Report on Joint Needs Analysis Published!
Design and Results of a Joint Needs Analysis for Policy Change and Business Development through European Collaboration 2023-2024 has been published as part of DEBUTING project!
The report presents the process and results of designing a joint analysis for evaluating regional gender equality needs, based on the input from 10 European partners in the project DEBUTING within its first year (2023-2024).
The report explains how the Karlstad University team and the 10 European partners in the project worked together toward increasing gender equality for business development in SMEs. It presents the steps and methods used during this year and the rationale behind the choice of methods. The results section provides a joint analysis of the partners’ self-evaluation of the gender equality situation in their local context and their performance during the DEBUTING project in 2023-2024. It also identifies common needs which will form the basis of future work, as outlined in the suggestions for work to be conducted within the format of specified focus groups.
The report found that the challenge we often face when trying to fulfil the key objectives in the EU Gender Equality Strategy is the lack of knowledge on how to address them in practice. Two main conclusions are obvious, based on the findings detailed in the report:
1. The key to success lies in understanding the specific needs addressed in a given context. This involves going beyond the conventional way of understanding what the problem actually is. The partners confirm the value of the project’s findings on how to increase gender equality in SMEs through a co-production method and gender transformative work involving their regional clusters. In line with this, the partners also testify to having gained knowledge and tools that will support their work within their specific context, based on their local needs analyses.
2. Even though there are differences between the 10 partners, representing the diversity of regional experiences across Europe, the joint needs analysis in the report shows the main common challenges, as summarized in the suggestions for the four focus groups. It is also clear that working together, bringing regions (and their stakeholders) together from different corners of Europe, brings new insights and inspiration to the work. Listening in on the comments given by the partners in the DEBUTING project, it is very encouraging to note that the work performed together has indeed increased both knowledge, motivation and courage to manage big steps towards the further realization of gender equality and inclusiveness for improved business development.
You can find the full report here.