Initiatives | Civio Engage Knowledge Base [Skip to content](#main) [ ![Civio Engage Knowledge Base](/civio-light.svg) ](https://engage.knowledge.civ.io) [Product documentation](/articles) [Release notes](/releases) [Roadmap](/roadmap) [ Support portal ](https://engage.knowledge.civ.io/portal/login) Toggle navigation [Product documentation](/articles) [Release notes](/releases) [Roadmap](/roadmap) [Support portal](https://engage.knowledge.civ.io/portal/login) 1. [Home](/) › 2. [Product documentation](/articles) › 3. [Stakeholder Management](/articles?category=16) › 4. Initiatives Initiatives =========== Updated 4 weeks ago · 4 min read Search Search An **initiative** is a structured engagement programme that brings together the stakeholders, organisations, interactions and tasks for a specific piece of work: a consultation, a campaign, a policy development process, a community programme. If a stakeholder is "who", an initiative is "what we're doing". What counts as an initiative ---------------------------- Create an initiative for anything that has a beginning and an end and that you would want to report on as a single piece of engagement work. Typical examples: - A public consultation on a planning proposal - A community engagement campaign for a new policy - A long-running advocacy programme - A multi-round workshop series - A specific project that needs its own engagement narrative An initiative does not need to map one-to-one onto a project, though the two can be linked, so a consultation project sits inside its broader stakeholder management context. Sites that do not run projects use initiatives on their own. Creating an initiative ---------------------- 1. From the left menu, expand **SRM** and click **Initiatives**. 2. Click the **+** icon (*Create initiative*). 3. Fill in the fields below. 4. Click **Save changes**. ![](/storage/Ce3FErNOGUzlX6jJMGAYUEviThpjjKm1ZVsLEDBW.gif) What the record contains ------------------------ - **Title** (required): the name of the initiative or engagement programme. Used in lists, filters and the stakeholder timeline. - **Status** (required): the lifecycle stage of this initiative. **Planning** (the default), **Active**, **On Hold** or **Completed**, shown as a badge in the Initiatives list. - **Start Date** and **End Date**: the window for this piece of work. - **Description**: a rich-text area for the full programme narrative. Objectives, scope, methodology, context. - **Owner(s)**: the people responsible for this initiative. You can name more than one; they show in an **Owner(s)** card on the record's overview and are included in the export. - **Engage project(s)**: links to one or more [projects](/articles/9180502042511-Key-elements-of-a-project), where your engagement site runs them. This is how public-facing delivery (surveys, events, registrations) is tied to its stakeholder management context. ![Opening the Status dropdown on the initiative form showing Planning, Active, On Hold, and Completed](/storage/Xz4zqDcNKiA9bOcTRpZHPRzIw8X0lK5ig63mxio7.gif) Linking work to an initiative ----------------------------- Five kinds of record attach to an initiative: ![The stakeholder Edit screen with the Initiative(s) field in the sidebar highlighted](https://engage.knowledge.civ.io/storage/cmRtb1PaYY3stM9dQ4RLaiCZK72nOJaQz9w7CAI8.png) - **Link stakeholders** from each stakeholder's **Edit** tab, picking the initiative in the **Initiative(s)** multiselect. - **Link organisations** the same way, from each organisation's edit form. - **Log interactions** against the initiative. Every meeting, call or email related to the programme appears on the initiative's timeline. - **Track issues** by setting the initiative on the issue record. Issues raised during a consultation can be triaged in one place. - **Attach tasks** for commitments and follow-ups arising from the programme. Finding initiatives ------------------- The **Initiatives** list shows every record you have access to, with columns for *Title*, *Status*, *Project(s)*, *Interactions*, *Stakeholders*, *Organisations*, and *Creator*. Click a column header to sort by it. The column selector adds *Owner(s)* and one column per custom field. ![The Initiatives list showing the Status column with lifecycle badges](/storage/KqPrG2Tsn0CkWR7T2FWVChsIFTpGUaEV9D2aIdCP.png) Use the **Search initiatives** box for free-text matching, or click **Filter initiatives** to narrow by stakeholder, organisation, owner, team, modified-by user, or any custom field. If your engagement site has added [custom fields](/articles/custom-fields-for-srm-records) for initiatives, they appear in a card at the bottom of the form and in a **Custom fields** card on the record's overview. The **Additional options** menu at the top of the list includes a **CSV export** of the current view. Updating several initiatives at once ------------------------------------ Tick the checkbox on any row for the bulk action bar: - **Change status**: move a batch of initiatives through Planning, Active, On Hold or Completed. - **Set dates**: set the **Start Date** and **End Date**. Each field starts at **Leave unchanged**. - **Edit associations**: add or remove **Stakeholder(s)**, **Organisation(s)**, **Interaction(s)** or **Owner(s)**. - **Set team** and **Delete**. Filter the list first, then act. See [Filtering, columns and bulk updates in SRM](/articles/filtering-columns-and-bulk-updates-in-srm). Working with the record ----------------------- Every initiative has three tabs: - **View**: the read-only overview. The sidebar shows linked counts (interactions, stakeholders, organisations) and any linked projects. - **Edit**: the form covered above. - **More...**: additional actions including **Delete**. Each initiative also has a **Stakeholders** sub-page (*Stakeholders in \[initiative title\]*) listing every stakeholder linked to the initiative. ![Opening an initiative's Stakeholders sub-page from the View page](/storage/AMtLGTcGmPHGzNNo8X3KJxL1YcGOyhSIgLga2bY0.gif) Related articles ---------------- - [Custom fields for SRM records](/articles/custom-fields-for-srm-records) - [Filtering, columns and bulk updates in SRM](/articles/filtering-columns-and-bulk-updates-in-srm) - [Stakeholders](/articles/stakeholders) - [Organisations](/articles/organisations) - [Interactions](/articles/interactions) #### Permissions Creating and editing initiatives requires the **Stakeholder Manager** role (or Administrator / Team Lead). The **Stakeholder Viewer** role can see records but not change them. See [User roles](/articles/9176861358095-User-roles). Was this article helpful? ------------------------- Your feedback helps us prioritise what to rewrite. Yes No [ Back to Stakeholder Management ](/articles?category=16) On this page ### Still need help? Raise a request in the support portal and track it to resolution. [ Submit a support request ](https://engage.knowledge.civ.io/portal/login) Submit a support request through the [support portal](/portal) or email . © 2026 [Civio](https://civ.io) [Privacy Policy](/articles/privacy-policy) [Terms of Use](/articles/terms-of-use)