good practices;
# Raise visibility of the conference by creating an interactive conference website with wide possibilities (to make web streaming of sessions in the real time, use video conference with remote speakers) including the ones of social networking;
Project Results:
The SAPGERIC project activities were targeted to organize the high level LT presidency conference: “Structural change promoting gender equality in research organizations”. Thus the results achieved are directly related to conference organizational issues (content and technical ones) and the outcome concerned with developed documents - recommendations targeted to stakeholders for furthering implementation on structural change by promoting gender equality in research organizations. Communication activities were devoted to communication and dissemination of the conference and its results.
The organizational issues dealt with a very important challenge to reach the main goal of the project - to organize the high level conference (objectives 1 and 2). The content development part was targeted to reveal the main achievements in the field as well as the main thematic issues of LT Presidency and to involve the main stakeholders from Member States and Associated Countries into effective and fruitful discussion on measures needed for the implementation of institutional change relating to HR management, funding, decision making and research. The technical part was devoted to the technical issues needed for organization and management of the conference.
For the development of the conference content issues the following activities were implemented (D2.1 D2.2 D2.5): a) the analysis of gender studies in research and overview of EU gender in science policy documents was provided; b) studies of institutions’ activities and policies, overview of related events and its participants, identifying the most relevant institutions and individuals and biographies of potential speakers, their achievements in terms of gender equality and structural change practices was provided; c)on the basis of the mentioned results the conference draft Agenda was created and the data base of the most advanced potential lecturers, rapporteurs and moderators in the fields of interest was created. The inclusion of Lithuanian presidency priorities into the conference served the opportunity to enrich the content of the discussions on gender in research engaging both the running EU international the Eastern Partnership and regional The Baltic Sea Strategy programmes (EaP and EUSBSR) not directly concerned with research, which was very important for fostering gender equality in research and integrating gender dimension in research. The European Economy Area (EEA) countries' grant awarded to Vilnius University in the frame of the bilateral relations development programme, devoted to the topic allowed to use the experience of countries advanced in gender issues (Norway and Iceland) and broaden the frames of EU gender mainstreaming policy in research. The following steps were done to develop Recommendations on gender issues in science for running EU programmes included into LT presidency priorities (D2.3 D2.6): Action plans of mentioned EU programmes were analyzed; debates with Lithuanian and EEA policy makers were organized; recommendations for updating Action plans of running regional and international EU programmes were created; the topic was presented during the Conference for discussions. Those activities bring the conference closer to the LT presidency priorities, as well as broaden the frames of EU gender mainstreaming policy in research. The conference structure (3 plenary sessions, 1 plenary discussion, 7 parallel sessions, 1 round table discussion and electronic poster exhibition) was caused by: the conference format, the objectives and the multidimensionality of areas to be discussed. To widen the ossibilities for informal discussions the networking event was included into the agenda. According to the concept of the conference the agenda was structured using “top-down” approach starting discussions from international level initiatives and political decisions and finishing by practical measures used on institutional level with following feedback giving input to the Strategy. The participation of high level speakers ensured high level and European visibility of the conference. Among them was LT president H.E. Dalia Grybauskaite, Ms. Máire Geoghegan - Quinn (European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science), Mr. Bjørn Haugstad (State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research) , Ms Saniye Gülser Corat (Director of Gender Equality Division, UNESCO), Mme. Nicole Améline (UN CEDAW), Prof Maria Elzbieta Orlowska (Secretary of State, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education), Prof Anne Glover (Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission), Prof Maria Helena Nazaré (President of European Universities Association) and others.
The part concerned with implementation of technical organizational issues includes the project and conference management. The complex Project Management (PM) approach was adopted (D1.1) in order to serve the main key aspect, namely: the Supporting action implementation and innovative character of the project bundling the applications of advanced policies and practices together with programme objectives while implementing the high level LT Presidency SAPGERIC conference. Modern IT tools such as PMP (project management platform (D4.4)) were incorporated in a daily work of the project implementation team. Project implementation groups such as PC (Project Coordination) and local implementation team, International Programme Committee – IPC, and LT Presidency Priorities committee – LPC adopted collaborative approach in their work aiming to constructively and effectively achieve project results. The main goals for coordination and management which were achieved while implementing the SAPGERIC project: 1.Managing finances (Understanding the concepts; Monitoring expenses and cash-flows and Reporting); 2. Managing Communication (Decision-making; Managing Project meetings; Conflict management; Optimization of Communication, dissemination and exploitation; Application the provisions of the supporting actions and Reporting); 3. Monitoring, including check and control of the project team work towards deliverables and reporting.
Large teamwork part was devoted to implementation and management of flawless conference workflow (D4.1 D4.3). Holding a successful conference constitutes a hallmark of excellence for a professional society. While many factors contribute to the success of such a meeting, a key factor is careful planning and organization. To successfully organize the SAPGERIC conference, the project team adopted a systematic approach while planning the conference, which includes:
1. Making preliminary background analyses and assessments;
2. Implementing public procurement procedures for suppliers (D4.2);
3. Selecting key conference officers and organizing team members;
4. Negotiating with the conference venue, hotels, and other necessary suppliers to assure quality services;
5. Developing and implementing the conference master plan – detailed conference flow plan (D4.3);
6. Following through and implementing planned decisions according to agreed deadlines;
7. Anticipating, preventing and managing contingencies;
8. Collecting feedback, evaluating event and coordinating post-conference activities.
Using a systematic approach simplifies the task and makes it possible to run a successful conference. The whole detail planning of the activities, timing and event flow planning was done based on conference agenda, developed by SAPGERIC project content team collaborating with IPC and LT presidency priorities committe mong the main outcomes of SAPGERIC project three important documents targeted to stakeholders for furthering the implementation of structural change promoting gender equality in research organizations can be mentioned, which were developed on the basis of the materials coming from the SAPGERIC project conference “Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organizations”: VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 – Promoting Gender Equality in Research
Organizations including universities; The Recommendations for the inclusion of gender equality actions in the research components of international and regional programmes (Eastern Partnership(EaP)and Baltic Sea Strategy (EUSBSR )) and the Roadmap for reforms to induce structural change in research institutions with respect to Horizon 2020 and ERA.
VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 (D2.4) were developed by conference organizers with close collaboration with IPC members on the basis of topics presented in the abstracts of talks submitted by conference speakers and on the following EU documents.:
• Council of the European Union (2010), Council conclusions on various issues related to the development of the ERA, as adopted by the Competitiveness Council at its meeting on 26 May 2010, Council conclusions RECH 203 COMPET 177;
• Structural change in research institutions: Enhancing excellence, gender equality and efficiency in research and innovation. European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Directorate B – European Research Area, 2011;
• Initiating and Sustaining Structural Change. Reflection on the Outcomes of the Workshop on Structural Change in order to improve Gender Equality in Research Organizations in Europe. Towards a Recommendation to the Member States, 2011;
• Communication From The Commission To The European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic And Social Committee And The Committee Of The Regions. A Reinforced European Research Area Partnership for Excellence and Growth. Brussels, 17.7.2012;
• Eastern Partnership: A Roadmap to the autumn 2013 Summit, Brussels, 15.5.2012 JOIN(2012) 13 final [http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/docs/2012_enp_pack/e_pship_roadmap_en.pdf]
• European Union strategy for the Baltic sea region, Brussels, SEC (2009) 712/2
[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0248:FIN:EN:PDF].
Before the last session of SAPGERIC conference VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were presented to the conference participants. The Recommendations were discussed during the conference and decision to submit them to EU council after one week allocated for notes and corrections was adopted. VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were submitted by Lithuanian Minister of Education and Science Dainius Pavalkis to EU Competiveness Council on the 3rd December, 2013 and are available for on-line signing on SAPGERIC website http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt/recommendations/ . Following suggestions of Lithuanian, Norwegian, Liechtenstein and Icelandic representatives, VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were supplemented by the following item: “To include gender equality actions in the research components of international and regional programmes (such as Eastern Partnership and Baltic Sea Strategy)”. Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research, these recommendations shall be applied to all the EU Member States as well as to partnering and neighboring countries. Those activities also brought the conference closer to the LT presidency priorities, as well as broadened the frames of EU gender mainstreaming policy in research. On the basis of provided analysis of Action plans of mentioned programmes the Recommendations revealing main points to be included into updated Action plans of EaP and EUSBSR programs were developed (D2.3).
For clarifying goals and settling milestones, highlighting priority action for implementation of VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 the ROADMAP (D3.5) was developed. Hence, the audience of ROADMAP are all stakeholders mentioned in the Vilnius Recommendations 2013: The EU Council, Parliament, and the Commission; the EU member states and associated countries; international and national research funding agencies; all research organizations; as well as scientific communities. The overwhelming goal of the ROADMAP is insurance of gender equality in science understanding it as an establishment of favorable conditions for both women and men in research and science management.
Enduring (not continuous though) European policy in the field of gender in science leads to the structural change aimed at the improvement of framework conditions for research and innovation. The measures undertaken implementing structural changes for promoting gender equality in research institutions are highlighted as an important part of research institutions modernization process and are seen as one of the key success factors leading to the establishment of gender equality in research organizations. Taking into account previous political statements and other initiatives at the EU level as well as considering results of the FP7 project SAPGERIC conference and the position proclaimed by the stakeholders in Vilnius Recommendations 2013, the following priority areas of stakeholders’ activities are highlighted in the ROADMAP:
• Insurance of durability and sustainability of gender in science policy at EU level;
• Development of efficient system of coordination of all stakeholders’ efforts directed towards gender equality in science;
• Creation of European system of monitoring and evaluating the progress made in implementing structural change promoting gender equality in research in the EU member states and acceding, candidate, associated and neighboring countries;
• Security of support for interdisciplinary research in gender studies to strengthen gender knowledge and expertise.
Each area related to the main problematic issues, as they were highlighted by high level experts from the overall Europe and other countries during the SAPGERIC conference, also are enumerated. Essential actions for moving on in each area are specified in the ROADMAP.
As the additional measure for lowering the resistance to the structural changes promoting gender equality in research institutions with the prevailing masculine culture the movie on “Striving for Awareness” was created (D3.2 D3.3). For creation of movie scenarios the women scientists over the Europe were asked to present short episodes from their own life. The movie is available in SAPGERIC conference website: http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt/striving-for-awareness-the-movie/
Potential Impact:
The outcome of the SAPGERIC actions strongly contributed towards the ones expected in the Work programme:
•#The conference raised awareness among research institutions, funding agencies, researchers and society at large on the best practices to modernize research institutions and promote gender equality in science;
•#The conference formulated the VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 submitted to the EU Council during LT presidency.
• A set of recommendations based on the results of the conference gave inputs for ROADMAP for reforms introducing structural change in research organizations with respect to on-going initiatives related to gender equality in the European Research Area (ERA) and Horizon 2020;
•#The conference provided input ensuring sustainability to perpetuate the conference results by the deeper involvement of stakeholders and academia from Member States, new COST activities, EEA countries and Lithuanian bilateral collaboration in the field as well as Horizon 2020 activities.
•#The results of the conference gave an impact on areas interested in gender equality in research. The initiative of involving non-scientific international and regional EU projects concerned with research activities provided more attention to the problem in society and will ensure additional support for structural changes in research organizations.
•#The overall activities of the conference organization and conference results encouraged women scientist and gender experts to engage into H2020.
•#The team members benefited from this international collaboration. The tasks of the SAPGERIC project were quite a big challenge for the project implementation team. It needed the motivation of the team, creativity, qualification and experience. The involvement of international experts enriched the level of understanding of the problem and gave added value for the success of the conference. Hence, it can be concluded that the SAPGERIC conference created a major added- value to the successful implementation of gender equality in research organizations, as well as gave input to ongoing initiatives to gender equality to ERA and Horizon 2020.
The SAPGERIC dissemination activities aimed at spreading information about:
a) The gender equality in science problem;
b) EU gender equality policy in science;
c) LT presidency conference and its results- VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 targeted to all stakeholders and submitted to the EU Council during LT presidency;
d) Conference follow- up activities.
