Presentation held by Jana Dvořáčková (Technology Agency of the Czech Republic) during the Supera Final Conference, organised by SUPERA on 25 March 2022.

1. KRÁTKÝ POPIS
Sustainability of GEPs and Networks in
Research Funding Organisations
Jana Dvořáčková, Technology Agency of the Czech Republic
25. 3. 2022

2. ABOUT TACR
• The Technology Agency of the Czech Republic is a public, nationwide RFO
• It supports applied research and innovations in various fields
• It has about 160 employees
• TACR is active in promoting gender equality for 8 years
• Its activities have transformed into a complex whole thanks to its involvement in the
structural change project GEECCO

3. MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS
• Introducing the gender dimension in research content as a criterion for evaluating
research proposals
• Focus on gender balance in research teams as part of another evaluation criterion
• Development of a system for motivating RPOs to launch changes for gender equality
(implement GEPs, apply for the HR Excellence in Research award, monitor their GPG, etc.)
• Guideline for promoting gender equality in the evaluation process
• Development of a methodology for data collection to monitor various gender indicators
concerning applicants, funded research teams and evaluators

4. The gender dimension in research content as a
criterion for evaluating research proposals
• The criterion design:
• Applicants have to provide an assessment of whether the gender dimension is relevant to the
topic they plan to research. If they identify any connection to sex or gender, they should integrate
it in the research questions, hypotheses, research design and data collection and in the
description of the proposed application.
• The object of evaluation is 1) an adequate assessment of whether it is (or it is not) relevant to
integrate gender or sex dimension and 2) the quality of the integration of the gender dimension
in the described research and the proposed application of research results.
• In case the gender dimension is considered irrelevant by the applicant and a correct
argumentation is provided, the applicant does not lose any points for this criterion.

5. Supportive measures:
• Guidelines on the gender dimension of R&I for applicants and evaluators
• Integration of the topic in information seminars for applicants and evaluators
• Training for TACR staff
• Briefing of evaluation committees members before the meeting
• The assistance of the experts on gender in R&I in the evaluation committees
• Analysis of the most common problems and its publication
• Raising awareness about the topic
• Gender experts in research teams are encouraged

6. • In partial aspects, we drew inspiration from the approaches of other RFOs and
aimed to develop a complex approach.
• As this criterion is not common in our country, we provided detailed instructions,
including various examples, etc.
• We tried to formulate our instructions in a way that makes it difficult for
researchers to provide generic answers.
• Success in explaining the criterion to applicants (x evaluators).
• Like most RFOs, we currently focus primarily on the project proposal phase. To
reach the real benefits of implementing the measure, we would like to introduce a
monitoring system that would enable us to assess whether the efforts to integrate
the gender dimension have been fulfilled in the funded projects.

7. www.tacr.cz/en