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Inclusive Workplaces Toolkit

Inclusion International
June 2022

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The Inclusive Workplaces toolkit shows employers how to make their workplaces inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities. It includes clear guidance on taking action for accessible recruitment, hiring, communication at work, organisational policies, and more, and includes templates and useful resources for employers to implement in their workplaces.

Through the Inclusion Works project, Inclusion International asked employers what help and information they needed to make their workplaces more inclusive. Employers told us that they needed tools and resources to ensure that they would have the knowledge and information to deliver good support to people with intellectual disabilities in their workplace.

People with intellectual disabilities told us what employers need to do differently to make their workplaces more inclusive. The Inclusive Workplaces guide builds on these recommendations and call for inclusion from self-advocates to create a practical tool for employers on how they can take action to create workplaces that are fully inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities.

Listen Include Respect: International Guidelines for Inclusive Participation

Inclusion International
June 2022

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The Listen Include Respect guidelines help organisations understand what they need to do to make sure people with intellectual disabilities are included in their work.

​They were written by Inclusion International and Down Syndrome International.

Over 1,500 people with intellectual disabilities and their families from almost 100 countries helped write them.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) tells us that all people with disabilities have the right to “meaningful participation.”

“Meaningful participation” is what happens when people with intellectual disabilities get everything they need to be fully included, participate equally, and feel valued.

These guidelines will help organisations to make this happen.

Accessible Sanitation in the Workplace – Important Considerations for Disability-Inclusive Employment in Nigeria and Bangladesh

Stephen Thompson
Rasak Adekoya
Utpal Mallick
Omojo Adaji
Abdur Rakib
Mark Carew
January 2022

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This paper explores the relationship between accessible sanitation and disability-inclusive employment in Bangladesh and Nigeria. Both countries have sanitation and hygiene challenges as well as disability-inclusive employment challenges, but the existing evidence on the intersection of these issues that is focused on Nigeria and Bangladesh is extremely limited. Building on the literature where this complex issue is addressed, this paper presents the findings of a qualitative pilot study undertaken in Nigeria and Bangladesh. It focuses on the need for toilets at work that are easy for people with disabilities to use in poor countries. These are sometimes called accessible toilets. Accessible sanitation is not regarded as a challenge that must be addressed by people with disabilities themselves, but as a challenge that must be addressed by many people working together – including governments, employers, and the community.

Views and Experiences of People with Intellectual Disabilities to Improve Access to Assistive Technology: Perspectives from India

BOOT, F H
GHOSH, R
DINSMORE, J G
MACLACHLAN, M
2021

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Purpose: People with intellectual disabilities are deeply affected by health inequity, which is also reflected in their access to and use of assistive technology (AT). Including the perspectives of adults with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers, together with the views of local health professionals, suppliers of AT and policy-makers, this paper aims to provide an overview of factors influencing access to AT and its use by people with intellectual disabilities in Bangalore, a southern region of India.

 

Method: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 adults with intellectual disabilities (ranging from mild to profound) and their caregivers, and with 16 providers of AT. This helped to gain insight into the current use, needs, knowledge, awareness, access, customisation, funding, follow-up, social inclusion, stigma and policies around AT and intellectual disability.

 

Results: Access to AT was facilitated by community fieldworkers and services to reach out and identify people with intellectual disabilities. Important barriers were stigma, and lack of knowledge and awareness among parents. Factorsrelated to continued use were the substantial dependence on the care system to use AT, and the importance of AT training and instructions for the user and the care system.

 

Conclusion and Implications: The barriers and facilitators related to AT for people with intellectual disabilities differ from other populations in need. The findings of this study can be used to inform and adjust country policies and frameworks whose aim is to improve access to AT and enhance the participation of people with intellectual disabilities within their communities.

Disability inclusion in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries. Disability Inclusion Helpdesk Report No: 51.

CORBY, Nick
CLUGSTON, Naomi
September 2020

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This briefing note provides guidance on how to incorporate disability inclusion within economic and governance reform projects. It is intended to inform the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Good Governance Fund (GGF). This Note provides basic, introductory guidance on disability inclusion to FCDO advisers and managers engaging with economic and governance reform and sets out opportunities for the FCDO’s programmes and policy dialogue to deliver positive impacts for people with disabilities. The Note addresses three key questions: 2 1. What is the broad status of the rights of people with disabilities in GGF countries and are there any significant differences between the countries? 2. What are the recommended entry points for incorporating disability inclusion within economic and governance reform projects within the five GGF thematic areas? 3. How should the GGF incorporate disability inclusion into the next business case?

 

An annex provides short notes on several factors for each country. The factors are: the legal framework; disability prevalence; economic inclusion; social inclusion; institutionialisation; access to justice; receptions and representation in the media.