Taking into account that for ensuring gender equality in research organizations it is needed to use common efforts of many stakeholders, the planned dissemination process was targeted to different target groups:
a) EU and Member State's policy makers;
b) Administrators of Universities and research institutions;
c) Scientific community;
d) Society at all.
Accordingly to the dissemination forms and content it differed for different target groups. Moreover, for the foreseen dissemination measures different levels were used: European, Member States and project level. The dissemination and communication strategy was depending on the stages of the project. In the initial stages of the project the priorities concentrated on the dissemination of the conference (advertising the problem, goals of the conference, speakers and other details concerned with it). Later the priorities were moved to the organizational issues (registration, changes in the Agenda, Poster submission and selection procedures etc.) Participant materials (abstracts, presentations, interviews taken during the conference) developed during the conference new ideas presented in VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 as well as follow up activities are the priorities for dissemination in the post conference period.
The use of a wide range of communication tools helped the team to not only to organize the conference but also allowed reaching different kinds of recipients. Printed leaflets advertising the conference were distributed during international events prior to the conference, and during meetings with LT and EEA policy makers. The conference website, EC and stakeholder’s organization’s websites (LT Presidency, LT President, Norwegian Ministry of Science and Education, ESF, EIGE, EPWS, BASNET Forumas and others) were effectively used for the information campaign. Articles in the EU (The Parliament Magazine) and Lithuania States Mass Media (TV, radio), Press releases (ELTA), abstracts and conference materials were published and distributed among conference participants. The conference website was the central tool for the contents creation and dissemination in the electronic universe. Visibility of the conference material on search engines was maximized through programming techniques allowing best and fastest indexing of the contents. Extensive use of Quick Response Code (QR) coding of links and QR processing was used for easier material access. The conference sessions were web streamed in real time and available on SAPGERIC website. VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 and the movie “Striving for Awareness” on “hidden” discrimination in research are available on the conference website. The latter also are used during various relevant meetings and events.
The measures taken gave large impact both on the countries less advanced in tackling gender equality problem in research as well as on those more advanced because of sharing practices and information about the existing and not yet used management, intellectual measures and recourses.
SAPGERIC Website (http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt) strong branding, professionally organized events (meetings and SAPGERIC international conference) have made the name SAPGERIC visible in the European Research Community. In addition, good relations with other European research activities have been established and SAPGERIC ambassadors have been speaking and attending panels on behalf of SAPGERIC at several related events. SAPGERIC logo and link to the website is visible on many relevant websites to attract potential stakeholders to learn more about SAPGERIC results.
For internal communication between team members, a shared workspace (PMP) has been established, where lively debates between the SAPGERIC team members were set up. These tools helped in transparent dissemination and communication between face-to-face meetings.
Within the SAPGERIC project, dissemination is an important activity. It draws upon the results in all the work packages and all relevant stakeholders are contributing to its achievements. The summary of dissemination activities (D 3.4) being part of Work Package 3 (“Communication & R”) and running over the total duration of the project, represents all the planned activities and certain additional ones being implemented.
The overview of main implemented dissemination activities are presented below:
1. Dissemination and communication at national level - Duration of the project
1.1. Dissemination to local stakeholders (during meetings, exchange of information, presentation of the project and conference concept, etc.); - Duration of the project
1.1.1. Dissemination to LT ministries (Education and Science Ministry, Ministry of foreign affairs, Ministry of finance, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor etc.) and LT president office - 2013 May; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
2013 May-2013 December
1.1.2. Funding agencies and other concerned bodies (ESF, Lithuanian science foundation, etc.) -
2013 June - periodic updates for the duration of the project
1.1.3. Posted information on Vilnius University web page on national language 2013 August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project.
1.1.4. Dissemination to Lithuanian scientific organizations: universities, research centers, etc. -2013
August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project.
1.2. Press releases, articles in different relevant official sites, social networks - 2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
1.3. Liaison with relevant project target institutions’ sites for the purpose of posting information about the project and international conference (ministries, education and research institutions, funding agencies, government representatives, etc.) - 2013 September – November – December;
2. Dissemination and communication at European level - Duration of the project;
2.1. Dissemination to European stakeholders (meetings, exchange of information, presentation of the project and conference concept, etc.) -Duration of the project;
2.1.1. IPC meetings, including European Commission representatives - 2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.2. European and International research institutions (universities, research centers, associations etc.) - 2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
2.1.3. Funding agencies and EU bodies: ESF and others, etc. -2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.4. Developed SAPGERIC website with relevant information about the project and international conference - 2013 August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.5. Posted information on European Commission, LT Presidency, ESF, EIGE, EPWS and other web sites -2013 August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
2.1.6. Press releases, articles in different relevant official sites and magazines (e.g. the parliament magazine), social networks -2013 November; Updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.7 Creation of a movie on “hidden” discrimination in science - 2013 June-2013 October; Movie "Striving for Awareness on SAPGERIC website- November 2013;
2.3. Liaison with relevant European project target institutions’ sites for the purpose of posting information about the project and international conference (European Commission, education and research institutions, funding agencies, associations, etc.) - 2013 August - September – November – December;
3. SAPGERIC conference -2013 November;
3.1. Printed materials (flyers, posters, conference book) - 2013 August and November 2013;
3.2. Press releases to relevant stakeholders through mass media -November
2013;
3.3. Personalized invitations to potential participants, while sending together information package on project and conference - 2013 August – November;
3.4. Interactive information about SAPGERIC conference on the website with feedbacks - 2013
November –December;
3.5. Web-streaming conference sessions in real and post conference time on SAPGERIC website
- 2013 November- May 2014;
4. SAPGERIC conference follows up activities - 2014 February- duration of the project;
All SAPGERIC meetings that were implemented during the course of the project are presented below:
Meeting place Meeting date Participants number
I. Team meetings:
Kick – off meeting, VU ITPA Vilnius, 5 August, 2013, No. of participants- 12;
Operational meeting (1), VU ITPA Vilnius, 17 October 2013 10;
Operational meeting 2, Crowne Plaza Vilnius Hotel, 20 November 2013, No. of participants- 17
Operational meeting (3), Cafe“Aula”Vilnius, 14 January, 2013, No. of participants -
9;
II. IPC meetings
Meeting (1), EC premises Brussels, 27 June 2013, no. of participants- 8; Virtual meeting 14 October, 2013
Meeting (2), Crowne Plaza Vilnius Hotel, 20 November, 2013 no. of participants- 15
III. LTPP meetings
6 Virtual meetings by e-mail-during the project;
Meeting in Vilnius, hotel “Artis”, 24 October 2013, no. of participants- 8
IV Other meetings concerned with implementation project tasks
Meeting in the Trondheim (Norway), NTNU Trondheim, 27-28 of February 2014, no. of participants- 10
Meeting in the Reykjavik, Nordic House, 7-10 of April 2014, No. of participants- 10; Meeting with EUSBSR National contact point coordinator, Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 20 of December, 2013, no. of participants- 4;
Communications with Mr. Anders Bergström, EUSBSR PA Education coordinator, by phone and e-mail, January –May, 2014; No. of participants- 2
Meeting in Vilnius with Britt-Marie Söderberg Torstensson (EUSBSR flagship project coordinator), Forum Palace Vilnius, 27 of March 2014, no. of participants- 4;
The conference organizers get many positive testimonials and responses from participants on conference content, speaker’s selection and organizational related issues. Moreover during the Lithuania's EU Presidency closing event organized by Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs the President of Lithuanian Republic Dalia Grybauskaitė on the basis of the issued decree 1K-1686 presented symbolic commemorative badges to the members of the EU Council Presidency team as acknowledgement of their responsible and professional work during the presidency. Among awarded team members was Assoc. Prof. Dalia Satkovskiene for the excellent work organizing LT presidency event SAPGERIC conference
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Y71YGUfuSRw?rel=0&autoplay=1.
