Recommendation to improve research management and administration in Widening countries

This deliverable provides a comprehensive report on the MILIEU project activities carried out within WP5, highlighting the project's accomplishments, challenges, and strategic recommendations to improve research management and administration in Widening countries. 

The report details the MILIEU project's pivotal role in shaping the discourse on gender equality and inclusivity, serving as a model for future endeavours seeking European funding in Widening Countries. Mentoring and reinforcement activities such as capacity building, high-level training, and the development of research management capabilities are highlighted as critical. Workshops, operational procedure reinforcement, template and documents creation, and the identification of contact persons for research offices are all activities that contribute to increasing external funding and aligning with Horizon Europe eligibility criteria. Furthermore, the report emphasises the importance of training courses in a variety of areas such as fundraising, project management, intellectual property rights, technological transfer, and gender and disability awareness. These courses demonstrate a strategic approach to comprehensive skill set development and knowledge dissemination within the context of a growing country. 

Finally, the report identifies a range of challenges encountered during project implementation in Widening Countries, ranging from insufficient information on funding programmes to issues with international networking and co-financing. The report makes a series of strategic recommendations to address these challenges in a systematic manner. These recommendations emphasise the importance of specialised units, training courses, and policies aimed at improving institutional and administrative capacity, encouraging collaboration, and assisting scientists throughout the project lifecycle.