Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI
Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI

Project

Centre of Excellence on inclusive Gender Equality in Research and Innovation: Creating Knowledge & Engaging in Collaborative Action

INSPIRE aims to be a sustainable centre of excellence, globally renowned for the quality of its research and analysis produced on institutional change – with a special emphasis on inclusive Gender Equality Plans. It brings together cutting-edge knowledge, ambitious policy approaches, and innovative practices to provide a gateway for scholars, equality experts, practitioners and trainers to connect with institutions and policymakers working for change. INSPIRE counts on 4 Knowledge and Support Hubs across Europe and beyond, developing contextually grounded knowledge on sustaining change, widening participation, addressing intersectionality and fostering innovation and change in the private sector, whilst creating and facilitating 12 communities of practice engaging with change for a more inclusive research and innovation institutions.

Expand all Close all

The four main aims of INSPIRE are:

  1. Establish a world class European Centre of Excellence to streamline access to knowledge and expertise across R&I throughout the ERA, and provide thought leadership & direction in the design, implementation and evaluation of inclusive GEPs from an intersectional perspective.
  2. Advance European knowledge of inclusive GEP implementation, through building on existing, and developing, implementing, testing and disseminating novel research instruments to produce comparable yet contextually specific (institutional, geographic, and sectoral) knowledge: GEP monitoring survey, extended GEAM tool for inclusive GEP audit and comparative case-study research on 1) conditions for achieving GEP impact, 2) barriers and facilitating factors for effective intersectional equality and diversity policies, and 3) regional gender-sensitive policies
  3. Create four knowledge and support hubs across Europe to advance knowledge of inclusive GEP implementation in R&I institutions in four thematic areas: Sustaining Change, Widening Participation, Intersectionality; and Innovation - through co-creation methods and expert engagement
  4. Improve the reach of critical expertise throughout Europe by involving 1000 + experts, practitioners and scholars from different Member States and beyond though knowledge and support hub activities, communities of practice and multifunctional GE partnership/ peer online portal.

INSPIRE builds on the assumption that advancing gender equality policies and practices in R&I along three axes of inclusiveness (intersectional, sectorial, geographical) calls for an articulated approach where comparative knowledge is produced by novel research instruments, co-creation methods, and wider debate, allowing for specific contextualisation and design of strategies, practices and support for sustainably inclusive research and innovation. At the core of this tenet lies a participatory approach, involving a diverse range of R&I institutions willing to engage in research-driven co-creation methods as well as co-development of innovative approaches for implementing inclusive gender equality plans through communities of practice.

Duration

10.2022-9.2026

Clients

Horizon Europe (European Commission)

Partners

FUOC - Fundació per a la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Coordinator), Joanneum Research (Austria), University of Southern Denmark (Denmark), Jagiellonian University in Krakow Poland), Notus (Spain), Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencas Sociales (Argentinia), Europa Media (Hungary), Portia (UK), Radboud University (The Netherlands), Hasselt University (Belgium), Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Slovenia), GESIS- Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (Germany), INNOSYSTEMS M.IKE. (Greece)