Differentiation and individualisation in inclusive education: a systematic review and narrative synthesis

LINDNER, Katharina-Theresa
SCHWAB, Susanne
2020

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This study integrates research about differentiation and individualisation in inclusive education since the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 (United Nations, 2006). The concept of inclusive education for all learners increases the requirement for teachers to create educational spaces that encourage stimulating teaching and learning processes. Accordingly, a methodological shift from the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ model to individualised teaching and learning offers a starting point for educational equity. The aim of this paper is to investigate the progress of differentiated and individualised teaching practices in inclusive classroom settings considering collaboration and teamwork, instructional practices, organisational practices and social/emotional/behavioural practices (see Finkelstein, Sharma, & Furlonger, 2019. “The Inclusive Practices of Classroom Teachers: A Scoping Review and Thematic Analysis.” International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1–28). Results of a criteria-based review considering papers from 2008 to December 2018 encompass 17 articles that were included in the narrative synthesis. Results indicated that the following aspects are characteristic of inclusive education: collaboration and co-teaching, grouping, modification (of assessment, content, extent, instruction, learning environment, material, process, product and time frame), individual motivation and feedback, and personnel support of students. Implications of the findings and gaps in the research have been outlined.

Guidance note #2 Inclusive Governance and the “aftermath” of the Covid-19 pandemic

Bull
Goupil-Barbier
Holmes
June 2020

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While the first guidance note by the inclusive governance unit focuses primarily on the moment of the outbreak and emergency responses, this note anticipates to examine conditions of governance after the outbreak and how HI interventions could look like to further mitigate or event prevent negative effects of the outbreak. It is already clear that the long-term socio-economic impacts will affect persons with disabilities disproportionately, so proactivity is necessary as from now. It aims to enable global reflection while respecting that situations differ according to the national context of an HI country of intervention

The unsteady path - Towards meaningful participation of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities in the implementation of the CRPD and SDGs. A pilot study by Bridging the Gap

COTE, Alexandre
April 2020

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This study, commissioned by the Bridge the Gap project, seeks to provide an overview of the situation in project’s partner countries (Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Paraguay and Sudan) and to formulate recommendations to international cooperation actors on their possible contribution to strengthen meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in the implementation of the CRPD and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The study focused mostly on the interaction between governments and DPOs as intermediary bodies representing the diversity of persons with disabilities with the aims of ensuring their meaningful participation at national level.

 

The study combined a review of the literature and interviews with representatives of governments, OPDs, service providers, mainstream civil society organisations and development agencies across the 5 countries carried out between August and November 2019 to provide a multi stakeholders perspective on the participation of OPDs in CRPD. It also developed an analytical tool to collectively understand different forms of interaction and participation that could be further developed and used for further studies

At the Margins of Society: Disability Rights and Inclusion in 1980s Singapore

ZHUANG, Kuansong Victor
2020

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A new era focused on the inclusion of disabled people in society has emerged in recent years around the world. The emergence of this particular discourse of inclusion can be traced to the 1980s, when disabled people worldwide gathered in Singapore to form Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) and adopted a language of the social model of disability to challenge their exclusion in society. This paper examines the responses of disabled people in Singapore in the decade in and around the formation of DPI. As the social model and disability rights took hold in Singapore, disabled people in Singapore began to advocate for their equal participation in society. In mapping some of the contestations in the 1980s, I expose the logics prevailing in society and how disabled people in Singapore argued for their inclusion in society as well as its implications for our understanding of inclusion in Singapore today.

 

Disability & the Global South (DGS), 2020, Vol. 7 No. 1

Disability inclusion helpdesk; evidence digest issue 2, December 2019

SDDirect
November 2019

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Produced by the Disability Inclusion Helpdesk. A summary of the latest evidence on disability inclusion in international development from programmes and researchers around the world are highlighted:

·         Access to health: the missing billion

·         Sexuality and disability for children and youth in China

·         Analysing INGO practice 

·         Disability and technology

·         Disability and inequality in Liberia 

·         Pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood in Nepal 

·         Violence against women and girls with disability in Nepal

 

Brief overviews are provided of policy and news from the UK, various UN organisations, Asia Pacific Social Protection Week and South Africa.

 

Brief updates of DFID's (UK Departments for International Development) funded programmes are given including: Disability Inclusive Development (DID) Programme; Inclusion Works; The Disability Catalyst Programme; Programme for Evidence to Inform Disability Action (PENDA), Innovating Pathways for Employment Inclusion (IPEI)

Regional advocacy for persons with disabilities: Regional sustainable development forums and regional integration

WAPLING, Lorraine
STEFF, Marion
et al
November 2019

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The project report is an outcome of a programme focussing on the implementation of the SDGs and advocacy to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in all sustainable development processes. The programme pays particular attention to allocation of resources which must be in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Regional monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides opportunities for DPOs to advocate for inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This project report aims to provide information and learning about this can best be done, using examples of current practices from different UN regions and their Regional Integration Organisations.

