Initiative is assumption of control of a culturally defined interaction by conducting the initial moves, forcing the other players into respondent roles.
Initiative may also refer to:
Social process
- Initiative is a political process by which a referendum can be triggered by a petition of voters
- Military initiative is the process of controlling a battle or war by conducting the first and determinative operations, forcing the enemy to respond under less favorable conditions
Fiction
- Avengers: The Initiative, a comic book series from Marvel Comics
- Civil War: The Initiative, a comics crossover storyline from Marvel Comics
- Fifty State Initiative, a fictional government program in the Marvel Comics Universe
- The Dharma Initiative, a fictional organization from the television show Lost
- "The Initiative", the seventh episode of season 4 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Games
- Initiative (chess), the ability in chess to make attacks that must be responded to
- initiative (role-playing games), a number which determines the order in which characters take actions, especially during combat
Organizations
- Initiative, a media buying agency that is part of Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG)
- The Initiative Collective (aka "The Initiative"), a worldwide group of grassroots neighborhood watch organizations
Other
- Initiative Q, an alternative payment network
- The Initiative (Tunisia) – a political party
- The Hawkeye Initiative, a tumblr page that features comic book character Hawkeye in various poses held by female comic book characters