Project Management: what methodology ?

To ensure a successful project, whatever its type, it is essential to rely on some project management methodologies. Beyond the 3 usual criteria – time, cost and quality – used for an ideal project management, project managers can implement several methodologies to get support during their project.

According to the “pulse of the profession 2019” [1], 89% of surveyed professionals confirmed that their organization implement several methodologies for project management. Project managers do know several methodologies that they use in parallel to be compatible with the context of their project but also with the project stakeholders.

Figure 1: The fundamentals of Project Management. Source: ICI
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How do you address gender in your RIA and IA projects?

The European Commission announced in April 2021 the new eligibility criteria for the Horizon Europe program. Among the new features, one is the Gender Equality Plan: from 2022, a Gender Equality Plan (GEP) will be required for public bodies, research organizations and higher education institutions established in a EU country or an associated country, and will have to meet specific requirements.

This new regulation is a reminder that gender equality is now a political priority for the European Commission and, therefore, a transversal priority in Horizon Europe program (Article 7 (6) and Recital 53 of the Framework Regulation, Articles 2(e) and 6(3)(e) of the Specific Program) [1, 2, 3]. Indeed, despite the progress made in Horizon 2020 and ERA, a gender disparity in research and innovation persists, as shown in the She Figures 2018 [4] and the ERA Progress Report [5].

To address this GEP requirement, self-declaration from the proposal submission stage is now required (for all participant categories). The GEP will additionally be included in the validation process of the participating entity (based on the self-declaration).

Source: The A-Team
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I-Lab 2021: where are the women?

I-Lab [1] is a competition for start-ups, rewarding the most promising innovations. Initiated in 1999 by the Ministry of Research within the legal framework of innovation and research, this national competition for the creation of innovative technology companies has been, since then, renewed yearly with a double objective:

1. To detect and push forward the creation of companies relying on innovative technologies;

2. To promote the transfer of research results to the socio-economic world.

The proportion of women was constantly increasing, reaching 20% of female awardees in 2020. But in the 2021 edition, this figure has drastically dropped, with women representing only 13% of the 2021 I-Lab laureates.

Album Cover Where are the women ? Patrick Juvet. Extract from Paris by Night, 1977.
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Hitchcock, Kubrick… and You ?!

The video medium is becoming more and more important in communication and simply omnipresent in the digital world: Youtube, Twitch, Snapchat… The monopoly of television and its linear broadcasting model has fallen! It is normal that corporate communication follows this trend and that video is democratized to reach a wider audience. But a video is tedious and even complicated to make… Really?

There is no need anymore for a professional equipment to get professional rendering (Wikimedia/cc)
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How the experience of evaluating European projects has helped the Time for the Planet initiative…

Marjory WACHTEL is Director of Development at BENKEI. She is also a member of the scientific committee of Time for the Planet.

In 2019, when I heard about Time for the Planet (www.time-planet.com), I chose to follow the founders and appreciated their original communication of young successful entrepreneurs. I took the plunge and contacted one of the founders to learn more about this initiative, which aims to save the planet through entrepreneurship.

I realized that my past experience as an expert evaluator for the European Commission (EC) on various R&I support programs could be useful and I offered my help.

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Open Science takes shape in Horizon Europe

The European Union’s 9th research and innovation “framework program”, Horizon Europe (HE), has succeeded to Horizon 2020 since January 1st, 2021.

After the generalization of Open Access to research publications (OA) and the introduction of open access to research data (Open Research Data, ORD), HE continues FP7’s commitment to Open Science.

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