The wide dissemination campaign highlighting the conference and enabling use of modern tools led to raising awareness among research institutions, funding agencies, researches and society at large on the best practices modernizing research institutions and promoting gender equality. All the activities taken gave input to on-going initiatives related to gender equality in the European Research Area.
The dissemination strategy ensured the continuation of the conference tasks and provided the input ensuring sustainability to perpetuate the conference results by the deeper involvement of stakeholders and Academia from Member States, new COST activities, EEA countries and Lithuanian bilateral collaboration in the field as well as Horizon 2020 activities.
List of Websites:
http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt/
Dalia Satkovskiene
phone + 37065992833
fax + 37052732039
e-mail dalia.satkovskiene@ff.vu.lt
The SAPGERIC project aimed at the organization of the Lithuanian presidency conference “Structural changes promoting gender equality in research organizations”. The main goal of the conference was to reflect the current state of activities at EU level for promoting gender equality in research institutions and to enhance the effective dialogue and knowledge sharing between academia, research institutions, funding agencies, researchers, policy makers and society.
The concept of the conference included three closely related aspects: a political, an institutional and a “scientific”, covering different areas of activity: policy making, governmental, institutional and specific role of scientific society each having different tasks and challenges.
The conference brought together stakeholders from 34 European countries and offered them a platform for sharing and learning from the best practices gained in promoting gender equality in research. The conference provided an input to the European strategy and sustainability to perpetuate the results and reflect on how the stakeholders should collaborate.
The LT presidency priorities allowed to broaden the frame of the EU gender mainstreaming policy in research offering the possibility to include gender issues into running international and regional EU programmes closely linked to research activities.
The participation of high level speakers ensured high level and European visibility of the conference.
The VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were worked out by the Conference participants were submitted to the EU Council on Competitiveness under the LT Presidency.
On the basis of the Conference results a ROADMAP presenting the suggested activities for post project period was drafted and a set of recommendations for the inclusion of gender equality actions in the research components of international Eastern Partnership and regional Baltic Sea Strategy programmes were developed.
A wide dissemination campaign and the use of social media and communication tools led to raising awareness among research institutions, funding agencies researches and society at large on the best practices for modernizing research institutions and promoting gender equality in research.
It is expected that the project results will contribute strongly for effective implementation of gender equality in research organizations in Europe.
Project Context and Objectives:
Gender equality in science is one of the European Union challenges while implementing ambitious goals targeted at the creation of the Innovation Union, with competitive economics based on scientific achievements. EU strategic documents are emphasizing the significance of the enlargement of the talent pool in sciences by including more women researchers to further research and development in Europe. The gender equality problem in research has two main aspects of discrimination: a vertical one and a horizontal one.
Vertical discrimination reveals itself in gender imbalanced research governing structures (male researchers in all scientific fields usually occupy the highest academic positions), control of human and financial resources, as well as the determination of the science development directions. The horizontal one manifests itself in large gender disproportion in different scientific fields (male counterparts are prevailing in hard and technological sciences when female ones in social and humanitarian sciences). Analyzing the statistics presented in the She figures 2012 one can conclude that irrespectively of the noticeable growth resulting in more balanced representation during the last decades, the carrier opportunities in research are not yet equal for male and female researchers, as well as only about 20 percent of all researchers are women in so called “hard sciences” such as physics, engineering and technological sciences. In spite of many political measures taken by the European Commission during more than two decades the changes are not sufficient.
Structural change aiming at the improvement of framework conditions for research and innovation is one of the key success factors leading to gender equality in research organizations. The measures undertaken implementing structural changes promoting gender equality in research institutions are understood as an important part of research institutions modernization process. Structural change aims at starting changes transforming institutional practices and culture in research and scientific decision-making bodies for supporting gender diversity and equal opportunities between women and men. During the last years EU funded SIS FP7 projects such as PRAGES, Meta-Analysis, GenSET and others identified the best systemic organizational approaches to increase the participation and career advancement of women researchers. The analysis of results obtained shows the necessity to work out the holistic approach how to activate and retain more women in research. The requirements for sustainable structural change were outlined in the materials of the workshop organized by the European Commission's Directorate General for Research and Innovation. It was stated that the mechanisms for change should be developed and addressed at all levels (EU level, Regional and Member States) and to all sectors of research including high education, government, and business enterprise research. Member States are asked to endorse the institutional standards and guidelines for improving gender equality in research organizations formulated in the ERA Communication. The sustainability of policies and practices can be achieved by using: commitment towards implementation; modernization of research management including methods used for recruiting and retaining women in research organizations, as well as improving working culture. The support of policy makers, administrators and gatekeepers of excellence in research institutions and scientific community is one of the important steps of the entire process. To ensure sustainability of gender equality implementation process it is also necessary to reinforce accountability by setting measurable targets, using benchmarking and gender audits for determining gaps in performance, as well as pointing out effective and efficient ways of moving forward in mainstreaming gender in all research activities.
