# How to Add Initiatives in Jira

> To add initiatives in Jira, click the gear icon, select Issues, add an Initiative issue type, edit your project's issue type scheme by dragging Initiative into it, and save. Finally, verify by selecting Initiative from the Create dropdown menu in your project.

Canonical: https://livedemo.ai/tutorials/how-to-add-initiatives-in-jira/
Apps: Jira
Updated: 2026-10-05
Interactive demo: https://story-api.livedemo.ai/workspaces/62255d3d3304f17b8f5e2d03/stories/692a2e1cd673bd5aa8e6001f/preview?step=1

## Steps

1. Click on the gear icon in the top-right corner.
2. Select 'Issues'.
3. Click 'Add Issue Type'.
4. Name it 'Initiative', select the Standard Issue Type and click 'Add'
5. Once saved, go to 'Issue type schemes'.
6. Locate the issue type scheme for the project you want Initiatives in and click the ellipsis icon.
7. Click 'Edit' to edit the scheme.
8. Add the 'Initiative' to the scheme by dragging the issue type to the current scheme.
9. Click 'Save'.
10. To verify, click 'Create'.
11. Select 'Initiative' from the dropdown.
12. You can now use 'Initiatives' to group Epics under a higher-level objective in larger projects or programs.