Support Package 5 - “Inclusive Gendered Innovation” - For Funders - Step 1

This step is about laying the groundwork. You define what your funding programme supports and who feels addressed. Programming and budget decisions shape which topics are taken up, what kind of innovation is encouraged, and who applies.

At this early stage, you already have powerful tools to shape how inclusive your programme will be. One of the first questions to ask is: How will we integrate inclusive gendered innovation into our programme design? You can choose between several approaches:

Dedicated calls focused entirely on inclusion-related challenges (such as gender-responsive mobility or inclusive digital technologies)
Mainstreaming, where inclusion is embedded throughout regular programmes and expected in all funded projects
Flagging, where inclusion is one focus area among several, but not a requirement across the board

Each of these approaches has benefits and challenges:

Dedicated calls offer clear framing and targeted guidance. They are especially useful for building internal capacity, involving external expertise, or testing new tools and formats. However, they are usually limited to specific timeframes or themes, and may not reach applicants working in other areas.
Mainstreaming ensures that inclusion is treated as a standard part of research quality across all programmes. It sends a strong institutional message and has the potential for broad impact. At the same time, it requires coordination across units, well-aligned templates and criteria, and support for staff and applicants throughout the funding cycle.
Flagging is a flexible entry point, especially when starting out. It allows you to recognise and encourage inclusive approaches without requiring them in every project. However, it risks staying too vague if not followed by support, examples, or evaluation criteria.

Your organisation may already be using a mix of these approaches or you may be deciding where to begin. The important thing is to reflect on what is realistic given your current resources, structures, and priorities. You can always start small and adapt as you learn. Budgeting also plays a key role. If your goal is to reach new or underrepresented actors such as smaller organisations, NGOs, or grassroots networks your funding conditions may need to reflect that. For example, you could allow for smaller grant sizes, simplified processes, or cost coverage for coordination work.

The key message is: you don’t need to have everything figured out from the start. Every call you design, and every budget decision you make, is a chance to shape the field. Use this opportunity to expand who participates, what topics are explored, and how innovation can serve diverse needs.

After working through this step, you:

understand how your programming decisions can open or limit possibilities for inclusive innovation
are able to identify when and why a dedicated call on gender or inclusion makes sense
can decide whether a thematic or open-topic format is more suitable for your inclusion goals
know how to design budgets that allow smaller actors and new players to participate
are aware of practical entry points, like involving gender experts or using existing checklists
feel more confident in using programming to steer towards societal relevance and inclusion

According to our research, several key challenges come up when designing programmes:

Challenges:

Inclusion is often misunderstood. Many people think first of gender balance in project teams. But in the context of research and innovation, inclusion is fundamentally about who defines the problem, whose needs are prioritised, and who benefits from the outcomes.
Inclusion is seen as an add-on rather than a quality factor. If it's not clearly linked to impact or excellence, it risks being treated as optional. This can lead to missed opportunities to support co-creation, user engagement, or capacity building within projects.
Lack of internal guidance or examples. Many RFO staff told us they had to figure things out as they went. Without templates, peer exchange, or tested language, it’s harder to get started or explain the approach to others.
Trying to do too much too soon. Some organisations attempt to embed inclusion across all programmes from the outset. This can lead to weak or inconsistent implementation. Starting with one focused, well-supported call often works better—especially where experience is still limited.
Budget structures can unintentionally exclude new voices. High co-financing requirements, complex forms, or high entry thresholds may discourage smaller organisations, despite their valuable links to underrepresented communities.

These challenges show how design details can reinforce or undermine your inclusion goals. Below are concrete actions RFOs have found useful for inclusive programme design:

Actions:

Start with reflecting who is affected and whether experiences differ by gender/diversity.
Consult experts and bring in gender/inclusion expertise early.
Engage stakeholders: Talk to affected groups to identify gaps and real needs.
Design flexible instruments: Enable access for smaller organisations; reduce barriers.
Signal inclusion clearly: Include it in programme goals; ideally, make it a assessment criterion.
Build internal capacity: Train your team or involve experienced peers.
Don’t reinvent the wheel: Adapt checklists, calls, and guidance from other

Here you find more support

Framing Inclusion at Programme Level

These resources help you reflect on how your programme is set up. They’re especially helpful when you’re shaping programme goals or updating priorities.

