To clarify why your organisation is working with inclusive gendered innovation and what this means in your context can make all the difference. Without a shared understanding efforts could stay fragmented, feel like a box-ticking exercise or loose connection to your actual goals and values.

For many teams, integrating gender and diversity dimensions in funding procedures is still a new topic. In our case studies from Vinnova, FFG, EC, FONRID, we observed that Inclusive Gendered Innovation is often linked mainly to gender balance, but Inclusive gendered Innovation goes deeper. It’s about who defines research problems, whose needs are considered, and who benefits from the knowledge and solutions that are funded.

To avoid confusion, it is important to be clear about what this work involves—and what it doesn’t. Inclusion in the context of Inclusive Gendered Innovation is not primarily about team composition. It is fundamentally about how research and innovation are framed, designed, and implemented. This includes the formulation of research questions, methods of data collection, the identification of target groups, and the assessment of impact. The INSPIRE case studies showed that this distinction often needs to be made explicit to staff, applicants, and reviewers alike.

Taking time to reflect on how this connects to your organisation’s mission, values, and funding priorities and procedures can help make the topic more concrete. It also opens up space for dialogue. Teams may hold different assumptions or expectations, and surfacing those early can strengthen how you work together.

A shared framing also brings clarity and helps to align future steps. It helps different parts of the organisation pull in the same direction - whether designing programmes, writing call texts, or communicating with applicants and reviewers. It supports coherence in programme design, team responsibilities, and communication with applicants and stakeholders.

Still, developing a shared purpose and language across teams can be difficult in practice, especially when the topic is new or if there are different understandings across the organisation. In the following box, we outlined common challenges we derived from our research:

Addressing these challenges starts with creating space for reflection and making the topic more concrete. The following suggestions offer practical ways to build shared understanding and internal clarity:

Inclusive gendered innovation is more likely to gain traction when it connects to your organisation’s existing strategies and goals. When inclusion is framed as part of what already matters - such as excellence, relevance, fairness, or societal impact - it becomes easier to integrate into decisions, documents, and routines.

In many funding organisations, the foundations are already there: mission statements, funding principles, evaluation criteria, or commitments to responsible research can serve as entry points. Strengthening these links helps shift inclusion from an external demand to an internal priority.

Clear alignment supports consistency across e.g. calls, communication, and review processes. It also makes expectations more credible, both for internal teams and for applicants. This can help create shared direction and reinforce inclusion as part of funding quality and responsibility.

Even when organisations value inclusion, it’s not always clear how to connect it to their strategic goals or embed it into existing structures. Many funding organisations find themselves navigating unclear mandates, fragmented responsibilities, or shifting priorities. Common challenges include:

Tackling these challenges starts with identifying existing entry points and building on what is already there. The following actions can help make inclusion part of your organisation’s strategic language, routines, and decision-making.

Strengthening internal capacity is essential for turning inclusive gendered innovation into consistent practice. This means ensuring that colleagues across different teams understand not only why inclusion matters, but also how to support it in their daily work.

This involves different kinds of expertise depending on the role. Our research revealed that Programme managers are core actors who need to know how to design calls that encourage applicants to address gender and diversity dimensions in research content. Staff who support applicants need to be able to explain expectations clearly and guide researchers toward useful resources. Those involved in the assessment process need to communicate IGI goals to reviewers and help ensure that proposals are evaluated fairly and consistently, also being able to overcome resistances from reviewers.

Rather than relying on generic training, capacity-building should speak to these specific responsibilities. It works best when it connects directly to the tasks - such as writing a call text, drafting a guide for applicants, or planning reviewer briefings. Internal learning formats that focus on examples, peer exchange, and challenges can help teams feel more confident and prepared.

Over time, this kind of learning helps create shared routines and language. It ensures that inclusion becomes part of how your organisation designs programmes, supports applicants, and defines research quality.

Developing internal capacities sounds straightforward but in practice, many funding organisations face recurring hurdles. These often have less to do with motivation, and more with gaps in structures and guidance:

Addressing these challenges starts with making learning more accessible, relevant, and grounded in everyday work. The following suggestions offer practical entry points that can help build confidence and support across teams:

This step focuses on building an institutional culture where staff can engage with gender and diversity in research content and funding procedures openly and without fear of making mistakes. When the integration of gender and diversity is only framed as a policy obligation or technical standard, it can discourage honest questions and experimentation. Creating a safe learning environment supports long-term change by encouraging reflection, dialogue and incremental improvement.