 

Regional integration mechanisms in the African Union, the Arab league, the Association of South East Asian Nations, the European Union, the Organisation of American States and the Pacific Islands Forum are explored. 

Inclusion of persons with disabilities in European Union development cooperation mechanisms. A preliminary study of calls for proposals in geographic and thematic instruments

AXELSSON, Charlotte
September 2019

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The overall objective of this study is to assess the EU’s contribution to the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities in development cooperation programmes and projects funded by the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and the European Development Fund (EDF) during the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework.

The specific objectives of the study are:

  • To raise awareness and identify opportunities and recommendations that can support the EU and its Member States, civil society and other actors in meeting their obligations under the CRPD
  • To review key development policies and strategies of the EU and their commitments to implementing the CRPD
  • To review the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in call for proposals in regional programmes (Latin America, African/Caribbean/Pacific and Asia/South Asia) and the thematic programme of Non-State Actors and Civil Society between 2014-2018 in the DCI and the EDF
  • To get a better understanding of opportunities and challenges on mainstreaming disability at EU Delegation implementation level.

Contextualisation will be provided through meeting with implementing partners of a selected number of calls for proposals and discuss with EU Delegation staff in four countries covered by the project Bridging the Gap-II: Ecuador, Ethiopia, Paraguay and Sudan

 

Country reports for Ecuador, Ethiopia, Paraguay and Sudan are provided

Disability inclusion helpdesk; evidence digest issue 1, June 2019

SDDirect
June 2019

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The Evidence Digest aims to capture knowledge emerging from Helpdesk activities in a systematic manner and disseminate findings. This short summary will:

Share information on and learnings from the Disability Inclusion Helpdesk over the last quarter, highlighting headline messages and implications for programmers and policymakers;
Share relevant information and learning from other DID outputs;
Provide relevant information on recent evidence, policy changes and events in the field of disability inclusion, and;
Raise awareness on how to access the Helpdesk and demonstrate its offer.

Report on the extent to which Rwanda’s implementation of the SDGs complies with its obligations under the CRPD

RWANDA UNION OF THE BLIND (RUB)
April 2019

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This report aims to examine the extent to which Rwanda’s activities aimed at achieving the goals and targets set out in the SDGs include and consider people with disabilities and comply with its commitments under the CRPD. 

Information for this report was obtained from two sources: the first source was the available documents including government policies, laws and reports, as well as a variety of other documents and reports from other sources. The second source of information was interviews conducted with people with disabilities from three different regions of the country, namely Musanze district, Nyagatare district, and the city of Kigali.

 

This report focuses on five SDGs which were selected after a series of consultations with people with disabilities and their organisations. These are:

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere;
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages;
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all;
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls;
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

Informe regional America Latina Bajo El enfoque de la convencion sobre los derechos de las personas con discapicidad

March 2019

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Este primer informe regional de la situación de las personas con discapacidad en América Latina ha sido elaborado por RIADIS con la finalidad de realizar un primer acercamiento al estado de la implementación de los ODS bajo el enfoque de la CDPD y la reformulación del Programa de Acción del Decenio de la Organización de los Estados Americanos (OEA). En este sentido, el informe pretende identificar los avances y buenas prácticas que se encuentran realizando los gobiernos de la región en materia de la aplicación de la CDPD a través de la implementación de los ODS en la región, así como establecer las oportunidades y los desafíos que se presentan para que las organizaciones de personas con discapacidad puedan seguir conquistando nuevos espacios y haciendo efectivo el ejercicio pleno de sus derechos. El presente informe se enfoca en diez principales áreas temáticas, identificadas como prioritarias por las personas con discapacidad de la región, quienes aportaron al abordaje de las mismas, tanto a través de las respuestas que se recopilaron de la encuesta inicial, como a través de las contribuciones grupales e individuales obtenidas en el taller de revisión del borrador del informe regional.

