Wisdom on tap: Meet ‘the PACC’

A new GEI Project advisory committee has been established that aims to take advantage of the strategic insights of all project members and gives expression to the foundational values of peer-learning and co-creation.

The first meeting of the Science Granting Council Initiative Gender Equality and Inclusion (SGCI GEI) Project Advisory Collaborating Committee (PACC) was held in May 2023.

Drawing as it does on representation from each of the 13 participating science granting councils, the new committee is intended to widen the door to strategic input from all councils, adding their inputs to those of the other project partners such as the Human Science Research Council (HSRC), Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and Portia.

“The PACC was conceived to give expression to and embody the values of co-creation, collaboration and inclusion that are fundamental values that define our GEI Project,” said Project Director Lyn Middleton.

Middleton described the PACC as a “platform to introduce and get buy-in on strategy and the best implementation processes.”

She said the PACC would contribute to workshop design and would advise on and inform research activities, provide feedback on project implementation, contribute to technical project reports and offer peer support to participating councils.

All members will participate in actively reflecting on implementation progress, barriers, and solutions, she said.

One of the other benefits of the PACC will be to keep councils’ networks of stakeholders involved in GEI project activities aimed at strengthening GEI in the research-granting cycle.

Coming as it does in the second phase of the GEI Project, the formation of the PACC takes advantage of a growing wisdom among science granting council members about the importance of GEI and the strategic value of focusing GEI efforts on the grant-making cycle.

The committee will meet virtually twice a year throughout the project implementation period from 1 December 2022 to 1 September 2025.