May Blog Post: Towards a new narrative on Independent Living
Neil Crowther
Advocates for action on early childhood development in the USA had for years and with little success framed their case in terms of the vulnerability of the children they cared about and the damaging impact of stress in early childhood on their lives. Eventually they came to be in touch with the Frameworks Institute, an organization dedicated to ‘communications research and practice that pays attention to the public’s deeply held worldviews and widely held assumptions.’ The research Frameworks carries out allows it ‘to test and validate, through different disciplines, both the negative frames and the potential positive reframes that can further an issue’s salience.’ Through such research Frameworks discovered two deeply challenging things:
• The frame of ‘vulnerability’ not only didn’t help advance their advocacy aims it actually depressed support for their goals
• Most Americans take the view that ‘what doesn’t kill you is good for you’ and hence don’t regard stress as inherently problematic
They then went on to develop a new narrative, again employing in depth research to determine the most effective way to frame their advocacy. Instead of emphasizing the vulnerability of the children they cared about the evidence told them to focus on the impact of stress in childhood on prosperity and in order to get around antipathy to ‘stress’ they came up with the notion of ‘toxic stress’. A decade on and ‘toxic stress’ now frames debate around early childhood development across professions, advocacy and the media in the USA and has begun to transform policy and practice.
I believe the same methodology needs applying to the way we communicate about independent living and disability rights more generally.
The term ‘independent living’ is itself an attempt at reframing, as are associated terms such as ‘personal assistance’ and ‘support’, which through language challenge the common power dynamics of ‘care’ and aim to redirect policy, practice and resources in support of disabled people’s human rights. Yet the very fact that advocates of independent living often feel compelled to qualify their demands by saying ‘It does not necessarily mean living by yourself or fending for yourself’ reveals an acceptance of its inherent fault-line as a frame.
When advocates of independent living use ‘independence’ they are referring to self-governance: to the right to be the author of one’s own life through having sufficient practical and financial support and control over that support. Yet I suspect for most people (including policy makers) ‘independence’ intuitively means self-sufficiency, and is associated with metaphors such as ‘leaving the nest’ or ‘standing on your own two feet.’ Go to a government Minister under pressure from the Treasury to find 40% departmental savings with a demand for ‘independence’ and they will probably thank you for your generosity and understanding. They will then frame cuts to benefits and services as ‘tackling dependency’ and promoting ‘independence.’
Yet we seem devoid of any alternatives but to retreat back into the language of vulnerability: of disabled people as passive victims who are the object of ‘cruel’ policies and ‘under attack.’ Such language has been employed in recent years by those challenging welfare reforms and austerity more generally. Some will argue this is borne of necessity, but that would suggest it is successful in achieving its aims, for which sadly there is little evidence as the recent cut to ESA demonstrates. While my hypothesis requires testing, I believe that as in the USA, the language of vulnerability probably depresses support for what we are striving to achieve. At best it protects inactive benefits and acute social care for a dwindling minority. At worst is conveys ideas of disabled people as lack agency or productive potential, undermining progress on disability rights overall.
What we require then is a narrative that is simultaneously empowering while conveying the need for resources and supports. I don’t know what that narrative will look like. It requires the kind of in depth research carried out by the Frameworks Institute on early childhood development and a host of other topics, including immigration, climate change and criminal justice. I hope that DRILL might support such a body of work. I genuinely believe it could be a game changer.
Blog post by Neil Crowther
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April Blog: Towards Independent Living in Wales
Vin West
The way that a government treats those who have the least power is a fair rule of thumb as to its level of civilisation.
These are hard times, as evidenced by the nightly news. UK government “welfare reform”, public service cuts and other neoliberal policies have had a huge impact on disabled people’s lives.
The UK Government is currently under investigation by the United Nations for alleged breaches of disabled people’s human rights, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People.
Here in Wales we are fortunate to have seen government with a human face. The Welsh Labour government has provided some protection against the worst impacts of ‘austerity’ cuts, whilst also putting in place a Framework for Action on Independent Living. Although this has yet to translate into real improvements to disabled people’s lives, it is certainly a step in the right direction.
