Disrupting and Accelerating Structural Change in Academia through Communities of Practice? Design, Implementation and Evaluation Challenges

• In Event: Disrupting from the Inside: Towards a Research System Change - II

Abstract

This paper presents the challenges faced by the ACT project (H2020, 2018-2021). ACT will advance gender equality in the European Research Area by increasing gender expertise and operational effectiveness of Communities of Practice (CoPs) engaged in promoting institutional change, and in particular implementation of gender equality plans (GEPs), within and across research performing organisations (RPOs) and research funding organisations (RFOs).

ACT will consolidate and strengthen existing infrastructure for knowledge sharing and mutual learning in the field of institutional change and gender equality across Europe. A first part of the paper is dedicated to the challenges and the questions raised by the definition of the CoPs, the criteria to build them, and the implementation of CoPs on the field.

The second part of te paper will present questions raised by the evaluation of the outcomes of the project, a work lead by CNRS and Johanneum. What methodology to evaluate CoP development and learning outcomes? The paper will focus on in-depth data on collaborations between CoP members, in order to assess the acceptance and usefulness of provided tools/services and learning outcomes. Interviews shall also enable to assess the impact of the CoPs on gender equality development in their member institutions. The evaluation will use Summary Reports/data and deepen the analysis based on interviews.

The paper will present the first outcomes of the evaluation of CoPs as a tool to develop gender equality knowledge and GEPs implementation.

Author

• Anne-Sophie Godfroy, République des savoirs (CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, Collège de France)