The main goal of the conference "Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organizations" was to reflect the current state of activities promoting gender equality in research institutions at European level and enhancing an effective dialogue and knowledge sharing among stakeholders (academia, research institutions, funding agencies, researchers, policy makers and society).
Gender equality in research institutions is the final, resulting point of the whole complex process which involves several cultural and social aspects. The "strategy" to solve such problematic issue needs support from all the stakeholders involved. Therefore, the conference “Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organizations" is offering the space to discuss and elaborate a comprehensive strategy to implement gender equality in research organizations. The conference faces three closely related aspects: a political, an institutional and an “academic” aspect, each covering different areas of activity: policy making and governmental area, institutional and academic community area, containing specific tasks and challenges.
The SAPGERIC project was addressed to raise awareness on the best practices to modernize research institutions and promote gender equality in ERA, to stimulate dialogue and cooperation among research institutions, funding agencies, researchers and society at large; and contribute much to their engagement in the implementation of gender equality in research institutions.
The main objectives of the conferences were:
1. To offer a platform for stakeholders for sharing and learning from the best practices gained in promoting gender equality in research. To implement this, we aimed to:
# Create a data base of the most advanced potential lecturers, rapporteurs and moderators in the fields of interest;
# Establish an international programme/advisory committee including scientists and stakeholders internationally recognized, in order to advise and select speakers and presentations;
# Use a participative and inclusive approach when organizing the conference sessions as well as modern IT tools for making conference presentations more attractive and more widely seen;
2. To provide the input to European strategy and sustainability to perpetuate the results. To implement this, we aimed to:
# Reflect the current state of activities at EU level targeted for promoting gender equality in research institutions and present the best practices gained in advanced countries and research institutions. During the conference the following topics will be discussed: Up-to-the-date European science policy and its social aspect - gender equality in science; The political and institutional measures supporting gender balanced science for increasing the quality and relevance of the research; The ways of engagement in partnership funding agencies, research organizations, professional scientific societies and researchers for fostering cultural and institutional change on gender issues; The methods of monitoring and measuring impact of activities implementing structural change promoting gender equality in research institutions;
# Develop recommendations on gender issues in science for running EU programmes included into LT presidency priorities: analyze Action plans of running EU programmes included into Lithuanian presidency priorities; organize debates with Lithuanian and EEA policy makers and on the basis of the best practices in the field gained both from EEA countries and Lithuania develop recommendations for running regional and international EU programmes involved into LT presidency priorities; present the problem during the Conference for discussions;
# Create the short movie on “hidden” discriminations as an effective measure lowering the resistance to the structural changes promoting gender equality in institutions for scientific communities where the masculine culture is prevailing.
3. Reflect on how the stakeholders should collaborate within. To implement this, we aimed to:
# Organize special debates among the stakeholders on the topic during the conference and analyze good practices;
# Raise visibility of the conference by creating an interactive conference website with wide possibilities (to make web streaming of sessions in the real time, use video conference with remote speakers) including the ones of social networking;
Project Results:
The SAPGERIC project activities were targeted to organize the high level LT presidency conference: “Structural change promoting gender equality in research organizations”. Thus the results achieved are directly related to conference organizational issues (content and technical ones) and the outcome concerned with developed documents - recommendations targeted to stakeholders for furthering implementation on structural change by promoting gender equality in research organizations. Communication activities were devoted to communication and dissemination of the conference and its results.
The organizational issues dealt with a very important challenge to reach the main goal of the project - to organize the high level conference (objectives 1 and 2). The content development part was targeted to reveal the main achievements in the field as well as the main thematic issues of LT Presidency and to involve the main stakeholders from Member States and Associated Countries into effective and fruitful discussion on measures needed for the implementation of institutional change relating to HR management, funding, decision making and research. The technical part was devoted to the technical issues needed for organization and management of the conference.
For the development of the conference content issues the following activities were implemented (D2.1 D2.2 D2.5): a) the analysis of gender studies in research and overview of EU gender in science policy documents was provided; b) studies of institutions’ activities and policies, overview of related events and its participants, identifying the most relevant institutions and individuals and biographies of potential speakers, their achievements in terms of gender equality and structural change practices was provided; c)on the basis of the mentioned results the conference draft Agenda was created and the data base of the most advanced potential lecturers, rapporteurs and moderators in the fields of interest was created. The inclusion of Lithuanian presidency priorities into the conference served the opportunity to enrich the content of the discussions on gender in research engaging both the running EU international the Eastern Partnership and regional The Baltic Sea Strategy programmes (EaP and EUSBSR) not directly concerned with research, which was very important for fostering gender equality in research and integrating gender dimension in research. The European Economy Area (EEA) countries' grant awarded to Vilnius University in the frame of the bilateral relations development programme, devoted to the topic allowed to use the experience of countries advanced in gender issues (Norway and Iceland) and broaden the frames of EU gender mainstreaming policy in research. The following steps were done to develop Recommendations on gender issues in science for running EU programmes included into LT presidency priorities (D2.3 D2.6): Action plans of mentioned EU programmes were analyzed; debates with Lithuanian and EEA policy makers were organized; recommendations for updating Action plans of running regional and international EU programmes were created; the topic was presented during the Conference for discussions. Those activities bring the conference closer to the LT presidency priorities, as well as broaden the frames of EU gender mainstreaming policy in research. The conference structure (3 plenary sessions, 1 plenary discussion, 7 parallel sessions, 1 round table discussion and electronic poster exhibition) was caused by: the conference format, the objectives and the multidimensionality of areas to be discussed. To widen the ossibilities for informal discussions the networking event was included into the agenda. According to the concept of the conference the agenda was structured using “top-down” approach starting discussions from international level initiatives and political decisions and finishing by practical measures used on institutional level with following feedback giving input to the Strategy. The participation of high level speakers ensured high level and European visibility of the conference. Among them was LT president H.E. Dalia Grybauskaite, Ms. Máire Geoghegan - Quinn (European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science), Mr. Bjørn Haugstad (State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research) , Ms Saniye Gülser Corat (Director of Gender Equality Division, UNESCO), Mme. Nicole Améline (UN CEDAW), Prof Maria Elzbieta Orlowska (Secretary of State, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education), Prof Anne Glover (Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission), Prof Maria Helena Nazaré (President of European Universities Association) and others.