In contrast, despite major concerns of a potential negative impact on disabled people’s lives, the UK Government handed ILF funding to local authorities in England, without ‘ring-fencing’. As a result, many ILF recipients are facing desperate situations as their funding is cut.
In the Appeal Court Mrs Justice Andrews referred to “the inevitable and considerable adverse effect which the closure of the fund will have, particularly on those who, as a consequence, will lose the ability to live independently.”
In Wales the Minister of Health & Social Services, Mark Drakeford AM, held a consultation about how to best handle the ILF closure. This provided significant support for an option to establish a National Independent Living Scheme in Wales, similar to the Scottish ILF, which disabled people in Northern Ireland are also able to access.
Instead, funding was transferred to Welsh local authorities via the Welsh Independent Living Grant with conditions attached, distinguishing it from the arrangement in England. Discussions are on-going to agree an approach when the grant ends in 2017.
The Welsh Government adopted the Social Model of Disability in 2002. Whilst there is still a long way to go to implement it in practice, the social model, the Framework for Action on Independent Living and the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People have all influenced the new Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act.
This requires local authorities to concentrate not just on the wellbeing of citizens in a vague sense, but on individuals’ own interpretation of what wellbeing means to them. The Act places citizens’ “voice and control” at its centre and promises access to independent advocacy under certain circumstances.
The Act has also outlawed the notorious 15 minute visits to people needing support at home. And it introduces the concept of Citizen Directed Support, which aims to put disabled people and other service recipients firmly in the driving seat when decisions are made about their support and care.
Welsh Government has also just held a consultation on the recruitment and retention of domiciliary social support staff, which has a significant impact on the levels and quality of support for disabled people.
Whilst some local authorities may resist the new vision of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act, the legislation, together with its codes of practice, do contain the levers to bring about genuine Independent Living in Wales. To make this happen we all need to continue working together co-productively.
With independent living now firmly on the policy agenda, there could hardly be a better time to research the subject. My hope is that the DRILL programme can produce both hard and soft evidence to support and accelerate the current direction of travel on making Independent Living a reality in policy and practice.
Vin has been a parent Carer for his youngest daughter for 32 years and is an inclusive design consultant. In addition to being a member of the DRILL Wales National Advisory group, Vin chairs his local Access Group, helped found the Gwynedd Direct Payments Forum in 1998, is a member of the Coalition on Charging Cymru, Co-Chair of the Wales Alliance for Citizen Directed Support, and has been appointed to a number of Ministerial Advisory Groups and Technical Groups.
Byw’n Annibynnol yng Nghymru
Vin West, aelod o grŵp ymgynghorol DRILL Cymru
Mae’r ffordd mae llywodraeth yn trin y bobl ar rengoedd isaf cymdeithas yn adlewyrchu lefel ei gwareiddiad.
Wrth edrych ar y newyddion, mae’n glir ein bod yn wynebu cyfnod anodd. Mae “diwygiadau lles” Llywodraeth San Steffan, toriadau gwasanaethau cyhoeddus a pholisïau neo-ryddfrydol eraill wedi cael effaith enfawr ar fywydau pobl anabl.
Ar hyn o bryd mae Llywodraeth San Steffan yn destun archwiliad gan y Cenhedloedd Unedig am dorri hawliau dynol pobl anabl, a nodir yng nghonfensiwn hawliau pobl anabl y Cenhedloedd Unedig.
Yma yng Nghymru, rydym yn ffodus o gael llywodraeth sy’n deall y pwysau ar ei dinasyddion. Mae Llywodraeth Lafur Cymru wedi lliniaru rhai o effeithiau gwaethaf y toriadau, a hefyd wedi gosod fframwaith gweithredu byw’n annibynnol. Er nad yw hynny wedi arwain at welliannau gwirioneddol mewn bywydau pobl anabl hyd yma, mae’n sicr yn gam tua’r cyfeiriad iawn.
