Swedish report: A gender neutral process? A qualitative study of the evaluation of research grant applications 2014

The observations on gender equality of this report aim to investigate the Swedish Research Council’s evaluation process from a gender equality perspective and to identify particular points where improvements can be made.

The authors shed light on the various elements of the process and follow up its development since the previous observation report. The study shows that the Swedish Research Council has implemented a number of effective measures and has improved the evaluation process from a gender equality perspective. These measures include training initiatives which have to some extent led to a greater awareness of gender equality issues and a clearer role for the Council's staff. Concrete measures, such as pre-determined seating arrangements for meetings, have also improved the group dynamics in the evaluation panels from a gender equality perspective.

Another positive change is new procedures in one of the scientific councils, whereby prioritisation and proposal for funding are no longer dealt with in the same forum. At the same time, the observations point to the importance of the Swedish Research Council continuing its active work towards gender equality. To further ensure the quality of the evaluation process, there is a need to apply a gender equality perspective consistently throughout the process.

Furthermore, the link between gender equality and quality should be conveyed more explicitly to the reviewers. An overall conclusion from the observations is that when various informal structures or unstated assessment criteria have an influence on the evaluation process, this has an adverse effect on gender equality. To minimise the impact of these, the authors propose a greater formalisation of the process. The proposals are specified in the form of 14 recommendations.

Report_A gender neutral process.pdf