Gendered Innovations 2 – European Commission: This report helps you rethink how research topics and funding priorities are framed by showing how inclusive analysis leads to better results. With 15 detailed case studies and practical methods, it provides inspiration for designing calls that respond to real-world needs like safer cities, inclusive tech, or smarter health solutions.
Framing Questions – Gendered Innovations Project: Helps you rethink how research priorities are set by asking whose problems are being solved and whose voices are missing. Useful when developing or revising programme goals, with guiding questions that support more inclusive, relevant, and forward-looking funding strategies.
EU Framework for Inclusive Funding: Encourages you to step back and reflect on how gender and inclusion can be built into your funding programme from the start. Offers practical tips for writing call texts, setting clear expectations, and designing evaluation and budget processes that support inclusion.
INSPIRE: Inclusive Gendered Innovation: This report offers a conceptual foundation for understanding Inclusive Gendered Innovation (IGI). It introduces key definitions, explains why IGI matters for R&I quality and relevance, and outlines how intersectionality can be integrated into innovation systems. The report is especially useful for funders looking to align programme objectives with broader societal needs and build a shared understanding of IGI across teams and stakeholders.

Tools and Templates for Inclusive Calls

If you’re drafting a call and want to make it more inclusive, these materials give you concrete starting points - from call text templates to guidance on fair budgeting. They are designed to be adapted, not reinvented.

The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) Toolkit: This toolkit supports funders in making their research funding procedures more gender-sensitive. It helps you during the programming phase by offering guidance on how to set inclusive objectives, integrate gender equality into programme logic, and ensure that funding instruments are accessible to diverse applicants
GENDERACTIONplus Guidelines: This guideline helps you identify and address structural biases from the very start of the funding cycle. For RFOs, it provides clear, practical advice on how budget decisions, programme priorities, and definitions of excellence can be shaped to reduce gender bias and make funding more accessible to diverse applicants.
Guide from the Spanish Institute for Women: This guide was developed to help public authorities design funding programmes that actively reduce gender inequalities. It is especially useful in the programming phase, offering concrete questions and examples for defining call objectives, aligning funding priorities with gender equality goals, and ensuring that inclusion is part of the call’s purpose from the start
Irish Research Council – Gender Strategy Review: This independent review of the Irish Research Council’s gender strategy helps you reflect on how programme design choices—from applicant guidance to assessment forms and funding flexibility—can shape who applies and how sex/gender issues are addressed in proposals. It offers detailed insights into what worked well, where confusion persists, and how funders can support better engagement through clearer expectations and targeted support.
Report from the FORGEN CoP workshop: This workshop report helps you reflect on how to embed the sex and gender dimension early in the funding cycle, especially when setting call objectives and preparing application templates. It shares practical examples like internal gender relevance checks, mandatory applicant questions, and review panel guidance, while also addressing common challenges faced by RFOs and offering concrete strategies to build clarity, support, and consistency across the full programme design process.

Learning from Practice

Not sure what works? These resources share how other funders have approached gender and inclusion: what helped, what was confusing, and what made a difference.

INSPIRE D3.10 Report: Inclusive Innovation Systems from a Research Funder Perspective (Schiffbänker et al., 2025): Presents comparative findings on how different types of research funding organisations have implemented Inclusive Gendered Innovation Policies in practice. Draws on case studies from Vinnova (Sweden), FFG/FEMtech (Austria), the European Commission, and FONRID (Burkina Faso) to show how IGI can be embedded across diverse organisational contexts, funding structures, and national settings. Useful for RFOs looking for sector-specific reference points when designing or adapting their own programmes.
Gender in Horizon Europe: These guidelines help you understand how gender equality is built into Horizon Europe and show where and how to reflect that in your own funding programmes. They explain what is expected when integrating gender into programme objectives, proposal design, evaluation, and eligibility, making them a practical reference if you want to align national calls with EU standards.
EFFORTI Evaluation: This article analyses three funding and institutional interventions and shows how you can design calls and budget structures that make the integration of gender a visible programme goal. It draws on case studies to illustrate how programming choices such as defining objectives, linking funding to performance, and requiring gender expertise can improve project quality and support long-term institutional change.
Sex, Gender, and/or Intersectional Analysis Policies of Major Granting Agencies: This global overview helps you see how leading funding agencies integrate sex and gender analysis into their programme design and evaluation criteria. It is a useful reference if you're developing your own inclusion policies or want to benchmark your organisation’s approach against international standards.
GENDER-NET Plus - Report: The full comparative from GENDER-NET Plus helps you see how RFOs are integrating gender into programming, from setting call objectives to shaping evaluation and budget criteria. version adds a clear overview of hands-on measures like including training as an eligible cost, using guiding questions in calls, and involving gender experts in assessments.