Rachel Palmen

Followers

Following

Co-author

Public Views

Participatory arenas have been a growing feature of governance and public policy in the 'North' and 'South' as attempts are made to involve local communities in decision-making processes. These developments have been accompanied by a proliferation of research examining these community engagement processes from a variety of different persepctives. Despite the similar themes addressed in the development studies literature and urban regeneration literature in the U.K. there are few studies that compare participatory spaces in the global 'North' with those in the global 'South'. The main debates highlighted in both bodies of literature pivots around the tyranny-transformation dichotomy. Participatory processes are portrayed as either spaces facilitating the increased regulation of the population or enabling transformation in favour of a social justice which benefits poorer sections of society.

This thesis considers the tyranny-transformation dichotomy ion two empirical case studies at the neighbourhood level: a New Deal for Communities Regeneration Programme, in the North East of England; and the Participatory Budgeting Process in Porto Alegre, Brazil. The research conducted fell within a grounded theory research framework, utilising a qualitative strategy. This enabled a focus on the experiences of key players and community representatives.
Supervisors: Professor Paul Lawless

less

Interests

Uploads

Papers by Rachel Palmen

Guide to Promoting Gender Equality for Research & Innovation Funding Organisations: Data collection and impact monitoring

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Dec 2, 2022

The (re)organisation, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes, so that a gend... more The (re)organisation, improvement, development and evaluation of policy processes, so that a gender equality perspective is incorporated in all policies at all levels and at all stages, by the actors normally involved in policy-making. R&IFOs Research and Innovation Funding Organisations 2 RFOs Research Funding Organisations RPOs Research Performing Organisations She Figures An initiative by the European Commission started in 2003 to monitor comparable pan-European data based on the state of gender equality in research and innovation STEM Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics GEAR Gender Equality in Academia and Research 2 To ensure the inclusion of innovation funding organisations, here we coin the term "Research and Innovation Funding Organisations", rather than using the standard "Research Funding Organisations", as per the consensus of the members.

Download

Scaling up

Routledge eBooks, Jul 27, 2022

Download

ACT on Intersectionality

Download

ACT on Resistance to Gender Equality

Research has identified how gender equality initiatives and policies in R&I can often fail during... more Research has identified how gender equality initiatives and policies in R&I can often fail during the phase of implementation (Palmén and Kalpazidou Schmidt, 2019) thereby resulting in an absence of deep-seated change and the failure to effectively challenge gender norms (Powell et al, 2018). In the phase of implementation resistance has been identified as one of the main reasons as to why gender equality initiatives in R&I may fail to create and sustain effective change. This often manifests itself through the all too discernable gap between 'saying' and 'doing' (Powell et al, 2018). Whilst there seems to be a general consensus as to the benefits of a greater gender equality at the level of discourse it is often at the level of actions or practice that these initiatives begin to run into a series of problems that stymie their potential to effect real change, one of the most important being resistance.

ACT on Decision-making

Women's representation in academia decreases the higher up the academic ladder – culminating ... more Women's representation in academia decreases the higher up the academic ladder – culminating in the very small percentage of women in decision-making posts, on boards and in committees and as heads of institutions. In 2017 only 27% of board members (including leaders), and 21.7% of heads of institutions in the higher education sector were women (EC, 2019, p. 115). Women in the EU 28 made up only 24% of full professors (Grade A) in 2016 (ibid). Various policies and interventions have been developed at the European, Member State and institutional levels to foster gender equality in decision-making in research and innovation. At the European level, in the ERA Communication, 2012 framework, 'gender balance' in decision-making was identified as one of the three objectives of one of the six priority areas: Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming.

Download

DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT C: CITIZENS' RIGHTS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS WOMEN'S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUALITY Gender Equality Plans in the private and public sectors in the European Union STUDY

Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM)

The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) tool developed by the ACT project provides an int... more The Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) tool developed by the ACT project provides an integrated environment for carrying out survey-based gender equality audits in organizations (e.g. university or research performing organization) or organizational units (faculty, departments). The GEAM tool is based upon the Athena Survey of Science, Engineering and Technology (ASSET) and on existing measurement scales in the scientific literature. It has been extended with new questions/topics and adapted to better fit the varying national contexts in Europe. The GEAM is a modular questionnaire framework. This involves on the one hand the GEAM Core questionnaire, which comprises a relatively comprehensive collection of questions that cover most aspects of gender equality in academic organizations. The LimeSurvey version of the GEAM Core is provided as "lss" file. It provides a good starting point for implementing an initial audit and assessment of the current state-of-play in t...