Ond er y pryderon mawr am y potensial effaith negyddol ar bobl anabl, mae Llywodraeth San Steffan wedi trosglwyddo cyllid ILF (independent living fund) i awdurdodau lleol yn Lloegr, a heb ddiogelu’r arian hwnnw. O ganlyniad, mae llawer o bobl ar ILF yn wynebu problemau mawr oherwydd gostyngiad yn yr arian maent yn derbyn.
Yn y Llys Apêl, cyfeiriodd Mrs Justice Andrews at “yr effeithiau negyddol anochel a sylweddol fydd yn deillio o gau’r gronfa, yn arbennig ar y bobl hynny fydd, o ganlyniad, yn colli’r gallu i fyw’n annibynnol”.
Yng Nghymru, trefnodd y gweinidog iechyd a gwasanaethau cymdeithasol, Mark Drakeford AC, ymgynghoriad i drafod sut orau i ddelio gyda chau cronfa ILF. Arweiniodd hynny at awgrymu cynnig opsiwn i sefydlu Cynllun Byw’n Annibynnol Cenedlaethol yng Nghymru, yn debyg i ILF yr Alban, y mae pob anabl yng Ngogledd Iwerddon hefyd yn gallu defnyddio.
Ond, trosglwyddwyd yr arian i awdurdodau lleol Cymru drwy Grant Byw’n Annibynnol Cymru gyda rhai amodau cysylltiedig, sef trefn wahanol i un Lloegr. Mae trafodaethau ar y gweill i gytuno trefn newydd pan ddaw’r grant i ben yn 2017.
Mabwysiadwyd y Model Anabledd Cymdeithasol gan Lywodraeth Cymru yn 2002. Er bod dal llawer i’w wneud i’w weithredu’n ymarferol, mae’r Model Cymdeithasol, y Fframwaith Gweithredu Byw’n annibynnol a Chonfensiwn Hawliau Pobl Anabl y Cenhedloedd Unedig gyda’i gilydd wedi cael dylanwad ar amodau Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru).
Mae’r Ddeddf yn galw ar awdurdodau lleol i ganolbwyntio nid yn unig ar les dinasyddion mewn ystyr amwys, ond ar beth yw lles i’r unigolyn ei hun. Mae rhoi “llais a rheolaeth” yn nwylo dinasyddion yn ganolog i’r Ddeddf ac mae’n addo mynediad i wasanaethau eirioli annibynnol o dan rai amgylchiadau.
Yn ogystal, mae’r Ddeddf wedi gwahardd yr ymweliadau 15 munud gwarthus â phobl sydd angen cymorth yn eu cartref. Ac mae’n cyflwyno’r syniad o ‘Cymorth dan Arweiniad Dinasyddion’, gyda’r nod o alluogi pobl anabl ac eraill yn derbyn budd-daliadau i fod yn rhan o’r penderfyniadau am eu cymorth a gofal.
Ar ben hynny, mae Llywodraeth Cymru newydd gynnal ymgynghoriad ar recriwtio a chadw staff cymorth cartref, sy’n cael effaith sylweddol ar lefel ac ansawdd y cymorth bydd pobl anabl yn derbyn.
Efallai bydd rhai awdurdodau lleol yn gwrthod gweledigaeth newydd Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru), ond mae’r ddeddfwriaeth, a’i chodau ymarfer, yn cynnwys mesurau i alluogi byw’n annibynnol gwirioneddol yng Nghymru. Bydd angen i bawb barhau i gydweithio’n effeithiol er gwireddu hynny.
Gyda byw’n annibynnol yn elfen gadarn o’r agenda polisi erbyn hyn, dyma’r amser gorau i ymchwilio’r mater. Rwy’n gobeithio bydd rhaglen DRILL yn gallu cynhyrchu tystiolaeth gadarn a meddal er mwyn cefnogi a chynyddu datblygiadau er gwireddu byw’n annibynnol ym meysydd polisi ac ymarferol.
