Across the social impact sector, strategy development is often treated as an operational exercise focused on frameworks and outputs. The result? Beautifully designed documents that fail to inspire action, sitting disconnected from the communities they are meant to serve. At Kore Global, we believe the how of strategy creation is just as important as the what. Our feminist strategy model is designed to challenge traditional power dynamics, centre lived experience, and build a foundation for genuine, values-driven change.

We believe a strategy process can, and should, model the equity and justice it seeks to promote. In 2024, our collaboration with the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) gave us a powerful opportunity to put this belief into practice.

Our feminist approach in action: Co-creating SVRI’s 2025–2030 Strategy

SVRI invited Kore Global to lead the development of its new five-year strategy. The goal was ambitious: to co-create an innovative strategy that builds on SVRI’s proven impact. The process would map the current ecosystem and examine key issues in evidence building, advocacy, and capacity for preventing violence against women and children in low- and middle-income countries. It would also define clear strategic priorities to move the field forward.

In response, we co-designed a deeply participatory process anchored in the voices of SVRI’s vast network. This wasn’t just about consultation; it was about co-creation at every stage.

What this looked like in practice:

• Co-creating design principles: Our first step with the SVRI Strategic Planning Committee was to establish the principles for our work together. We started with SVRI’s own values and, through an interactive workshop, established seven principles for the design process, including Kindness & Trauma-Informed, Feminist, and Intersectional approaches to guide our process, interactions and decisions.
• Multi-layered stakeholder engagement: We moved beyond a single consultation window, designing distinct engagement points for different groups. This included a global survey for the entire membership, a series of deep-dive consultation webinars with funders, grantees, and partners, and iterative co-design workshops with SVRI’s leadership and governance bodies. 
• Iterative and non-extractive methods: We recognised that our partners are busy and that their knowledge is valuable. We built on the extensive work SVRI had already done, ensuring we weren’t starting from scratch. We utilised dynamic tools like Mural for anonymous virtual whiteboards, enabling asynchronous and less hierarchical participation.
• Intentional ‘feminist pause’: To ensure our process lived up to our principles, we built in a dedicated ‘feminist pause’—a structured moment midway through the project for the SVRI Strategic Planning Committee to reflect on how well we were embodying our co-created values and identify opportunities to course-correct. As a result of this pause, we implemented new tools and review steps to keep the rest of the strategy development firmly aligned with our core values.

The result is a strategy that is more than a roadmap—it is a plan for catalysing connection, collaboration, and creativity. It affirms SVRI’s role as a convenor, amplifier, and co-creator of knowledge that is grounded in feminist principles. The strategy reinforces a commitment to decolonial, culturally rooted knowledge and ensures that research meets the needs of the communities it is intended to serve.

“Kore Global’s ability to navigate complex challenges and bring diverse perspectives together was impressive. Their structured yet flexible approach enabled us to develop a strategic plan that is both practical and visionary—a plan we are very proud of.”

— Elizabeth Dartnall, Executive Director, SVRI

What makes a strategy feminist? Our blueprint

A feminist strategy process doesn’t just ask what needs to change—it asks who gets to decide, how care and reflection are embedded, and whether the process itself models the values it seeks to advance. It is a fundamental shift from extractive, top-down planning to a collaborative, power-aware, and evidence-based journey.

Our approach is guided by core principles that make the process as transformative as the final product:

• Power-sharing & transparency: We support the redistribution of decision-making and embed clear accountability mechanisms from the start.
• Meaningful participation: We design inclusive, non-extractive processes that value diverse forms of knowledge and centre lived experience.
• Decolonisation & localisation: We challenge top-down models by centring local expertise and context.
• Care & wellbeing: We recognise the emotional labour involved in this work and build in practices that prioritise the well-being of all participants.
• Starting with the personal: We create space to reflect on how our individual identities and positions of power shape the process and its outcomes.

These principles are integrated into our six-phase feminist strategy blueprint, which adapts traditional planning models to deliver strategies that are both principled and practical—from setting up for success with a power-informed approach to driving buy-in with creative, inclusive communication.

A new way forward

Strategy does not have to reproduce the hierarchies we are trying to dismantle. By putting feminist principles at the centre, strategy development can become a practice of care and a space for shared reflection, brave decision-making, and truly inclusive leadership.

We are proud to have partnered with SVRI in developing a strategy that embodies this approach, and we are excited to continue supporting organisations that share our commitment to building a more just and equitable world.

Interested in exploring how our feminist strategy approach can support your organisation? Contact us at contact@koreglobal.org and learn more about our work.