Specific actions or measures promoting female entrepreneurship have already been established in almost all Member States of the European Union and the EFTA/EEA countries. On the following pages, an overview of these measures is provided according to the list of criteria given in the Box below. The investigation has particularly focussed on actions and support measures in the following seven areas: (1) support for start-ups, (2) funding, (3) training, (4) mentoring, (5) information, (6) advice and consultancy, and (7) networking. Criteria for the identification of specific actions or measures promoting female entrepreneurship Provider based criteria The action/measure originates from a public policy initiative. The action/measure is initiated by the national administration or, in countries where the relevant administrations are decentralised, by a regional administration. The provider of the action/measure is public or, if private, is acting in line with agreed public policies.

In October 2014, the Fraunhofer ISI and KMU Forschung Austria were commissioned by the FWF to evaluate the START Programme and the Wittgenstein Award, both created in 1996 and managed by the FWF. The evaluation used a mixed-method approach with quantitative and qualitative data and analytical methods. The core methods used were a bibliometric analysis of research outputs of the START grantees in comparison to a control group; online surveys of the START grantees, the control group and unsuccessful applicants; interviews and case studies; a literature research and analysis of monitoring data. A validation workshop complemented the approach. The START Programme and the Wittgenstein Award both show unique features within the Austrian funding landscape: The START Programme is the only programme in Austria which provides a kind of "starter kit" for a research career. And the Wittgenstein Award is the only FWF programme which follows the principle "fund people, not projects". The START Programme has a considerable positive effect on the scientific performance of START grantees who perform better than the control group across all of the bibliometric indicators that were taken into consideration. There is also evidence that the START Programme enables new and unconventional research fields to be tested. Additionally, the START Programme contributes strongly to the career development of START grantees. All START grantees stay in the research system, the majority in an Austrian institution. A START project group is also an effective instrument to enhance the qualifications of young researchers. The Wittgenstein Award has undoubtedly facilitated the pursuit of unconventional and creative research streams and high risk projects, an increase in the scientific performance and enhanced visibility of Austrian research and researchers. The research freedom has been used to develop new methods, conduct interdisciplinary research and focus on new research questions. The exploration of new avenues of research is evidenced by the many successful applications for further funding and the publication analysis. These kinds of projects would not have been funded by other programmes. The Wittgenstein groups have been able to expand and maintain their leading role in cutting-edge research and represent a favourable and stimulating environment for young researchers. Both programmes are very well managed with reasonable administrative requirements. Based on the numerous positive impacts on the Austrian research system, there are no reservations in recommending a continuation of both the START Programme and the Wittgenstein Award. 8 Zusammenfassung Zusammenfassung Ausgangslage Im Oktober 2014 wurden das Fraunhofer ISI und die KMU Forschung Austria vom FWF damit beauftragt, die von ihm administrierten Programme START und Wittgenstein-Preis zu evaluieren. Beide Programme zielen auf die Förderung exzellenter Forschung ab und stellen hierzu eine bis zu sechsjährige Finanzierung zur Verfügung, um den Geförderten die Möglichkeit zu geben, ihre Forsc...

With the funding programme Talents, the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) supports people in applied research throughout their entire career. The overarching goal is to increase the utilisation of human potential in the application-oriented, scientific and technical RTI sector. The programme objectives are 1) to inspire young people for research and development, 2) to connect researchers with the economic sector, 3)to guarantee equal opportunities for all. Within the framework of three fields of intervention, there are various programme lines: 1) Intervention field Young Talents with the programme lines Internships for Students and Talents Regional, 2) Intervention field Female Talents with the programme lines FEMtech Internships for Female Students, FEMtech Career and FEMtech Career Check for SMEs (2015 and 2016), as well as FEMtech Research Projects; and 3) Intervention field Professional Talents with the programme lines The Austrian Job Exchange for Research, Development and Innovation as well as Career Grants for Interviews, Relocation and Dual Careers in Applied Research. After an interim evaluation in 2014, a final evaluation took place at the end of the programme period (end of 2020). The programme was analysed with regard to its conception, implementation, achievement of objectives and impact. Furthermore, conclusions and recommendations for the further development of the Talents programme have been drawn. The methodological basis of the evaluation is a document analysis, secondary data analysis (FFG monitoring data), interviews with experts, online surveys of funding recipients (FEMtech Career / FEMtech Career Check for SMEs and Career Grants), case studies (FEMtech Career projects) and workshops.

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Die FFG hat diese Kurzstudie beauftragt, um zum einen den Status quo in Hinblick auf die Repräsentanz von Frauen in den von ihr geförderten Projekten zu untersuchen, und zum anderen zu analysieren, welche Maßnahmen eine Agentur wie die FFG setzen kann bzw. welche bereits implementierten Maßnahmen am vielversprechendsten erscheinen. Methodisch stützt sich die Kurzstudie auf eine Sonderauswertung im Rahmen des Wirkungsmonitorings der von der FFG geförderten Projekte sowie einer Literaturanalyse, die insbesondere Metastudien und graue Literatur (insbesondere auf EU-Ebene) sowie Evaluierungen inkludiert. Die FFG setzt eine Reihe von Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Gleichstellung in F&E und verfolgt eine umfassende Strategie, indem sie alle drei Handlungsebenen adressiert (Individuen, Institutionen, Gender als Forschungsinhalt). Dennoch zeigt die Sonderauswertung der von der FFG-geförderten Projekte insofern eine ernüchternde Bilanz bei den involvierten Unternehmen, als sich die Teilnahme von Frauen an den FFG Projekten nicht von den aggregierten Zahlen der Statistik Austria für forschungsaktive Unternehmen unterscheiden – also kein Impuls zu einer Änderung wahrnehmbar ist.