The part concerned with implementation of technical organizational issues includes the project and conference management. The complex Project Management (PM) approach was adopted (D1.1) in order to serve the main key aspect, namely: the Supporting action implementation and innovative character of the project bundling the applications of advanced policies and practices together with programme objectives while implementing the high level LT Presidency SAPGERIC conference. Modern IT tools such as PMP (project management platform (D4.4)) were incorporated in a daily work of the project implementation team. Project implementation groups such as PC (Project Coordination) and local implementation team, International Programme Committee – IPC, and LT Presidency Priorities committee – LPC adopted collaborative approach in their work aiming to constructively and effectively achieve project results. The main goals for coordination and management which were achieved while implementing the SAPGERIC project: 1.Managing finances (Understanding the concepts; Monitoring expenses and cash-flows and Reporting); 2. Managing Communication (Decision-making; Managing Project meetings; Conflict management; Optimization of Communication, dissemination and exploitation; Application the provisions of the supporting actions and Reporting); 3. Monitoring, including check and control of the project team work towards deliverables and reporting.
Large teamwork part was devoted to implementation and management of flawless conference workflow (D4.1 D4.3). Holding a successful conference constitutes a hallmark of excellence for a professional society. While many factors contribute to the success of such a meeting, a key factor is careful planning and organization. To successfully organize the SAPGERIC conference, the project team adopted a systematic approach while planning the conference, which includes:
1. Making preliminary background analyses and assessments;
2. Implementing public procurement procedures for suppliers (D4.2);
3. Selecting key conference officers and organizing team members;
4. Negotiating with the conference venue, hotels, and other necessary suppliers to assure quality services;
5. Developing and implementing the conference master plan – detailed conference flow plan (D4.3);
6. Following through and implementing planned decisions according to agreed deadlines;
7. Anticipating, preventing and managing contingencies;
8. Collecting feedback, evaluating event and coordinating post-conference activities.
Using a systematic approach simplifies the task and makes it possible to run a successful conference. The whole detail planning of the activities, timing and event flow planning was done based on conference agenda, developed by SAPGERIC project content team collaborating with IPC and LT presidency priorities committe mong the main outcomes of SAPGERIC project three important documents targeted to stakeholders for furthering the implementation of structural change promoting gender equality in research organizations can be mentioned, which were developed on the basis of the materials coming from the SAPGERIC project conference “Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organizations”: VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 – Promoting Gender Equality in Research
Organizations including universities; The Recommendations for the inclusion of gender equality actions in the research components of international and regional programmes (Eastern Partnership(EaP)and Baltic Sea Strategy (EUSBSR )) and the Roadmap for reforms to induce structural change in research institutions with respect to Horizon 2020 and ERA.
VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 (D2.4) were developed by conference organizers with close collaboration with IPC members on the basis of topics presented in the abstracts of talks submitted by conference speakers and on the following EU documents.:
• Council of the European Union (2010), Council conclusions on various issues related to the development of the ERA, as adopted by the Competitiveness Council at its meeting on 26 May 2010, Council conclusions RECH 203 COMPET 177;
• Structural change in research institutions: Enhancing excellence, gender equality and efficiency in research and innovation. European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation Directorate B – European Research Area, 2011;
• Initiating and Sustaining Structural Change. Reflection on the Outcomes of the Workshop on Structural Change in order to improve Gender Equality in Research Organizations in Europe. Towards a Recommendation to the Member States, 2011;
• Communication From The Commission To The European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic And Social Committee And The Committee Of The Regions. A Reinforced European Research Area Partnership for Excellence and Growth. Brussels, 17.7.2012;
• Eastern Partnership: A Roadmap to the autumn 2013 Summit, Brussels, 15.5.2012 JOIN(2012) 13 final [http://ec.europa.eu/world/enp/docs/2012_enp_pack/e_pship_roadmap_en.pdf]
• European Union strategy for the Baltic sea region, Brussels, SEC (2009) 712/2
[http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2009:0248:FIN:EN:PDF].
Before the last session of SAPGERIC conference VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were presented to the conference participants. The Recommendations were discussed during the conference and decision to submit them to EU council after one week allocated for notes and corrections was adopted. VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were submitted by Lithuanian Minister of Education and Science Dainius Pavalkis to EU Competiveness Council on the 3rd December, 2013 and are available for on-line signing on SAPGERIC website http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt/recommendations/ . Following suggestions of Lithuanian, Norwegian, Liechtenstein and Icelandic representatives, VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 were supplemented by the following item: “To include gender equality actions in the research components of international and regional programmes (such as Eastern Partnership and Baltic Sea Strategy)”. Gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research, these recommendations shall be applied to all the EU Member States as well as to partnering and neighboring countries. Those activities also brought the conference closer to the LT presidency priorities, as well as broadened the frames of EU gender mainstreaming policy in research. On the basis of provided analysis of Action plans of mentioned programmes the Recommendations revealing main points to be included into updated Action plans of EaP and EUSBSR programs were developed (D2.3).
For clarifying goals and settling milestones, highlighting priority action for implementation of VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 the ROADMAP (D3.5) was developed. Hence, the audience of ROADMAP are all stakeholders mentioned in the Vilnius Recommendations 2013: The EU Council, Parliament, and the Commission; the EU member states and associated countries; international and national research funding agencies; all research organizations; as well as scientific communities. The overwhelming goal of the ROADMAP is insurance of gender equality in science understanding it as an establishment of favorable conditions for both women and men in research and science management.
