INSPIRE Communities of Practice
INSPIRE supports twelve Communities of Practice (CoPs) carrying out their work under four thematic Knowledge and Support Hubs: Sustaining and deepening change, Widening participation, Intersectionality, and Innovation. These CoPs bring together academic institutions, research performing and funding organisations, and members in the private sector across Europe and beyond (Latin America, Northern Africa, the Middle East), to share knowledge and address challenges in advancing gender equality in research and innovation.
SuSTEM
SuSTEM brings together 15 universities and research organisations from different STEM fields to drive sustainable organisational change towards inclusive gender equality by sharing experiences, addressing barriers, and supporting the implementation of intersectional Gender Equality Plans. It focuses on embedding inclusive gender equality into the long-term strategies and practices of participating institutions.
Next Step
The Next Step brings together senior DEI leaders from universities and research institutions, and promotes knowledge sharing, collaborative learning, and joint, tangible action to advance inclusive gender equality and diversity. It also contributes to strategic thinking and policy development and national and European levels.
LAC
LAC unites seven universities across six Latin American countries to strengthen the design, implementation, and evaluation of Gender Equality Plans and related institutional policies.
UNIGEM
UNIGEM has 20 universities from the former Yugoslavia as members, and promotes gender mainstreaming, regional collaboration, and institutional capacity to prevent gender-based violence and sexual harassment.
WIGE
WIGE brings together 18 organisations from EU Widening and associated countries to support the implementation of inclusive Gender Equality Plans, with a focus on data monitoring, gender-based violence prevention, work-life balance, gender balance in leadership, and integrating the gender dimension into research and teaching.
Intersectionality for Change
This Community of Practice advances the integration of intersectionality into gender equality policies by developing practical approaches, strengthening monitoring and evaluation, and embedding intersectionality in research and teaching.
Open EU
Open EU supports practitioners across Europe’s open and digital higher education ecosystem in co-creating strategies and sharing best pactices to advance Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, and intersectional gender equality in digital learning environments.
WISE
WISE brings together research institutions, hospitals, and public bodies across Europe, to promote institutional change by integrating intersectionality into equity, diversity, and scientific career policies within the health research sector.
RFOs
This Community of Practice brings together research funding organisations to strengthen inclusive gender equality by embedding gender and intersectionality into funding schemes. It supports mutual learning, capacity building, and the development of more inclusive funding and innovation practices.
GAIA
Led at the University of Southern Denmark, this CoP connects research and innovation actors working on climate science and innovation to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration, while integrating gender equality into sustainability and climate-related research.
Social Lab RMEIM
This CoP brings together engineering institutions from eight Mediterranean countries to design tailored gender equality interventions linked to sustainability, innovation, and engineering education through action research and collaborative learning.
Innovation
The Innovation CoP connects public and private sector organisations to advance gendered innovation across fields such as water management, mobility, urban development, and intersectionality through cross-sector collaboration and knowledge exchange.