SPEAR Project: Supporting and Implementing the Gender Equality Plan in NOVA University Lisbon

SPEAR project, funded by the “Science with and for Science” work programme 2018-2020 (SwafS), from the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, was organized around the central task of implementing Gender Equality Plans in Research Institutions and Universities across Europe. From January 2019 to April 2023, NOVA University Lisbon, a member of the consortium, joined efforts with other ten organizations from several European countries to achieve this overall goal. Moreover, the project partners developed valuable resources and learning materials that may guide and inspire other organizations which aim to achieve long-lasting structural changes, strengthen inclusivity, and ensure gender equality. In this descriptive article we briefly explain SPEAR’s unique working methodology; take a round tour of SPEAR’s Policy Reflections, which cover four critical topics to promote gender equality and inclusion (GE+) in academia on a daily basis; finally, we offer an overview of NOVA’s “Gender Equality Plan 2021-2025” (GEP), approved in October 2021, and underline NOVA’s strategy for sustained implementation of the GEP, now that the SPEAR project has ended.