Gender-SMART is a community of seven European Research Performing Organizations (RPOs) and Research Funding Organizations (RFOs), operating in the broadly framed field of research in food, agricultural and life sciences, supported by two technical partners.

This community has committed to the three following operational objectives:

Seven Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) are actively implemented, tackling the following areas of actions:

• Building a Gender Equality Culture;
• Developing equal career support measures;
• Reshaping decision-making and governance;
• Integrating gender in funding, research and teaching

Change is steered beyond the project timeline, as GEPs are co-designed with relevant stakeholders, made visible and accessible to targeted audiences and the broader community, continuously supported by the top management, fully integrated and institutionalized, and adopted by target groups into their daily practices

Lessons are learnt and good practices are disseminated within and beyond the academia, through engaging stakeholders beyond Europe and designing tools that are “open to the world”. Gender-SMART adopts a holistic approach combined with a field-specific dimension, the articulation of a sound theoretical framework with more practical knowledge, addressing gender equality as a matter of scientific excellence, as well as a strong commitment to sustainability and openness.