Grants to Advance the Implementation of the ERA Gender Equality and Inclusiveness

Deadline: 23-Sep-21

The European Commission is calling for proposals to Advance the Implementation of the ERA Gender Equality and Inclusiveness.

Horizon Europe has a new level of ambition – to maximise the impact of EU research and innovation funding for European science, economy and the wider society.

It marks a paradigm change in the design of the EU R&I Framework Programmes (FP) from an activity-driven to an impact-driven programme.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of R&I cooperation to deliver solutions to society’s most demanding needs. Delivering Europe’s recovery is a priority as are the green and digital twin transitions.

To match these challenges, a new level of ambition that links better R&I with the economy, as well as with education and training, is necessary to put the EU’s scientific knowledge to work.

The new ERA calls for deepening existing priorities and initiatives through new and stronger approaches.

The green and digital transitions and the recovery call for cooperation between the Commission and the Member States.

They require the setting of new priorities, launching ambitious joint initiatives and developing common approaches between policies.

Scope

Building on related projects and actions supported through Horizon 2020, including project GENDERACTION, the action focuses on the establishment of a sustainable network of national representatives from all EU Member States and Associated Countries, both from national bodies (e.g. ministries) and from national research funding organisations, to support the implementation of the gender equality and inclusiveness objectives of the ERA.

During its lifetime, the action should:

• Develop various innovative and engagement activities, connect citizens, experts and policy makers, as well as contribute to policy making at national and European administration level.
• Provide support and advancing the knowledge of representatives of widening countries is of particular importance. The action should also develop knowledge and build capacities, competences and expertise for gender equality and mainstreaming in R&I with a variety of European and national stakeholders. Special consideration will be given to mutual learning exercises to enhance the competence of national gender equality representatives, including helping less experienced national gender representatives to acquire expertise.
• Establish a transnational Community of Practice of R&I funding organisations for the promotion of a gender-inclusive culture change in R&I institutions across Europe, linked through a Memorandum of Understanding. Specific attention should be paid to promoting the development of incentives or setting requirements at research funding level to foster institutional change in organisations, as well as establishing a zero-tolerance policy on gender-based violence including sexual harassment in R&I organisations.
• A specific focus should also be placed on promoting the integration of the gender dimension into R&I content, with an opening to intersectionality. For this, the action should foresee mobilising national expertise on the integration of the sex and gender analysis in R&I content to support the different Horizon Europe National Contact Points in all EU Member States.
• The work by this action should be performed in coordination with ERA-related official groups, and in collaboration with the European Commission, in line with ERA objectives.

Funding Information

Grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000 except for:

• public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
• cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).

Expected Outcome

Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:

• Development of a consistent and sustainable coordination network of national representatives on gender equality and inclusiveness in support of the implementation of the ERA Communication policy objectives, leading to better coordination of Member States’ efforts.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from non-associated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
• A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
• To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e:
  • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
  • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
  • eligible non-EU countries:
    • countries associated to Horizon Europe
    • low- and middle-income countries

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3xApHvT