Enduring (not continuous though) European policy in the field of gender in science leads to the structural change aimed at the improvement of framework conditions for research and innovation. The measures undertaken implementing structural changes for promoting gender equality in research institutions are highlighted as an important part of research institutions modernization process and are seen as one of the key success factors leading to the establishment of gender equality in research organizations. Taking into account previous political statements and other initiatives at the EU level as well as considering results of the FP7 project SAPGERIC conference and the position proclaimed by the stakeholders in Vilnius Recommendations 2013, the following priority areas of stakeholders’ activities are highlighted in the ROADMAP:
• Insurance of durability and sustainability of gender in science policy at EU level;
• Development of efficient system of coordination of all stakeholders’ efforts directed towards gender equality in science;
• Creation of European system of monitoring and evaluating the progress made in implementing structural change promoting gender equality in research in the EU member states and acceding, candidate, associated and neighboring countries;
• Security of support for interdisciplinary research in gender studies to strengthen gender knowledge and expertise.
Each area related to the main problematic issues, as they were highlighted by high level experts from the overall Europe and other countries during the SAPGERIC conference, also are enumerated. Essential actions for moving on in each area are specified in the ROADMAP.
As the additional measure for lowering the resistance to the structural changes promoting gender equality in research institutions with the prevailing masculine culture the movie on “Striving for Awareness” was created (D3.2 D3.3). For creation of movie scenarios the women scientists over the Europe were asked to present short episodes from their own life. The movie is available in SAPGERIC conference website: http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt/striving-for-awareness-the-movie/
Potential Impact:
The outcome of the SAPGERIC actions strongly contributed towards the ones expected in the Work programme:
•#The conference raised awareness among research institutions, funding agencies, researchers and society at large on the best practices to modernize research institutions and promote gender equality in science;
•#The conference formulated the VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 submitted to the EU Council during LT presidency.
• A set of recommendations based on the results of the conference gave inputs for ROADMAP for reforms introducing structural change in research organizations with respect to on-going initiatives related to gender equality in the European Research Area (ERA) and Horizon 2020;
•#The conference provided input ensuring sustainability to perpetuate the conference results by the deeper involvement of stakeholders and academia from Member States, new COST activities, EEA countries and Lithuanian bilateral collaboration in the field as well as Horizon 2020 activities.
•#The results of the conference gave an impact on areas interested in gender equality in research. The initiative of involving non-scientific international and regional EU projects concerned with research activities provided more attention to the problem in society and will ensure additional support for structural changes in research organizations.
•#The overall activities of the conference organization and conference results encouraged women scientist and gender experts to engage into H2020.
•#The team members benefited from this international collaboration. The tasks of the SAPGERIC project were quite a big challenge for the project implementation team. It needed the motivation of the team, creativity, qualification and experience. The involvement of international experts enriched the level of understanding of the problem and gave added value for the success of the conference. Hence, it can be concluded that the SAPGERIC conference created a major added- value to the successful implementation of gender equality in research organizations, as well as gave input to ongoing initiatives to gender equality to ERA and Horizon 2020.
The SAPGERIC dissemination activities aimed at spreading information about:
a) The gender equality in science problem;
b) EU gender equality policy in science;
c) LT presidency conference and its results- VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 targeted to all stakeholders and submitted to the EU Council during LT presidency;
d) Conference follow- up activities.
Taking into account that for ensuring gender equality in research organizations it is needed to use common efforts of many stakeholders, the planned dissemination process was targeted to different target groups:
a) EU and Member State's policy makers;
b) Administrators of Universities and research institutions;
c) Scientific community;
d) Society at all.
Accordingly to the dissemination forms and content it differed for different target groups. Moreover, for the foreseen dissemination measures different levels were used: European, Member States and project level. The dissemination and communication strategy was depending on the stages of the project. In the initial stages of the project the priorities concentrated on the dissemination of the conference (advertising the problem, goals of the conference, speakers and other details concerned with it). Later the priorities were moved to the organizational issues (registration, changes in the Agenda, Poster submission and selection procedures etc.) Participant materials (abstracts, presentations, interviews taken during the conference) developed during the conference new ideas presented in VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 as well as follow up activities are the priorities for dissemination in the post conference period.
The use of a wide range of communication tools helped the team to not only to organize the conference but also allowed reaching different kinds of recipients. Printed leaflets advertising the conference were distributed during international events prior to the conference, and during meetings with LT and EEA policy makers. The conference website, EC and stakeholder’s organization’s websites (LT Presidency, LT President, Norwegian Ministry of Science and Education, ESF, EIGE, EPWS, BASNET Forumas and others) were effectively used for the information campaign. Articles in the EU (The Parliament Magazine) and Lithuania States Mass Media (TV, radio), Press releases (ELTA), abstracts and conference materials were published and distributed among conference participants. The conference website was the central tool for the contents creation and dissemination in the electronic universe. Visibility of the conference material on search engines was maximized through programming techniques allowing best and fastest indexing of the contents. Extensive use of Quick Response Code (QR) coding of links and QR processing was used for easier material access. The conference sessions were web streamed in real time and available on SAPGERIC website. VILNIUS RECOMMENDATIONS 2013 and the movie “Striving for Awareness” on “hidden” discrimination in research are available on the conference website. The latter also are used during various relevant meetings and events.
The measures taken gave large impact both on the countries less advanced in tackling gender equality problem in research as well as on those more advanced because of sharing practices and information about the existing and not yet used management, intellectual measures and recourses.
SAPGERIC Website (http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt) strong branding, professionally organized events (meetings and SAPGERIC international conference) have made the name SAPGERIC visible in the European Research Community. In addition, good relations with other European research activities have been established and SAPGERIC ambassadors have been speaking and attending panels on behalf of SAPGERIC at several related events. SAPGERIC logo and link to the website is visible on many relevant websites to attract potential stakeholders to learn more about SAPGERIC results.
For internal communication between team members, a shared workspace (PMP) has been established, where lively debates between the SAPGERIC team members were set up. These tools helped in transparent dissemination and communication between face-to-face meetings.
