EQUALITY GUIdE - KU Leuven

Chapter 4 ! Scientific communication 187
3. Process report
There were two large parts in the project:
I. In a first part the issues that female scientists consider important were mapped:
what they are doing, where they have already experienced thresholds and where
their needs lie, both in the field of the gender problems at the university and in the
field of communication. This was necessary to have an idea of the extent to which
the subject matter is actually alive and to serve as a basis for developing the contents
of a training course. As a starting point, a work schedule was established and
the most efficient and appropriate methodology was searched to obtain the answers
needed. The researchers participating in this first part were selected and met each
other five times in total. Finally, a training course was developed based on the results
obtained. This training course is based on the practice and the needs of the
female researchers.
II. In the second part of the project, a training of five half days was initially offered to
the scientific researchers who also took part in the first part of this research. This test
training was evaluated afterwards and the contents were adapted if necessary. At a
later stage, the training was offered to participants of all Flemish universities. Finally,
the experience gained during this second series was used to update the training
course once again.
The entire course took up 20 months and can be divided in five phases:
1. In a first phase (start July 2005), the project was prepared, and the project manager
was selected and appointed. In addition, the methodology to be used to develop
the instrument was completed.
2. The second phase started in October 2005. This phase can be defined as ‘the exploring
phase’. During this phase 1) the needs and thresholds of female scientists
concerning gender, communication and scientific communication were explored, 2)
the subjects that needed attention in a communication training to promote the career
possibilities of women in an academic environment were selected, and 3) the
information needs were identified. Then it was decided which guest speakers would
best meet these needs.
3. In March 2006, the third phase of the project began. In this period, the communication
training was organized and female researchers were trained.
4. At a fourth stage, in the autumn of 2006, the training was evaluated and adapted,
followed by a next test training for participants of the other Flemish universities.
5. Finally, the fifth phase was completed during the spring of 2007: the results and the
training diagram were written down in a guide.
In what follows, the first four phases of the project will be described: the choice of the
methodology, the selection of the participants, the exploring phase, the training, and
the evaluation.