D3.10 Report on an inclusive innovation system for the private sector: business enterprise perspective

This deliverable, developed under the Horizon Europe-funded INSPIRE project, examines howgender and intersectional considerations can be effectively embedded into innovation processes inthe private sector, responding to the longstanding European policy ambition to nurture inclusiveinnovation ecosystems. Despite earlier efforts, the uptake of gendered innovations approach in theBusiness Enterprise Sector (BES) remains limited, and the reasons for this have remained poorlyunderstood. Furthermore, most evidence on implementing a gendered innovations approach comesfrom the efforts to integrate gender-sensitive approaches into research content, rather than intotechnologies at more mature stages of readiness, or in the private sector more generally. Addressing this knowledge gap, this report presents findings from four pioneering policies thatsupported inclusive gendered innovation in companies: Norm-critical innovation (Vinnova, Sweden),FEMtech Research Projects (FFG, Austria), HORIZON 2020 Gender Flagging (EuropeanCommission, EU), and Funding of Innovation Projects (FONRID, Burkina Faso). These policiesrepresent diverse models of public funding of gendered innovations. Mobilising a case studyapproach, we analysed the design and implementation of the policies, as well as the experiences ofBES beneficiaries of applying for and implementing gendered innovation projects. Strategies, barriers,and challenges were analysed alongside with the outputs and longer-term outcomes of projects. The findings of this research are available in two parts of the D3.10 deliverable. This report focuseson the business enterprise perspective, approaching gendered innovations as a collective effort ofinnovation ecosystem actors to create change, with the steering and resourcing provided by ResearchFunding Organisations (RFOs). Centering the perspectives of BES actors, especially companies, iscritical in understanding how adoption of inclusive gendered innovations approaches in BES can beimproved. Our sister report, “D3.10 An inclusive innovation system for the private sector: Researchfunder perspective” (Helene Schiffbänker et al, 2025), focuses on the analysis of conditions necessaryto design and implement inclusive gendered innovation policies in RFOs. Individual case study reportsprovide additional detail and are published in the Zenodo repository of the INSPIRE project. Participation in gendered innovation programmes is an uncertain, costly and complex process, whichcan challenge companies in multiple ways. Nevertheless, a successful integration of the genderdimension in innovation process can result in better quality products, open access to new marketsegments, expand customer base and improve competitive advantage of companies, creatingtangible economic as well as societal outcomes. Gendered innovation projects create new products,tools and methodologies, facilitated by capacity-building and other support from RFOs, and closecollaboration among consortium partners. Nevertheless, ensuring longer-term sustainability of projectoutcomes, learning and diffusion of knowledge in the broader ecosystem remains a challenge, withfew mechanisms currently available to facilitate further development and scaling. Addressing the needs of everyone, inclusive gendered innovations have the potential to strengthenEurope's innovative power and competitiveness. To fully realise this potential, it is imperative totransition the concept from an academic domain into a value-adding practice within innovationecosystems. Achieving this will require systemic, sustained, and coordinated efforts across RFOs andprivate sector actors, fostering a culture where diversity and inclusion are key drivers of excellenceand impact within European and global innovation landscapes.