Within the SAPGERIC project, dissemination is an important activity. It draws upon the results in all the work packages and all relevant stakeholders are contributing to its achievements. The summary of dissemination activities (D 3.4) being part of Work Package 3 (“Communication & R”) and running over the total duration of the project, represents all the planned activities and certain additional ones being implemented.
The overview of main implemented dissemination activities are presented below:
1. Dissemination and communication at national level - Duration of the project
1.1. Dissemination to local stakeholders (during meetings, exchange of information, presentation of the project and conference concept, etc.); - Duration of the project
1.1.1. Dissemination to LT ministries (Education and Science Ministry, Ministry of foreign affairs, Ministry of finance, Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor etc.) and LT president office - 2013 May; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
2013 May-2013 December
1.1.2. Funding agencies and other concerned bodies (ESF, Lithuanian science foundation, etc.) -
2013 June - periodic updates for the duration of the project
1.1.3. Posted information on Vilnius University web page on national language 2013 August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project.
1.1.4. Dissemination to Lithuanian scientific organizations: universities, research centers, etc. -2013
August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project.
1.2. Press releases, articles in different relevant official sites, social networks - 2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
1.3. Liaison with relevant project target institutions’ sites for the purpose of posting information about the project and international conference (ministries, education and research institutions, funding agencies, government representatives, etc.) - 2013 September – November – December;
2. Dissemination and communication at European level - Duration of the project;
2.1. Dissemination to European stakeholders (meetings, exchange of information, presentation of the project and conference concept, etc.) -Duration of the project;
2.1.1. IPC meetings, including European Commission representatives - 2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.2. European and International research institutions (universities, research centers, associations etc.) - 2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
2.1.3. Funding agencies and EU bodies: ESF and others, etc. -2013 June; Periodic updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.4. Developed SAPGERIC website with relevant information about the project and international conference - 2013 August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.5. Posted information on European Commission, LT Presidency, ESF, EIGE, EPWS and other web sites -2013 August; Periodic updates for the duration of the project
2.1.6. Press releases, articles in different relevant official sites and magazines (e.g. the parliament magazine), social networks -2013 November; Updates for the duration of the project;
2.1.7 Creation of a movie on “hidden” discrimination in science - 2013 June-2013 October; Movie "Striving for Awareness on SAPGERIC website- November 2013;
2.3. Liaison with relevant European project target institutions’ sites for the purpose of posting information about the project and international conference (European Commission, education and research institutions, funding agencies, associations, etc.) - 2013 August - September – November – December;
3. SAPGERIC conference -2013 November;
3.1. Printed materials (flyers, posters, conference book) - 2013 August and November 2013;
3.2. Press releases to relevant stakeholders through mass media -November
2013;
3.3. Personalized invitations to potential participants, while sending together information package on project and conference - 2013 August – November;
3.4. Interactive information about SAPGERIC conference on the website with feedbacks - 2013
November –December;
3.5. Web-streaming conference sessions in real and post conference time on SAPGERIC website
- 2013 November- May 2014;
4. SAPGERIC conference follows up activities - 2014 February- duration of the project;
All SAPGERIC meetings that were implemented during the course of the project are presented below:
Meeting place Meeting date Participants number
I. Team meetings:
Kick – off meeting, VU ITPA Vilnius, 5 August, 2013, No. of participants- 12;
Operational meeting (1), VU ITPA Vilnius, 17 October 2013 10;
Operational meeting 2, Crowne Plaza Vilnius Hotel, 20 November 2013, No. of participants- 17
Operational meeting (3), Cafe“Aula”Vilnius, 14 January, 2013, No. of participants -
9;
II. IPC meetings
Meeting (1), EC premises Brussels, 27 June 2013, no. of participants- 8; Virtual meeting 14 October, 2013
Meeting (2), Crowne Plaza Vilnius Hotel, 20 November, 2013 no. of participants- 15
III. LTPP meetings
6 Virtual meetings by e-mail-during the project;
Meeting in Vilnius, hotel “Artis”, 24 October 2013, no. of participants- 8
IV Other meetings concerned with implementation project tasks
Meeting in the Trondheim (Norway), NTNU Trondheim, 27-28 of February 2014, no. of participants- 10
Meeting in the Reykjavik, Nordic House, 7-10 of April 2014, No. of participants- 10; Meeting with EUSBSR National contact point coordinator, Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 20 of December, 2013, no. of participants- 4;
Communications with Mr. Anders Bergström, EUSBSR PA Education coordinator, by phone and e-mail, January –May, 2014; No. of participants- 2
Meeting in Vilnius with Britt-Marie Söderberg Torstensson (EUSBSR flagship project coordinator), Forum Palace Vilnius, 27 of March 2014, no. of participants- 4;
The conference organizers get many positive testimonials and responses from participants on conference content, speaker’s selection and organizational related issues. Moreover during the Lithuania's EU Presidency closing event organized by Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs the President of Lithuanian Republic Dalia Grybauskaitė on the basis of the issued decree 1K-1686 presented symbolic commemorative badges to the members of the EU Council Presidency team as acknowledgement of their responsible and professional work during the presidency. Among awarded team members was Assoc. Prof. Dalia Satkovskiene for the excellent work organizing LT presidency event SAPGERIC conference
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Y71YGUfuSRw?rel=0&autoplay=1.
The wide dissemination campaign highlighting the conference and enabling use of modern tools led to raising awareness among research institutions, funding agencies, researches and society at large on the best practices modernizing research institutions and promoting gender equality. All the activities taken gave input to on-going initiatives related to gender equality in the European Research Area.
The dissemination strategy ensured the continuation of the conference tasks and provided the input ensuring sustainability to perpetuate the conference results by the deeper involvement of stakeholders and Academia from Member States, new COST activities, EEA countries and Lithuanian bilateral collaboration in the field as well as Horizon 2020 activities.
List of Websites:
http://www.sapgeric.eu2013.vu.lt/
Dalia Satkovskiene
phone + 37065992833
fax + 37052732039
e-mail dalia.satkovskiene@ff.vu.lt