Mae Vin wedi bod yn ofalwr ei ferch ieuengaf am 32 blynedd a hefyd yn gweithio fel ymgynghorwr cynllunio cynhwysol. Yn ogystal â bod yn aelod o grŵp ymgynghorol cenedlaethol DRILL Cymru, mae’n gadeirydd Grŵp Mynediad Arfon, helpodd i sefydlu Fforwm Taliadau Uniongyrchol Gwynedd yn 1998, mae’n aelod o Gynghrair Codi Tâl Cymru, yn gyd-gadeirydd Cynghrair Cymorth dan Arweiniad Dinasyddion Cymru, ac wedi’i benodi i wasanaethu ar nifer o grwpiau ymgynghorol a grwpiau technegol gweinidogol.
Vin West
Cadeirydd
Grŵp Mynediad Arfon
01286 880761
07771 536760
Glyn Dŵr
Llandwrog Uchaf
Caernarfon
LL54 7RA
vinwest@icloud.com
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DRILL Roadshow Reports
The DRILL Programme, through its national partners, has now completed over 18 DRILL Roadshows across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. The purpose of which was to determine how research and piloting would contribute most to achieving independent living.
The DRILL Roadshows were based on the principles of co-production involving Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) from across the impairment spectrum, disabled people, academics, policy makers and senior practitioners.
Over 640 people were directly engaged and many more indirectly through social media, with disabled people in the majority. National Advisory Groups (NAGs) received a draft report and further engagement was undertaken to satisfy the equality and diversity values of DRILL.
The 4 Reports will now inform the basis upon which the Programme will proceed and the reframing of the DRILL Themes for research and pilot projects.
DRILL Roadshow Report – Northern Ireland
DRILL Roadshow Report – England
DRILL Roadshow Report – Scotland
Adroddiad Sioeau Teithiol & Cysylltu Cymru
Thank you to all who have participated so far with DRILL. Please stay in touch.
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March Blog – Change
Ursula Marshall
If we want change now is the time to do something about it. DRILL will provide us with the vehicle to effect this change.
On Sunday 14 December 2003 my life changed forever. I had taken several hours and umpteen attempts to get downstairs and had no clue what was happening to me.
The previous evening I had been to two work functions – you know the sort – networking! Anyway I was feeling very tired but put it down to the flu and chest infection I had had all week.
I had been experiencing other strange manifestations that week – pins and needles, loss of balance at strange times and an overwhelming sense of weariness. That night I finished up in The Royal Hospital in Belfast and I haven’t been up my stairs since.
What I didn’t know then but I know now is that I was about to become 1 in 5 of a constituency known as ‘The Disabled’!
I’ve also learned a few other statistics in relation to my condition. GBS affects approximately 1500 people a year in the UK. Of these about 90% recover in 2 years. The other 10% have varying degrees of recovery including 1% who die. Apparently I was very close to the 1% but am lucky to have dodged that one. So I am the 1 in 10.
Listening to the news at the end of 2015 there was a report that the Disability Discrimination Act was 20 years old. The clip showed demos and protests by people with disabilities prior to this legislation being enacted. This was followed up in Disability Discrimination Order in 2006. How lucky I am that I came to this world after these things happened and not before.
In the intervening years since becoming disabled I have had to adjust to doing things differently and dread to think how I would have coped had the world around me not begun to change. I have used both pieces of legislation in my new life to challenge complacency in regard to compliance.
It would seem then that the effective way to bring about change is to make a nuisance of yourself in a very public place! But I think the ground work has been done by those pioneers of the 80’s and early 90’s and it is up to us to build on that and the best way to do it is to arm ourselves with relevant and current information and that is why DRILL is so exciting.
In 2016 DRILL is part of an environment in which the implementation of the UN Convention the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is being ‘discussed’; Northern Ireland government departments are being ‘shuffled’; an election is coming and the new councils are ‘consulting’. There cannot be a better time to provide research results that give solutions to today’s challenges to independent living.
