R-I PEERS · Project

Ready-Made Gender Equality Plans for Research Organizations and Universities

otherPilotedTRL 6Thin data (2/5)

Imagine you run a research lab and notice most leadership positions are filled by men, not because they're better, but because the system was set up that way decades ago. This project went into 7 organizations across the Mediterranean and actually built and tested step-by-step plans to fix that — from hiring practices to decision-making rules. They also built an online platform where organizations can share what worked and what didn't, so nobody has to start from scratch.

By the numbers

Gender Equality Plans implemented and validated in R&I organizations

consortium partner organizations across the project

countries represented in the consortium

total project deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Many research organizations and universities across Europe now need formal Gender Equality Plans to qualify for EU funding under Horizon Europe, but most lack practical experience in designing and implementing them. Building a GEP from scratch is time-consuming and risky — organizations don't know what actually works. This creates demand for tested templates and real implementation experience from organizations that have already gone through the process.

The solution

What was built

The project built and validated 7 Gender Equality Plans in real R&I organizations across 8 Mediterranean countries, plus the Peer Community Platform — a knowledge-sharing tool where organizations exchange implementation experiences. A total of 31 deliverables were produced covering methodology, implementation guides, and results.

Audience

Who needs this

Universities and research centers needing Horizon Europe GEP complianceHR consulting firms offering diversity and inclusion servicesNational research funding agencies setting gender equality requirementsTechnology parks and innovation clusters implementing equality policiesEU project coordinators needing dissemination of gender equality practices

Business applications

Who can put this to work

HR Consulting & Diversity Services

SME

Target: HR consulting firms specializing in organizational transformation and diversity compliance

If you are an HR consulting firm helping clients meet EU gender equality requirements — this project developed 7 tested Gender Equality Plans across different organization types that you can use as proven blueprints. Instead of designing plans from scratch for each client, you get field-tested templates from 8 countries and a knowledge-sharing platform with real implementation lessons.

Higher Education & Research Institutions

any

Target: Universities and research centers needing to comply with Horizon Europe GEP requirements

If you are a university or research center that needs a Gender Equality Plan to qualify for Horizon Europe funding — this project created and validated 7 GEPs in real research organizations across the Mediterranean. The Peer Community Platform gives you access to implementation guides and peer experiences from 11 partner institutions across 8 countries.

Public Sector & Policy Advisory

enterprise

Target: National research funding agencies and innovation policy bodies

If you are a funding agency or policy body looking to enforce gender balance requirements across your funded organizations — this project tested practical methods to smooth the gap in gender representation in decision-making across 7 organizations. The validated approaches and the knowledge platform provide a ready evidence base for designing compliance criteria.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement one of these Gender Equality Plans?

The project data does not include specific implementation costs per GEP. Since R-I PEERS was a Coordination and Support Action, the plans were developed with EU funding. Actual implementation costs would depend on organization size and current policies. Contact the coordinator for cost estimates.

Can these plans scale to large organizations with thousands of employees?

The 7 GEPs were tested in diverse organization types — universities, research centers, and other R&I organizations across 8 countries. The variety of pilot sites suggests the methodology can adapt to different scales, but scaling to very large corporate environments would likely require customization beyond what was directly tested.

Is the methodology or platform available for licensing?

The Peer Community Platform is listed as a demo deliverable and appears to be a knowledge-sharing tool. As a publicly funded CSA project, most outputs are typically open access. Contact the coordinator at Università degli Studi di Salerno for specific terms of use and any licensing arrangements.

Is this relevant only to Mediterranean countries?

While the project specifically targeted the Mediterranean Area and included partners from 8 countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Israel, Italy, Slovenia, Tunisia), the Gender Equality Plans address universal organizational challenges. The methods and platform content could be adapted for organizations anywhere in Europe.

Does this help with Horizon Europe compliance?

Horizon Europe requires applicant organizations to have a Gender Equality Plan. R-I PEERS developed and validated 7 such plans in real R&I organizations, making their outputs directly relevant as blueprints. The project also addresses gender content mainstreaming in research programs, which aligns with current EU funding requirements.

What concrete tools does the project provide?

The project delivered 31 outputs total, including 7 implemented Gender Equality Plans and the Peer Community Platform for knowledge sharing. The platform enables organizations to exchange experiences and access proven implementation approaches from across the consortium.

Consortium

Who built it

The consortium of 11 partners across 8 countries is heavily weighted toward research and public organizations, with 4 research bodies and 5 classified as "other" (likely NGOs, equality bodies, or public agencies). There is only 1 industrial partner and 1 university, with zero SMEs — giving an industry ratio of just 9%. This composition makes sense for a policy-focused Coordination and Support Action but signals limited commercial readiness. For a business considering these outputs, the lack of private sector partners means the tools and plans were designed primarily for academic and public research environments, and may need adaptation for corporate use.

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI SALERNOCoordinator · IT
ASOCIACION CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION COOPERATIVA EN NANOCIENCIAS CIC NANOGUNEparticipant · ES
CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHEparticipant · IT
MIGAL GALILEE RESEARCH INSTITUTE LTDparticipant · IL
INSTITOUTO NEUROEPISTIMON KAI TECHNOLOGIAS KYPROUparticipant · CY
ZNANSTVENORAZISKOVALNI CENTER SLOVENSKE AKADEMIJE ZNANOSTI IN UMETNOSTIparticipant · SI

How to reach the team

The coordinator is Università degli Studi di Salerno (Italy). Use the CORDIS contact form or search the project website for team contacts.

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI SALERNO profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Need help adapting these Gender Equality Plans for your organization or meeting Horizon Europe GEP requirements? SciTransfer can connect you with the project team and help translate their experience into your context.

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