Whether your National Inclusion Week® programme is fully planned or just taking shape, there’s still time to make sure every activity delivers maximum impact under this year’s powerful theme: Now is the Time.
‘Now is the Time’ is a call to act with purpose. With equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) under increasing scrutiny, the way you deliver your National Inclusion Week® activities can mean the difference between a temporary boost and long-term, meaningful change.
Here’s how to ensure your National Inclusion Week® programme drives real outcomes and supports sustained inclusion progress in your organisation.
Make National Inclusion Week® effortless
Our comprehensive Supporters Toolkit gives you professional-quality resources that save time and deliver real impact. The toolkit contains:
- A ready-to-use NIW quiz, conversation starter guide and inclusion bingo game
- A daily focus planner with activity ideas to spark meaningful engagement
- A short video to introduce the theme and energise your organisation
- Comms pack: printable posters, social media frames and guidance
- An influencing for change action plan
Become a National Inclusion Week® supporter
Anchoring your activity in the theme ‘Now is the Time’
This year’s theme recognises that inclusion can’t be superficial or reactive. In a climate of increasing economic pressure and backlash against EDI globally, organisations need to show that inclusion work is strategic, valuable, and embedded in business outcomes.
Now is the Time to demonstrate that inclusion is vital to your organisation, and this should inform how you frame every National Inclusion Week® conversation and design every National Inclusion Week® event. How you plan your week can equip your colleagues to see that by taking part they’re contributing to necessary work that builds organisational resilience, strengthens teams, and supports long-term success.
Ensure engagement: make it relevant
Engagement deepens when people see how inclusion connects to what matters most – to them and to the organisation.
Frame inclusion in the business context
Help colleagues see how inclusion supports key business challenges such as staff retention, innovation, risk management, service delivery, and customer connection. The “Now is the Time” theme is a natural fit for these challenges.
Make the business case personal
Move beyond generic EDI statistics. Show how inclusive behaviours impact team dynamics, leadership effectiveness, collaboration, and career development.
Design for participation, not just attendance
Activities that invite contribution – like roundtables, listening sessions, or idea-sharing walls – foster greater ownership of inclusion efforts. The inclusive conversation guidance and accompanying inclusion bingo activity in the Supporters Toolkit offer a fun and effective way to get started.
Involve line managers early
Empower people managers with clear expectations and support. Their buy-in often determines whether learning sticks or fades after the session ends.
Use storytelling to make an impact
Use storytelling to highlight inclusion in action, reflect on progress, and inspire further commitment.
Prepare for honest, sometimes difficult moments
Inclusion work often surfaces discomfort – and that’s not a sign of failure, but progress. Be ready to hold space for emotionally complex conversations.
- Equip facilitators and line managers to handle resistance or microaggressions with confidence and care.
- Reiterate psychological safety ground rules.
- Offer signposting to further support (e.g., EAP, ERGs and staff networks, HR).
- If you’re a member of Inclusive Employers, speak to your account manager about developing safe, impactful facilitation strategies.
Add credibility and impact with expert National Inclusion Week® speakers
Bring in external voices that challenge, inspire and drive meaningful change. Our industry leading speakers provide fresh perspectives and practical insights that elevate your programme at a time when inclusion work faces heightened scrutiny.
- Tailored talks aligned to your sector and inclusion priorities
- Engaging panel, fireside or keynote speaker formats
- Credible, experienced voices that cut through scepticism
- Momentum-boosting sessions that build buy-in and belief
Face the external context head-on
The “Now is the Time” theme acknowledges that inclusion doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Political, economic, and social dynamics all influence EDI and how people experience your workplace culture.
Acknowledge these realities
Don’t shy away from the broader context. Instead, help employees make sense of how external pressures affect internal culture – and how inclusion can be a stabilising force.
Reconnect with your organisational values
When external narratives get divisive, go back to your core values. Inclusion should feel like a natural extension of your mission and your culture, not an add-on.
Take a data-led approach
In times of increased scrutiny, ensure your programme is grounded in research, data, and best practice – reinforcing inclusion as a critical business enabler.
Focus on resilience-building
Support colleagues to stay engaged in inclusion work even when it’s tough. Foster skills like active listening, allyship, and constructive feedback to weather challenging periods with integrity.
Invest in professional expertise to maximise impact
Even the most committed teams benefit from expert-led sessions that create safe spaces, deepen learning, and spark lasting behaviour change.
Looking to deepen the impact of your plans? Our expert-led webinars, leadership development and speaker sessions can add structure, confidence and external credibility to your National Inclusion Week® activity.