We are being presented with a unique opportunity to fully research any and all aspects of our lives. This data can then effectively inform policy makers and in turn bring about change which is meaningful. The Lottery has funded a 5 year programme which will involve people with disabilities at all levels. It’s about doing with and not for in regard to it’s approach. The research will be directed and selected by people with disabilities.
It is vitally important that people with disabilities engage in this fully and I would encourage everyone to avail of this unique opportunity. DRILL will be different – it won’t be piecemeal, it will have depth because the experts will have completed it – the experts being the people who live their lives with disability and are consequently best placed to do it.
So if we want change now is the time to do something about it. DRILL will provide us with the vehicle to effect this change.
Blog post by Ursula Marshall is a member of the DRILL Northern Ireland National Advisory Group. She has a 25 year history in the community and voluntary sector on welfare rights, homelessness and women’s issues. Since 2003 she has been involved in the disability rights through the Cookstown Disability Forum and with Disability Action.
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Easy Read – Drill Programme Information
We have produced an easy read information booklet on the DRILL Programme.
The information booklet covers the following areas:
- What is DRILL
- The Programme Structure
- Involvement of disabled people
- Research and funding
- Research themes
Download DRILL Programme Information – Easy Read
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DRILL Launch Wales: Disabled people to lead on £5 million research programme
Disabled people will be at the forefront of designing an innovative new £5 million UK-wide programme on Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL).
DRILL is fully funded by the Big Lottery Fund and will be delivered across the UK by a consortium of national disabled people’s organisations, including Disability Wales.
The DRILL programme, which is launched in Wales on 22 September, will see disabled people working alongside academics and policy makers to develop the programme. The programme will gather evidence on the social barriers to independent living and learning which disabled people face. Research findings will be used to develop pilot projects and inform policy development and practice to bring about real improvements to the lives of disabled people.
Rhian Davies, Chief Executive of Disability Wales, said:
“This is the first research programme which ensures disabled people, and the issues that matter to us, are central to research funding decisions. The aim is to build a solid evidence base on the initiatives and support which enable disabled people to fully participate in society. When everyone can participate in the world we live in, it makes sense for us all. Given the emphasis in Wales on ‘voice and control’, the DRILL programme is very timely and will provide a golden opportunity to provide the evidence that will shape future policy and legislation from the citizen’s perspective”.
DRILL is expected to fund a total of 40 research proposals and pilot projects across the UK. It will investigate how public money can be best used to support disabled people’s social, economic and political inclusion. The research programme will aim to identify the solutions that work best for people living with a range of impairments, chronic health conditions and circumstances.
The funding criteria will be decided after a series of engagement events with disabled people, under the research themes of peer support, autonomy, resilience and social, economic and civic participation. Disabled people and their organisations will be supported to work on their research bids in partnership with academics and policy makers.
A Central Research Committee (CRC) will decide which research proposals are taken forward. Disabled academic Dr Tom Shakespeare, chair of the CRC, said:
“Research can make a real difference to disabled people’s lives. It documents our experiences, and the barriers we face. But the best research is done in partnership with disabled people themselves. I am looking forward to the new research findings with real excitement.”
A call for research proposals will be issued early next year and the first round of funding is expected to be announced in April 2016.
For further information please go to www.drilluk.org.uk
Pobl anabl i arwain rhaglen ymchwil £5 miliwn
Bydd pobl anabl yn chwarae rhan flaenllaw wrth gynllunio rhaglen arloesol gwerth £5 miliwn ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig – Ymchwil Anabledd ar Fyw’n Annibynnol a Dysgu (DRILL).
Cyllidwyd DRILL yn llawn gan Gronfa’r Loteri Fawr er mwyn ei weithredu ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig gan gonsortiwm o gyrff pobl anabl, yn cynnwys Anabledd Cymru.
