Ex-post Evaluation of International Cooperation Activities of the Seventh Framework Programme's. Capacities Programme. Final report

This report presents the findings of the group of independent experts tasked by the European Commission- DG RTD to undertake an evaluation of the International Cooperation (INCO) Activities of the Seventh Framework Programme's for Research 2007-2013 (FP7) under the Capacities 'pillar' of the Programme. The ex-post evaluation takes stock of the dedicated activities undertaken to strengthen international cooperation in FP7, assesses them, and concludes by making a number of recommendations at both strategic and operational level in view of further work under Horizon 2020

Autonomi och kvalitet – ett uppföljningsprojekt om implementering och effekter av två högskolereformer i Sverig. Delredovisning 1. Skrivbordsstudie om autonomi- och kvalitetsreformerna

Den aktuella delredovisningen presenterar resultaten av den första studien, skrivbordsstudien, som utgör bakgrunden för hela projektet, som löper över en treårsperiod fram till början av 2016. Med utgångspunkt i en historisk genomgång av utvecklingen inom det svenska universitets- och högskolesy-stemet dokumenterar och diskuterar delredovisningen de svenska reformpro-cesserna i fråga om institutionell autonomi och kvalitet i utbildningarna

Beyond Policy: The Odyssey of Implementing GEPs in European Academia

This article investigates the design and implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) across nine European universities within a university alliance, emphasising the importance of context‐specific interventions. It explores the diversity in GEPs’ content, structure, and implementation, as well as the organisation of gender equality work, revealing how national policies, institutional priorities, and socio‐cultural contexts shape these processes. Key challenges include gendered academic cultures, internal resistance, structural and organisational barriers, resource limitations, national commitment disparities, and deeply ingrained societal norms affecting gender equality. Drawing on complexity theory, this article advocates for gender‐sensitive and context‐aware frameworks to navigate the non‐linear nature of institutional interventions in academia across diverse settings. Moreover, it offers insights into the implementation of GEPs within university alliances, a context underexplored in the literature. By examining the dynamics of GEP implementation across multiple institutions within a collaborative framework, the article uniquely contributes to understanding how alliances facilitate knowledge exchange, resource sharing, and collective learning, enhancing institutional capacity and fostering synergies to more effectively address gender inequalities

Understanding the Athena SWAN award scheme for gender equality as a complex social intervention in a complex system: analysis of Silver award action plans in a comparative European perspective

Background: Given the complex mix of structural, cultural and institutional factors that produce barriers for women in science, an equally complex intervention is required to understand and address them. The Athena SWAN Award Scheme for Gender Equality has become a widespread means to address barriers for women’s advancement and leadership in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, the United States of America and Canada, while the European Commission is exploring the introduction of a similar award scheme across Europe. Methods: This study analyses the design and implementation of 16 departmental Athena SWAN Silver Action Plans in Medical Sciences at one of the world’s leading universities in Oxford, United Kingdom. Data pertaining to the design and implementation of gender equality interventions were extracted from the action plans, analysed thematically, coded using categories from the 2015 Athena SWAN Charter Awards Handbook and synthesised against a typology of gender equality interventions in the European Research Area. The results were further analysed against the complexity research literature framework, where research organisations are perceived as dynamic systems that adapt, interact and co-evolve with other systems. Results: Athena SWAN is a complex contextually embedded system of action planning within the context of universities. It depends on a multitude of contextual variables that relate in complex, non-linear ways and dynamically adapt to constantly moving targets and new emergent conditions. Athena SWAN Silver Action Plans conform to the key considerations of complexity – (1) multiple actions and areas of intervention with a focus on the complex system being embedded in local dynamics, (2) the non-linearity of interventions and the constantly emerging conditions, and (3) impact in terms of contribution to change, improved conditions to foster change and the increased probability that change can occur. Conclusions: To enact effective sustainable structural and cultural change for gender equality, it is necessary to acknowledge and operationalise complexity as a frame of reference. Athena SWAN is the single most comprehensive and systemic gender equality scheme in Europe. It can be further strengthened by promoting the integration of sex and gender analysis in research and education. Gender equality policies in the wider European Research Area can benefit from exploring Athena SWAN’s contextually embedded systemic approach to dynamic action planning and inclusive focus on all genders and categories of staff and students

Ex-ante Impact Assessment of the Common Strategic Framework (CSF) for Research and Innovation - Environment Theme -

Expert Group Repor

Autonomi och kvalitet - ett uppföljningsprojekt om implementering och effekter av två högskolereformer i Sverige. Huvudrapport

Denna huvudrapport sammanfattar resultaten av en uppföljning utförd av Dansk Center for Forskningsanalyse på uppdrag av riksdagens utbildningsutskott under perioden juni 2013 till november 2014. Uppföljningen har till syfte att belysa implementeringen och effekterna av autonomireformen och kvalitetsreformen och består av följande fyra delar: en skrivbordsstudie som bildar utgångspunkten för undersökningen genom att beskriva reformerna i ett historiskt och internationellt perspektiv. en intervjuundersökning med den högsta ledningen från 26 olika lärosäten om deras upplevelser av implementeringen och effekterna av de båda reformerna. en enkätundersökning som riktar sig till de utbildningsansvariga om deras upplevelser och erfarenheter av reformprocesserna och reformernas implementering och effekter. en fallstudiebaserad undersökning där man med hjälp av fokusgrupper och intervjuer med olika typer av aktörer med koppling till nio utbildningar fördjupar sig i aktörernas upplevelser av reformernas implementering och effekter lokalt

Uddannelsesledelse ved danske videregående uddannelsesinstitutioner: Studielederes rolle i uddannelsernes kvalitetsarbejde

Denne rapport præsenterer resultaterne fra en spørgeskemaundersøgelse om kvalitetssikringsarbejdet af uddannelser udsendt til studielederne for fuldtidsuddannelserne på de danske universiteter og professionshøjskoler. Spørgeskemaundersøgelsen er udført som en del af det norske projekt Quality of Norwegian Higher Education: Pathways, Practices and Performances (QNHE), hvor de danske resultater indgår som et sammenligningsgrundlag for en tilsvarende undersøgelse blandt norske studieledere. Quality of Norwegian Higher Education: Pathways, Practices and Performances projektet er en forskningsbaseret evaluering med fokus på faktorer og mekanismer, der påvirker kvaliteten af norske videregående uddannelse. Projektet gennemføres som et samarbejde mellem Nordisk institutt for studier av innovasjon, forskning og utdanning (NIFU) og ExCID-gruppen ved Institutt for pedagogikk, Universitetet i Oslo med partnere fra Universitetet i Tromsø og Høgskolen i Lillehammer. Dansk Center for Forskningsanalyse og Helsinki Universitet er internationale partnere i projektet