From shared challenges to practical action: the GENDERACTIONplus2027 Community of Practice launches in Brussels

We are excited to announce that the GENDERACTIONplus2027 Community of Practice (CoP) will launch on 23 and 24 September, when members meet in Brussels to begin their work together. The launch will bring its two Circles, one for national authorities and one for research and innovation funding organisations, together to identify their needs, exchange expertise and set priorities for their first year of collaboration.

The CoP is a central part of GENDERACTIONplus2027. It provides a trusted space for policy coordination, peer learning, mentoring and practical support, helping members translate commitments to inclusive gender equality into concrete policies and measures.

The launch meeting will explore the different national and organisational contexts in which members are working. Through an initial needs assessment, participants will identify implementation challenges, promising practices, available expertise and areas where further support is needed. It will also give the two Circles an opportunity to meet, begin shaping how they will work and identify where exchange between national authorities and research and innovation funders could support progress.

The Community of Practice is led by an experienced team of co-leads. The NA circle is led by Liv Baisner Petersen (Southern Denmark University, Denmark), Magdalena Chrobak-Tatara (OPI, Poland), and Anna Knapińska (National Information Processing Institute, Poland). The RFO circle is led by Sophia Ivarsson (Vinnova, Sweden) and Helene Schiffbänker (Joanneum Research, Austria). Together, they will guide its work and support members throughout the project.

The priorities identified in Brussels will set the direction for the CoP’s first year. The National Authorities Circle will move through iterative cycles of learning and action, identifying, discussing, documenting and revisiting challenges and priorities as they develop. Research and innovation funding organisations will work through mentoring and thematic peer exchange, exploring practical improvements across the funding cycle. Along the way, the two Circles will connect around shared challenges and opportunities for action.

Outcomes from the launch will be shared alongside further information about the CoP’s work in the coming months as the project picks up momentum. Stay tuned as the two Circles establish their collaboration and turn the discussions started in Brussels into practical action.