Yn dilyn y lansiad ar 22 Medi, bydd DRILL Cymru yn cymell pobl anabl i gydweithio ochr yn ochr ag academyddion a llunwyr polisïau i ddatblygu’r rhaglen. Bydd yn crynhoi tystiolaeth am y ffactorau cymdeithasol sy’n rhwystro pobl anabl rhag byw’n annibynnol a dysgu. Yna, bydd yn defnyddio’r canlyniadau i ddatblygu projectau peilot a hysbysu datblygiad polisïau er cyflwyno gwelliannau gwirioneddol i fywydau pobl anabl.
Dywedodd Rhian Davies, prif weithredwraig Anabledd Cymru:
“Hon fydd y rhaglen ymchwil gyntaf i sicrhau bydd pobl anabl, a’r materion sy’n bwysig i ni, yn ganolog i benderfyniadau ar gyllido ymchwil. Y nod yw datblygu tystiolaeth gadarn ar fentrau a chymorth er galluogi pob anabl i chwarae rhan lawn mewn cymdeithas. Mae’n gwneud synnwyr i alluogi pawb i gyfrannu at gymdeithas. Gyda’r pwyslais yng Nghymru ar ‘lleisio barn a rheolaeth’, mae rhaglen DRILL yn amserol iawn ac yn gyfle gwych i gasglu tystiolaeth er siapio polisïau a deddfwriaeth o safbwynt dinasyddion.”
Rhagwelir bydd DRILL yn cyllido 40 project peilot ac ymchwil ar draws y Deyrnas Unedig. Bydd yn ymchwilio sut orau i ddefnyddio arian cyhoeddus i gefnogi cynhwysiad cymdeithasol, economaidd a gwleidyddol pobl anabl. A’r bwriad yw nodi atebion ar gyfer pobl gydag amrediad o amhariadau, a chyflyrau ac amgylchiadau iechyd cronig.
Pennir y meini prawf cyllid ar ôl cynnal cyfres o ddigwyddiadau gyda phobl anabl, o dan themâu ymchwil megis cymorth cyfoedion, annibyniaeth, dycnwch a chyfranogiad cymdeithasol, economaidd a dinesig. Bydd yn helpu pobl anabl i weithio ar gynigion ymchwil mewn partneriaeth ag academyddion a llunwyr polisïau.
Bydd Pwyllgor Ymchwil Canolog yn pennu pa gynigion ymchwil fydd yn derbyn cyllid. Dywedodd yr academydd anabl Dr Tom Shakespeare, cadeirydd y Pwyllgor:
“Mae ymchwil yn gallu gwneud gwahaniaeth gwirioneddol i fywydau pobl anabl, wrth nodi ein profiadau a’r rhwystrau byddwn yn wynebu. Ond yr ymchwil gorau yw gwaith gyda phobl anabl eu hunain. Rwy’n edrych ymlaen at weld y canlyniadau ymchwil.”
Bydd y rhaglen yn gwahodd cynigion ymchwil yn gynnar yn y Flwyddyn Newydd, gyda’r nod o gyhoeddi’r cymal cyllid cyntaf yn Ebrill 2016.
Manylion pellach yn www.drilluk.org.uk
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Inclusion Scotland hosts Scottish launch of the world’s first disabled people led research programme today in Glasgow
This evening sees the Scottish launch of the world’s first disabled people led research programme at The Lighthouse in Glasgow.
Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) is an innovative research programme led in Scotland by Inclusion Scotland and partnered across the UK by Disability Action Northern Ireland, Disability Wales and Disability Rights UK. This ground breaking UK-wide programme is fully funded by a £5 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund. DRILL is expecting to fund a total of 40 research proposals and pilot projects over a 5 year period.
In what we believe to be a world first, disabled people will take the lead throughout. They will be at the forefront of designing projects. Funding streams will be based on disabled people’s priorities. Funding decisions will be made by a Central Research Committee, with a majority of disabled people.
The programme will be delivered in partnership with academics and policy makers to build a better evidence base about approaches that enable disabled people to achieve independent living – to have choice and control over their lives in ways non-disabled people take for granted. This will be used to inform future policy and service provision, and give a greater voice to disabled people on the issues that impact on them.
