Theory of Structural Change: A Reflexive Approach to Data for Monitoring Implementation, Demonstrating Impact and Decision-Making

Gender equality plans have been the preferred mechanism to enact structural change in favour of gender equality in research performing organisations including universities throughout Europe. The European Commission has reinforced this approach by tying research funding to gender equality plans through the development and enactment of the eligibility criteria. Whilst this policy development has been largely welcomed by gender equality scholars and practitioners – critique has emerged that having a GEP– becomes a box-ticking exercise without effecting real substantive change. Successive rounds of structural change projects and subsequent evaluations point to how to best evaluate change linked to actions described in GEPs but to date there is a lack of systematic approach to demonstrating the outcomes and impact of GEPs throughout Europe. This paper builds on the authors’ involvement in various structural change and related projects including TARGET which supported the implementation of a reflexive gender equality policy, EFFORTI which developed an evaluation framework to demonstrate outcomes of gender equality interventions in research and innovation and INSPIRE- which carried out 35 case studies of GEP success throughout Europe. The paper a) highlights the need for developing a theory of change for specific measures/ actions- including concretely specifying outcomes, b) takes into consideration the complex configuration of a factors which vary according to context c) highlights the importance of the trinity of power, prACTice and status in effecting change.