Introducing the CDPA …

April 2014

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Queen’ University, Abramsky Hall, 3rd Floor,Kingston, ON, Canada, K7L-3N6

Ph: 613-533-6000 (x78019) Fax: 613-533-6353www.disabilitypolicyalliance.ca roberts@queensu.ca

A vision of Canada where people with disabilities enjoy full participation and citizenship,

supported by a coherent framework of legislation, regulation and programs.

Values guiding the CDPA

April 2014

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1. A mixture of partners on every initiative

2. Face-to-face meetings semi-annually

3. Full accessibility of all proceedings and materials

4. Language about disability5. Hospitality6. Candour and trust

A vision of Canada where people with disabilities enjoy full participation and citizenship, supported by a coherent framework of legislation, regulation and programs.

Assumptions and methods

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A vision of Canada where people with disabilities enjoy full participation and citizenship, supported by a coherent framework of legislation, regulation and programs.

ASSUMPTIONS METHODS1. Problems that people with disabilities experience can be tracked back to inadequacies in the policy environment.

The Disability Lens -- a 9-point framework for analyzing policy from the disability perspective; considers stakeholders, view of disability, eligibility, history, purpose.

2. There is lots of evidence about what makes society more inclusive – it just needs to be interpreted for a policy audience.

The Scoping Review Approach -- as an alternative to generating more primary data, we advocate synthesizing research already in the literature, using the scoping review approach

3. We need partners with a variety of different skill sets to effectively create change.

The Learning Collaborative – an approach to emancipatory research that makes best use of the skills of consumer and researchers at different stages throughout the process.

The disability lens

In an effort to assist policy makers and policy analysts to reflect on the adequacy of policy for disabled Canadians, we developed the Disability Lens, a series of questions derived from “Tips for policy analysis” (in McColl & Jongbloed, 2006. Disability and social policy in Canada (2nd ed.)

These questions are intended to provide a quick, easy guide to assessing the important implications of policy decisions for people with disabilities.

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April 2014

The Learning CollaborativeThe CDPA employs a unique methodology for emancipatory research and knowledge mobilization, known as the Learning Collaborative. Derived from research on health system improvement, the Learning Collaborative focuses on small but meaningful increments of change that can be readily achieved and studied, and then expanded to effect broader outcomes.

The Learning Collaborative approach has the advantage of effectively using the skills and aptitudes of researchers and consumers to achieve the following steps:

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Disability policy scan (2nd ed.) The first edition of the policy scan was one of the earliest research activities of the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance. It was disseminated through the website of the CDPA, and has been one of the most frequently consulted resources on that site.

Several noteworthy changes have occurred in a number of jurisdictions since the first edition was completed. We hope that this document will provide a catalyst for researchers, advocates and analysts to compare changes over the five-year period; compare policy between jurisdictions; examine the impact of policy changes; and, further explore specific policy areas and sectors.

A vision of Canada where people with disabilities enjoy full participation and citizenship,supported by a coherent framework of legislation, regulation and programs.  

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April 2014

Conventional publication

Sample of publications:

•The learning collaborative: An approach to emancipatory research in disability studies•Charter challenges and disability•Barriers to electoral participation for people with disabilities in Canada

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Knowledge mobilization April 2014

Students

Scholarships: 4 Doctoral /5 MastersUniversity of New Brunswick University of WaterlooUniversity of Toronto ConcordiaUniversity of Alberta University of CalgaryQueen’s University Simon Fraser University

Research assistants: 36 (14 Bachelors/13 Masters/9 Doctoral)

Graduate students: 15 graduate students supported by CDPA faculty

Classroom teaching: 14 courses taught by CDPA Members

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Knowledge mobilization April 2014

The Castle INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES IN GLOBAL HEALTH & DISABILITY

HTLH 402 - Disability Studies: Issues, Research and Policy: This course is designed to introduce students to the field of disability studies – definitions and conceptualizations of disability, language for talking about disability, methods of studying disability issues, policy and systems affecting people with disabilities, controversial issues in disability studies. The course will include lectures, seminars, debates, field trips, student presentations.

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Knowledge mobilization April 2014

Monthly emails

Sent monthly to a list of ~ 750 disability researchers, scholars, students, educators, advocates, consumers, family members, service providers, and other interested individuals.

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Knowledge mobilization April 2014

The CDPA websitewww.disabilitypolicyalliance.ca

Since it launched in 2013, our website has attracted about 6700 visitors. Not surprisingly, most of our traffic comes from Canada (~15,000 hits so far), USA, Australia and Great Britain (2200 hits), and India, Western Europe and South Africa (230 hits).

We currently reach about 600 visitors per month.

Our most commonly viewed documents are: A paper we did on the need for a “Canadians with Disabilities Act”, and the two editions (2008 and 2013) of our federal/provincial disability policy scan.

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Knowledge mobilization April 2014