CEO of Inclusion Scotland, Dr Sally Witcher OBE said:
“Cuts to benefits and care packages have had a devastating impact on many disabled people, leaving them in poverty and with support merely to survive, but not to live. While clearly beyond the power of the DRILL programme to reverse these, it offers fantastic new opportunities to find innovative ways of removing the barriers that prevent disabled people from participating in all aspects of society as equal citizens.”
Paul Gray, Scottish Government Independent Living Champion and Director-General Health and Social Care and Chief Executive NHS Scotland said of the DRILL launch:
“The launch of DRILL is very timely, following the publication of the Scottish Government’s Draft Delivery Plan on implementing disabled people’s rights under the UN Convention. I am delighted to be involved in the launch event, and to support this important contribution to independent living in Scotland”.
Professor Nick Watson, Chair of Disability Studies at the University of Glasgow and Director of ‘What Works’ said:
“Giving control to disabled people and their organisations will ensure that the research commissioned by the programme addresses disabled people’s priorities and needs and that it will provide evidence that will shape future policy and practice development, bringing about real improvement in the lives of disabled people in Scotland and the rest of the UK.”
Dr Jim Elder-Woodward OBE, Independent Convenor of SILC and member of the DRILL National Advisory Group said:
“The Big Lottery Fund is to be congratulated for their foresight and trust in disabled people; for research done by disabled people on the world which disables them is much more powerful and revealing than research done on disabled people by those from that disabling world. The Lottery money will be used by disabled people not just to investigate the issues pertinent to their lives and their social, economic and civic emancipation, but to find the solutions we need.
Jackie Killeen, Director for Scotland, Big Lottery Fund said:
“I’m excited about this project as it clearly has scope to create a step change for disabled people and their ability to live independently. What’s key for me is that it is asking those with lived experience of disability to directly feed into the research. Partnership and co-production really strengthen this work and we hope the project’s results will go on to provide an evidence base to inform future policy and service provision across the UK.”
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DRILL Launch Northern Ireland: Disabled people take the lead on £5 million research project
Disabled people will be at the forefront of designing projects for a new £5 million UK wide research programme to explore how disabled people can live more independent lives. The DRILL programme, which is launched in Northern Ireland on 16 September, will see disabled people working with academics and policy makers to develop research and pilot projects that will show how they, and people with long term health conditions, can be better supported to be full citizens.
The DRILL (Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning) programme is fully funded by Big Lottery Fund and will be led by, Disability Action in partnership with Inclusion Scotland, Disability Wales and Disability Rights UK,
Kevin Doherty, Chief Executive, Disability Action, said: “ultimately this is about making a real shift. Far too often disabled people are the subject of research but not participants in its development. We want academics and others to work in partnership with disabled people to build an evidence base that will contribute to making real change.”
DRILL is expecting to fund a total of 40 research proposals and pilot projects over a 5 year period. The programme which we believe to be a world first, aims to work in partnership with disabled people, academics and policy makers to build a better evidence base about approaches that enable people to live independently, which will be used to inform future policy and service provision, as well as giving greater voice to disabled people in the issues that impact them.
The criteria for funding will be decided after engagement events with people with disabilities around the UK, under the themes of peer support, autonomy, resilience and social, economic and civic participation. Disabled people and their organisations will be supported to work on their bids in partnership with academics and policy makers.
Speaking at the Launch, Philomena McCrory, Director of the Centre for Independent Living NI said:
“The Independent Living Movement is based on the firm belief that disabled people are the experts on how we achieve independent living and fulfil our individual potential. The DRILL Programme is therefore of great significance as we move our philosophy and ethos forward through the co-production of new research – disabled people taking the initiative individually and collectively in designing and promoting more effective solutions to the barriers we face in everyday life.”