 

Las diez áreas temáticas que se abordan en el presente informe son las siguientes: 1. Educación inclusiva 2. Mujeres con discapacidad 3. Personas indígenas con discapacidad 4. Inclusión laboral de las personas con discapacidad 5. Reducción de riesgos de desastres y acción humanitaria 6. Accesibilidad 7. Acceso a la justicia 8. Derecho a vivir de forma independiente y ser incluido en la comunidad 9. Recopilación de datos 10. Participación de las personas con discapacidad

Not to be left behind - Alternative report on the situation of the rights of persons with disabilities within the framework of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development in Colombia

March 2019

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This report discusses the concerns and comments of organizations of persons with disabilities, human rights organizations, researchers and academics, as well as other relevant governmental actors, regarding SDGs policies in Colombia. Mainly, the analysis focuses on two of the 17 goals:

Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Secondary sources about disability in Colombia were reviewed. Three validation workshops were organised to identify the progress and challenges of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda from the perspective of disability

Results are presented and discussed and recommendations made

Social participation and inclusion of ex-combatants with disabilities in Colombia

RIVAS VELARDE, Minerva
Del ROCIO GARZON DIAZ, Karim
SHAKESPEARE, Tom
2019

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The purpose of this paper is to explore ex-combatants’ understandings of disability and the pathways for social reintegration available to them in Colombia. The qualitative data for the study include seven in-depth interviews with ex-combatants and 29 with key informants, including disabled people’s organisations, government agencies, international organisations and academic groups. Findings suggest that transition to civilian life for ex-combatants is made more difficult by inadequate procedures, lack of support and complex administrative data vacuums. Social determinants, historical prejudice against persons with disabilities, high levels of unemployment and political polarisation in a post conflict context combine to trigger poverty traps. The findings indicate pitfalls in the early implementation of the Colombian peace process, which did not consider structural issues that affected transition to civilian life for ex-combatants with disabilities. Furthermore, key enablers for social inclusion such as peer-to-peer support have been identified by respondents. This paper concludes that more needs to be done to enhance the voices of ex-combatants with disabilities and to understand the profound meaning of acquiring impairments through participation in conflict, as well as how post-conflict responses could enable these individuals to gain the skills they need to successfully reintegrate into their communities. 

 

Disability and the Global South, 2019, Vol.6, No. 2

Collaboration in Inclusive Research: Competencies Considered Important for People With and Without Intellectual Disabilities

EMBREGTS, Petri J C M
TAMINIAU, Elsbeth F
HEERKENS, Luciënne
SCHIPPERS, Alice P
VAN HOVE, Geert
2018

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With inclusive research being an emerging field of interest, there is growing recognition that establishing collaborative relationships between researchers with and without ID entails specific demands. However, since studies on collaboration in inclusive research merely provide individual reports on experiences and challenges in one particular research project, building a shared knowledge base of concrete competencies considered important for those involved merits attention. This study contributes to a shared knowledge base in asking people with and without ID with (experiential) knowledge of inclusive research for competencies they consider important in collaborating in inclusive research in general, that is, without reference to a specific research project they participated in. Researchers with and without ID, coaches, policy makers, and teachers involved in the education of people with ID participated in this study. Data were collected from a focus group, individual interviews, and expert meetings. Qualitative analysis was carried out

immediately after each moment of data collection, providing the use of increasing insights in each consecutive phase of data collection. Participants describe that establishing collaborative relationships between researchers with and without ID in inclusive research requires the commitment of both parties. They mentioned concrete competencies they consider important for people with and without ID to collaborate in inclusive research in the categories: building a mutual relationship, communicating, achieving a collaboration in which everyone involved can contribute, being aware of skills and developmental needs, and being aware of impact. Clearly, describing competencies for people with and without ID is not intended to exclude anyone who does not possess these competencies from collaboration in inclusive research. However to avoid “tokenism,” this study might contribute to effective participation of people with ID in inclusive research in providing concrete competencies considered important in collaboration.

Disability Equality: In Theory and Practice. Social Inclusion, volume 6, issue 1 (2018)

PRIESTLEY, Mark
WADDINGTON, Lisa
Eds
March 2018

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This special issue of this journal includes the following papers:

  • Achieving Disability Equality: Empowering Disabled People to Take the Lead
  • Dis-Equality: Exploring the Juxtaposition of Disability and Equality
  • Leveraging Employer Practices in Global Regulatory Frameworks to Improve Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities
  • Equality of What? The Capability Approach and the Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities
  • Reasonable Accommodation as a Gateway to the Equal Enjoyment of Human Rights: From New York to Strasbourg
  • Disability, Access to Food and the UN CRPD: Navigating Discourses of Human Rights in the Netherlands
  • Rehabilitation as a Disability Equality Issue: A Conceptual Shift for Disability Studies?
  • Inclusions and Exclusions in Rural Tanzanian Primary Schools: Material Barriers, Teacher Agency and Disability Equality
  • Education, Work, and Motherhood in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Review of Equality Challenges and Opportunities for Women with Disabilities
  • Social Inclusion through Community Living: Current Situation, Advances and Gaps in Policy, Practice and Research


 

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