Institutional practices and processes

TARGET. D 6.1 - Initial Dissemination and Exploitation Toolkit

The TARGET Dissemination and Exploitation Toolkit is a practical document which aims to provide t... more The TARGET Dissemination and Exploitation Toolkit is a practical document which aims to provide the consortium partners with practical tools and guidelines for effective communication and dissemination. It aims to define the project’s visual identity, develop an internet strategy and provide initial institutional communication guidelines for the Gender Equality Innovating Institutions (GEIIs) in the project: ARACIS (Romania), RPF (Cyprus), FRRB (Italy), ELIAMEP (Greece), UH2C (Morocco), UB (Serbia) and RMEI (France). This Toolkit will be updated twice throughout the project.

Download

TARGET. Guidelines to design customised GEPs (D3.3.)

The ‘Guidelines to Design a Customised Gender Equality Plan (GEP)’ – (D3.3.) provide concrete gui... more The ‘Guidelines to Design a Customised Gender Equality Plan (GEP)’ – (D3.3.) provide concrete guidance for the second stage of the TARGET project for the seven Gender Equality Innovating Institutions (GEIIs) participating in the project: three research performing organisations (including two universities - University of Belgrade, Serbia; UH2C, Morocco - and a public research performing organisation - ELIAMEP, Greece), three research funding organisations (ARACIS, Romania; FRRB, Italy; RPF, Cyprus) and a network of universities in the Mediterranean basin (RMEI). Based on the TARGET gender equality audit tool (GEAT) this general guidance document tries to help TARGET implementing institutions identify initial priorities of the GEP on the basis of the audits undertaken. Specifically it walks the GEIIs through how to use the results (of the audit) to design the GEP in a reflexive and participative way –thereby further embedding the GEP process within the institution. Although the focus ...

Women Underrepresentation in R&I: A Sector Program Assessment of the Contribution of Gender Equality Policies in Research and Innovation

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2019

Despite decades of efforts to achieve gender equality in research and innovation (R&I), all E... more Despite decades of efforts to achieve gender equality in research and innovation (R&I), all EU member states still face remarkable difficulties in driving forward the development of their innovation system while at the same time improving gender equality by using all the available research potential. In this paper we focus on the development of the share of women researchers in four national innovation systems, i.e. in Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Spain in the time period 2005-2015. The four selected cases represent countries with significant differences in their innovation capacity, gender regimes and progress of gender equality in R&I. A qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is carried out to conduct a sector program evaluation based on statistical data and qualitative studies to understand the dynamic development of the proportion of women researchers. The study aims to provide insights into the aggregated gender equality interventions and policies implemented in the four countries studied and their contributions to the development of the proportion of women scientists at the structural level. The analysis reveals that the development of the share of women researchers during the studied period has been particularly influenced by contextual factors, namely the relative size of the business enterprise sector and the share of women among holders of tertiary education. While this is the case, it is found that gender equality interventions need to be more widespread and more effectively designed to be a strong contributing factor to an increasing representation of women in R&I.

Pragmatic ex-ante evaluation using an innovative conceptual framework: The case of a high-tech entrepreneurship program for women

Evaluation and Program Planning, 2019

Program designers at local project level usually design interventions under conditions of scarce ... more Program designers at local project level usually design interventions under conditions of scarce resources and bounded rationality lacking sufficient information about the process and impact mechanisms of the complex social programs they design and implement. This paper proposes a model for pragmatic ex ante evaluation using an innovative conceptual framework for practitioners working in the field to improve gender equality in research and innovation. The presented and applied model is pertinent to the theory-oriented evaluation tradition using a logic frame and a theory of change approach adapted to the special requirements of ex-ante evaluation. The model is illustrated by the case study of a program for the promotion of women entrepreneurship in the STEM fields. It is concluded that in a setting with limited resources and information, ex-ante evaluations should aim at defining clear conditions of proportionality and need to take into account the extent to which contextual factors hinder or facilitate the implementation of a program, and the specific institutional and system mechanisms at play, in order to enable proactive risk management from the beginning.

Download

Evaluation Framework for Promoting Gender Equality in Research and Innovation

STEM Gender Equality Congress Proceedings, 2017

Background and purpose of the study 1 Acknowledgement: The project EFFORTI that constitutes the b... more Background and purpose of the study 1 Acknowledgement: The project EFFORTI that constitutes the basis for this contribution receives funding from the European Union's horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 710470. The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of all project participants and all project activities to the ideas that underpin this paper.

