GRANDIS: From Research to Action for Women Entrepreneurship
The GRANDIS project continues to drive forward policies that support female entrepreneurs and women-led SMEs in Europe’s green and digital sectors. Covering the period from 1 October 2024 to 31 March 2025, Semester 3 marks a pivotal shift—from regional research to the first steps toward real policy change.
From Mapping to Meaningful Action
During this period, partners finalised comprehensive assessments of their regional landscapes. These analyses explored current support schemes, gaps in policy, and opportunities to improve the ecosystem for women-led businesses.
This work builds on the transnational GRANDIS desk analysis report, published in December 2024, which provided a thorough baseline of the policy and support landscape for female entrepreneurs across the project’s partner regions. You can access the full desk analysis report here.
To consolidate findings, compare regional insights, align approaches, and prepare for the next stage of activity, a virtual exchange event was coordinated by the Lead Partner and Advisory Partner for partners.
Discovering Good Practices
Building on shared criteria developed in Semester 2, each partner is now identifying at least one good practice—a successful measure, programme, or initiative that supports women entrepreneurs and could be adapted or scaled in other regions.
This process is guided by desk research and stakeholder input, ensuring that the practices selected are grounded in real-world impact and offer lessons for wider policy learning.
Co-Creation Through Design Thinking
A key innovation in GRANDIS is the use of design thinking to involve stakeholders directly in the policy design process. This participatory method was first tested in a transnational pilot workshop hosted by advisory partner EIfI-Tech, bringing together partners and invited stakeholders to explore barriers and co-develop ideas.
Following the pilot, partners replicated the workshop model in their regions, working with local actors to explore practical ways to support female entrepreneurs. These sessions produced valuable insights tailored to each territory’s specific context.
The methodology and findings from these co-creative sessions are documented across three core design thinking workshops:
- GRANDIS Empathy Design Thinking Workshop
- GRANDIS Challenge Mapping Design Thinking Workshop
- GRANDIS Ideation Design Thinking Workshop
All related reports can be downloaded from the ‘Library’ section of the GRANDIS project page.
Next Steps: Policy Development
With a stronger understanding of what works—and what’s missing—partners are now preparing for the policy improvement phase. Using the collected data, workshop insights, and good practices, the project will support regions in proposing gender-responsive enhancements to their existing support frameworks.
The next interregional meeting on 11-12 June in Namur, Belgium will be a key milestone, offering space for further exchange and refinement of these early policy concepts.
For updates and access to all project resources, visit the GRANDIS project page.