Inclusive Research and Innovation ecosystems in Europe: what works, and how do we convince our stakeholders?

Inclusive Research and Innovation ecosystems in Europe: what works, and how do we convince our stakeholders?


In the webinar held on 7th December 2022, an expert panel debated the issues and held a Q&A.

Chaired by Moniek Tromp, Chair of the Young Academy of Europe (YAE), the webinar was co-organised between the AE Cardiff Hub, CALIPER and the Young Academy of Europe. A panel of four experts, representing different sectors and stakeholders, considered what works in achieving an inclusive and interconnected R&I ecosystem? And what are the barriers and how do we overcome them?

Our panel of experts were:

  • Marcela Linkova, Head of the Centre for Gender and Science at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Science (opening speaker)
  • Maria Sangiuliano, Research Director and Program Manager, Smart Venice/ CALIPER Project Scientific Gender Equality Plans Manager
  • Professor Anamari Nakić, Associate Professor, CALIPER Project Principal Researcher at UNIZG-FER
  • Linda Gustafsson, Gender Equality Officer at the Municipality of Umeå, Sweden

Key Themes

Creating a policy framework. Gender equality and inclusivity continue to a priority for the European Research Area (ERA).The Ljubljana Declaration put a robust policy framework in place, and the support of EU Member States continues to be strong, with a new subgroup under the ERA Forum to be created.  The Czech Presidency of the Council finishes its term with a call to action to end gender-based violence in academia, the outcome of a Presidency conference organised in November 2022 and intended to provide a strong base for activities to combat gender-based violence in academia and research.

Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). There is a lack of representation of women in STEM studies, STEM-oriented start-ups and enterprises. Universities are often challenged to find female students to enrol on STEM courses, and this difficulty is shared by high schools. If universities and industry want to integrate a gender dimension into scientific methods, they must design products that meet the needs of the whole population and are fully inclusive. Expanding the definition of innovation ecosystems to include women, NGOs, social innovation actors and national level entities, and integrating a gender-plus dimension into this vision, would allow universities and research funding bodies to identify possible joint actions and motivate university leaders and managers.

Stakeholder engagement. It remains hugely important to involve multiple stakeholders in the gender equality process.  We often focus on top-level management support, and it can be difficult to reach out more widely and raise awareness among researchers, academics, administrators and perhaps also students.  It’s key we build alliances with men, and integrate them into change processes and projects from the start. Focus groups comprised of solely male managers have proven effective, ensuring their active support.


Watch the webinar


Read our briefing paper

Read the briefing paper summarising the key themes and ideas discussed at our webinar.



This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 873134

Updated 14th December 2022. For further information please contact AECardiffHub@cardiff.ac.uk
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