Dr Bronagh Byrne of the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast added:
“Building a truly inclusive society needs to be underpinned by a strong evidence base with disabled people at its core. I look forward to the DRILL Programme producing key research from across Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England in partnership with disabled people, academics, service providers and policy makers – research that is committed to and guided by the articles and principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
The first round of funding is expected to be launched in April 2016. For information on DRILL please visit www.drilluk.org.uk
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DRILL Launch England: Disabled people take the lead on £5 million research project
Disabled people will be at the forefront of designing projects for a new £5 million research programme to explore how disabled people can live more independent lives. The DRILL programme, which is launched in England on 15 September, will see disabled people working with academics and policy makers to develop research and pilot projects that will show how they, and people with long term health conditions, can be better supported to be full citizens.
The DRILL (Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning) programme is fully funded by Big Lottery Fund and will be delivered by Disability Rights UK, Disability Action Northern Ireland, Inclusion Scotland and Disability Wales.
Liz Sayce, chief executive of Disability Rights UK, said:
“This is the first research programme in the world which ensures disabled people, and the issues that matter to us, are central to research funding decisions. The aim is to build a better evidence base on the initiatives and support that enable disabled people to take full part in society. When everyone can participate in the world we live in, it makes sense for us all”.
DRILL is expecting to fund a total of 40 research proposals and pilot projects over a 5 year period. It will investigate how public money can be best used to enable disabled people to be full citizens – taking part socially, economically and politically; and what solutions will work best in a changing world (with changes in how we live, how we communicate, our economic position and how we use technologies) and for people living with a range of different impairments and circumstances.
The criteria for funding will be decided after engagement events with disabled people around the UK, under the themes of peer support, autonomy, resilience and social, economic and civic participation. Disabled people and their organisations will be supported to work on their bids in partnership with academics and policy makers.
Speaking at the launch, Baroness Jane Campbell said:
“Without the independent living movement I would probably be living in an institution watching daytime TV; it seems a tad unlikely I would be in the House of Lords, shaping legislation. We need new solutions for a changing world, which is why it’s so great that the DRILL programme will be providing the evidence to create independent living opportunities in the future for more disabled people and, most importantly, will help ensure they do not slide backwards into dependency”.
Disability academic Dr Tom Shakespeare added:
“Research can make a real difference to disabled people’s lives. It documents our experiences, and the barriers we face. But the best research is done in partnership with disabled people themselves. I am looking forward to the new research findings with real excitement.”
The first round of funding is expected to be launched in April 2016. For more information on DRILL, please go to www.drilluk.org.uk
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Big Lottery Fund: New Research Funding to Help Disabled Voices be Heard
The issues and challenges facing disabled people will soon be better understood thanks to new research made possible with a £5 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
Disability Action Northern Ireland and their partners Disability Rights UK, Disability Wales and Inclusion Scotland have been awarded the grant to carry out Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) project over the next five years. The research will focus on the extent to which disabled people are able to live independently whilst gathering their opinions on how changes could be made.
Prejudices and a predominantly medical view of disability can still lead to negative attitudes towards disabled people including those who are considering starting their own family or trying to get into education or employment. One of the consequences of negative attitudes towards employment and work is that disabled people earn less and are more likely to end up living in poverty.
With this in mind the new research will aim to build on existing knowledge and develop evidence from disabled people on the issues they face to help influence and inform policy and practice and provide greater opportunities for disabled people to live independently while challenging negative perceptions about disability. The research findings will include ideas from disabled people on how they believe change might be brought about.
Pilot projects will then be developed using the findings to shape future policy and bring about real improvements to the lives of disabled people across the UK.
Peter Ainsworth, Chairman of the Big Lottery Fund,said: “Prejudice and assumptions can blight every aspect of a disabled person’s life, from raising a family to finding meaningful employment. This funding will mean that those affected by disability can make their voices heard and put people directly affected by disability at the heart of how their needs are addressed.”
Kevin Doherty, Chief Executive of Disability Action Northern Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to secure this funding. It’s a massive opportunity for disabled people to tackle issues that affect them in their day-to-day living and I am proud that Disability Action Northern Ireland and our partners in the UK will deliver on the project.”