Download

Encouragement of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Studies: Labour Market Situation and comparison of practices targeted to young people in different Member States

There is evidence of skills shortages in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fie... more There is evidence of skills shortages in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields in spite of high unemployment rates in many Member States. This document, prepared by Policy Department A at the request of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, intends to provide an up-to-date overview of the labour market situation in STEM occupations and to analyse European and national approaches to encourage STEM uptake in relation to these labour market needs. The aim is to identify practices which help to increase the supply of STEM skilled labour.

Local governance, democracy and representation

New Forms of Local Governance and Civil Society, 2012

Participation, power and democracy : a comparative study of community engagement processes

Participatory arenas have been a growing feature of governance and public policy in the 'Nort... more Participatory arenas have been a growing feature of governance and public policy in the 'North' and 'South' as attempts are made to involve local communities in decision-making processes. These developments have been accompanied by a proliferation of research examining these community engagement processes from a variety of different perspectives. Despite the similar themes addressed in the development studies literature and urban regeneration literature in the U.K., there are few studies that compare participatory spaces in the global 'North' with those in the global 'South'. The main debate highlighted in both bodies of literature pivots around the tyranny-transformation dichotomy. Participatory processes are portrayed as either spaces facilitating the increased regulation of the population, or enabling transformation in favour of a social justice which benefits the poorer sections of society. This thesis considers the tyranny-transformation dichotom...

Download

Policy towards Gender Equity in Science and Research

The present report forms part of the overall effort to produce a meta-analysis of gender and scie... more The present report forms part of the overall effort to produce a meta-analysis of gender and science research across Europe (FP7 RTD-PP-L4-2007-1). Its objective is to analyse national, regional and local policies, measures and programmes towards gender equality in science and research covering the period from 1980 to 2008.

Download

ACT - Gender Equality Audit and Monitoring (GEAM) - version 2

Download

Fostering collaborative approaches to gender equality interventions in higher education and research: the case of transnational and multi-institutional communities of practice

Journal of Gender Studies, 2021

A Conceptual Evaluation Framework for Promoting Gender Equality in Research and Innovation: Toolbox I - A synthesis report

The third ERA goal, integrating the gender dimension in research content, means considering biolo... more The third ERA goal, integrating the gender dimension in research content, means considering biological as well as evolving social and cultural characteristics of both women and men throughout the research process. The results of such consideration are the so-called gendered innovations, capable of identifying gender biases and recognising how they operate in science and technology (European Commission 2014b; Schiebinger & Schraudner 2011). Society benefits from gendered innovations because research becomes more responsive to societal needs, and business gets higher value through new ideas, patents, and enhanced technology (European Commission 2013c). The report Gendered Innovations: How Gender Analysis Contributes to Research (European Commission 2013c) offers concrete case studies and methods of sex and gender analysis. Relevant subjects when developing gendered innovations include, for instance, rethinking research priorities and outcomes, analysing how sex and gender interact, and using participatory research designs. Enabling scientists and engineers to analyse sex and gender criteria in basic and applied research produces excellence in research, policy and practice in the fields of science, health and medicine, and engineering (Ovseiko et al. 2016). The third ERA goal further requires that the gender dimension is integrated in teaching and curricula. A gender-sensitive curriculum addresses the needs of women and girls with regard to how developments in RTDI may constitute a benefit or disadvantage for them. It also addresses the horizontal segregation between males and females in education and the labour market by portraying both groups in non-stereotypical ways and by making science and technology classes more attractive to girls and women (UN Women 2011, 5, 8). 1.3.4. The EFFORTI Intervention Logic As seen in Figure 1, the Intervention Logic Model considers inputs, throughputs, and outputs, as well as results and impacts of the former two, and does so by differentiating between three levels (team, organisation, country). The Intervention Logic Model goes beyond the state of the art in evaluating GE initiatives by also focusing on outputs or effects related to RTDI. More specifically, the model aims at providing both theory and tools for analysing how GE-related measures contribute to the achievement of the three main objectives stated in the model below (more women in research and development (R&D), women in leadership, and integrating the gender dimension in research). The model also aims at showing how, once achieved, these objectives or effects can further affect desired RTDI effects, such as the number of patents and number of publications and citations, but also new RTDI effects, such as providing answers to grand challenges and further promoting RRI. Additionally, the model includes three levels, i.e. team level (research quality, productivity, innovative outputs, and other RRI effects), organisational/institutional level (workplace quality, recruitment capacity, efficiency, RRI orientation, competitiveness), and country/system/policy level (intensity, productivity, ERA orientation, etc.). However, some measures will most likely overlap between different levels, which will be taken into account in the development of the toolbox.

Download

Rachel Palmen

Uploads

Papers by Rachel Palmen

Log In