Mutual learning does not require formal training programmes. It can happen in regular team exchanges, informal check-ins or through shared reflection on pilot activities. The goal is to normalise learning around inclusion topics and make it easier for staff to participate without pressure. In some more traditional or hierarchical organisations, participatory approaches may feel unfamiliar or less legitimate compared to expert-led formats. In such cases, it helps to explain the purpose of mutual learning and why shared reflection is essential to enabling inclusive gendered innovation.

It is also important to support knowledge sharing across roles and departments. This helps prevent siloed expertise and reinforces the idea that Inclusive Gendered Innovation is a shared responsibility—not the task of one person or team.

Members of our Community of Practice found the following actions helpful:

Creating institutional support structures helps to make sure that IGI does not depend on individual effort. Once your organisation has clarified its purpose, aligned the topic with strategic goals and started building staff capacity, the next step is to put systems in place that support coordination, continuity and shared responsibility.

This can include assigning internal contact points, setting up cross-team working groups, or creating spaces where programme staff, leadership, and support functions regularly exchange. It might also mean building feedback loops between those who write calls, support applicants and work with reviewers, so that learning can be shared and improvements made over time.

Formalising roles, routines and responsibilities helps turn scattered efforts into shared practice. It also provides stability when staff or leadership change and helps others in the organisation see that inclusion is part of how the institution works - not just a temporary or isolated activity.

Even when there is motivation to act, building long-term support structures can be difficult. Many organisations struggle to move from informal efforts to more stable, coordinated approaches. Common challenges include:

Building institutional support is not about setting up something large or complex right away. Often, small steps toward coordination and shared responsibility can make a lasting difference:

Working with inclusive gendered innovation often means navigating new questions and unfamiliar territory. External experts and advisory structures can provide valuable support by offering knowledge, perspective, and feedback that help your organisation grow more confident and consistent in this work.

Expert input can be especially helpful when shaping calls, writing guidance, or reviewing internal processes. It can also offer space to reflect on blind spots and raise questions that might otherwise be missed. Advisory structures whether formal or informal can create continuity, support learning over time, and connect internal efforts with broader expertise.

This kind of support does not have to be formal or expensive. Many funding organisations start small by inviting feedback on a document, organising a peer exchange, or consulting experienced colleagues from other funding bodies. What matters is building a space for dialogue and making use of the knowledge that already exists within and beyond your organisation.

Involving external expertise can be very helpful, but many organisations are unsure where to start or how to make it work within their structures. Common challenges include:

Involving external input works best when it is planned with clear roles, linked to real decisions, and shaped around your organisation’s needs.

The suggestions below offer ways to get started and build lasting support.

This step is about reviewing and adjusting internal documents, templates and guidance materials so they support your organisation’s Inclusive Gendered Innovation Policies. Many funding processes rely on standardised forms, workflows and checklists. If these do not include space for inclusion-related considerations, the policies can be difficult to apply in practice.

Preparing tools is not about creating everything from scratch. Often, small changes to existing templates or language can make a meaningful difference. The aim is to make the policies visible and actionable across the funding cycle by ensuring it is embedded in your organisation’s operational routines.

Clear and supportive tools also help programme staff, applicants and reviewers feel more confident in addressing IGIP. They provide orientation, reduce uncertainty and promote more consistent implementation. From our research and experience, we found that the following challenges come up frequently:

Here are some actions the members of our Community of Practice found useful:

For inclusive gendered innovation to take root across your organisation, it needs both clear leadership support and visible communication. When senior management actively endorse this work and messages are consistent across teams and audiences, it becomes easier for staff and stakeholders to understand its relevance and engage with confidence.

Support doesn’t need to begin with a formal policy. Small, visible actions such as referencing inclusion efforts in staff meetings, endorsing internal learning activities, or encouraging the development of guidance materials can send a strong signal. These actions show that working with gender and diversity in research content is part of what your organisation values in quality and impact.

Clear communication is just as important as leadership endorsement. When inclusion is mentioned in planning documents, team briefings, and funding materials, it becomes a natural part of how your organisation works and not an isolated task for a single team. This helps staff see the connection to their own roles and encourages shared ownership across departments.

Communication doesn’t have to mean a campaign. Often, it’s about using the right language in the right moments—whether through an internal update, a message in a newsletter, or a short explainer shared with applicants. Consistency across formats builds trust and reduces confusion about what’s expected.

To support this, it helps to coordinate with communications teams and tailor language for different audiences. Referring to inclusion goals in strategic plans, annual reports, or board discussions reinforces their importance. Public materials (e.g. call texts, applicant guidance, or web content) should also reflect these priorities, so external partners understand that inclusion is part of the organisation’s identity.

Here you can find some actions suggested by our Community of Practice and informed by our research: