Download - Local to National Community Development
A Social Innovation Approach to Transforming Communities – Local to National
Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society’s (IRIS) and the Canadian Association for Community Living
Presenter Doris Rajan, Director of Social Development - IRIS
Presentation Format1. The Problem: social change is slow
1. Example – education attainment of people with disabilities in Canada
1. A Strategy - The local to national community development strategy – can it work for education?
1. How about in your country?
The Problem
Research - people with disabilities andeducational attainment nature and
prevalence of exclusion and promising practices.
Impressive models of inclusive education inCanada
But the statistics are not changing...
People with disabilities experience a shortfall in education because they have not, and continue not to be, adequately included and accommodated in the educational system.
The example of children/adults with intellectual disabilities 52% of young adults with an intellectualdisability (aged 20 – 29 years) are neitherworking nor attending school, compared
with12% of those without a disability.
Young adults with intellectual disabilities are
five times more likely than those withoutdisabilities to have no formal educationcertificate.
No education No job No money!
Canadians with disabilities have lower levels of educational attainment than non-disabled Canadians.
25% of non-disabled Canadians are without a high school diploma compared to 37% of those with a disability
Children in exclusive schools ...
Research demonstrates that if proper supports
are in place to have children with disabilities
included in regular classrooms, all studentsbenefit.
Yet schools and classrooms are inadequately
supported and the system generally resists a truly inclusive school environment.
More inclusion means more students get to know children with disabilities = less bullying…
Recent study - 41% children withdisabilities felt threatened at school or on
the school bus within the past year and
more than a third (36%) were assaulted at
school or on the school bus.
Reason for lack of progress complex
How funding is given out Competing priorities of advocacy groups Weak partnerships Absence of a sense of solidarity and
common vision Tight fiscal realities.
Successful Community Development Involves all key sectors, i.e. schools,
relevant government bodies, disability organizations
Leadership comes from families and self- advocacy groups
Equal attention is paid to process and outcome.
UN Millennium Project Report - 2005
The need to scale up arises from the limited impact of pilot projects, or “islands of excellence” amidst a sea of inertia – small projects aimed at local or district levels without a measurable impact on national indicators…
Scaling up ...
National scale-up is the process of bringing essential services to most or all the population quickly, equitably, and lastingly… Equality and non-discrimination, ensuring the services reach all of the population, especially the most disadvantaged, are central.
The Approach ...Needs a national framework
Rooted in local communities
Intentional attempts to build the capacity of local communities
People with disabilities lead
Work with key local sectors
Multi-level
At the same time leveraging multi-level support and
influencing broader level policy change.
A community development strategy – rooted in the local community...
What does this really mean?
Bring people together from all levels, diverse sectors to have
conversations that they typicallywould not have.
A child with a disability has difficulties going to school due to the attitudes of teachers, school boards and possibly parents who are unable to adapt to students with different needs and learning capacities.
Does child walk or prefer to
run?
On the individual level
People with disabilities and families from that same community are supported in developing self identified, realistic short and long term plans.
The framework for these plans matches individualneeds and wants with what is actually available or could be made available in the community.
Plans are built around individual’s needs and wants
On the community levelDisability sensitivity training for
educators and school boards.
Teachers, local school boards are given tools to help them support individuals.
Inclusive youth programs in schools
On the broader provincial /territorial/ national levels
National advisory groups made up of provincial/territorial organizations who bring local learnings to a national forum
Customize learnings to each P/T
Provincial/territorial/national investments are made
Why will this strategy work? It is specific to a local community – the process
develops community-specific inventories of resources, programs, policies, and community information that would support people’s dreams
Children/adults with disabilities and their families are supported to be the leaders of this process
Outreach process that identifies isolated people
More on outreach
The outreach process really understands where people are located and how to communicate/reach them, i.e. immigrant families
The outreach process is delivered by organizations and partners that have relationships in local communities and are thus trusted
The outreach process understood diversity and how to make the process sensitive and accessible to all segments of the target population.
Why will this strategy work?
Supports/services in both the education sector and disability sectors are brought together.
Information on supports will be presented in an accessible, straight forward, uncomplicated manner and context specific manner.
Successful because it works on many levels
Identifies individual solutions;Identifies collective group solutions;Identifies and engages the broader local
community to examine themselves and respond to those specific individual and group needs;
Identifies broader policy & program solutions for advocates/relevant advocacy groups to pursue.
Based on a similar CACL project - positive evaluation results Gains in knowledge about their rights and
entitlements Exposed to the range of options and
brought all service/support info together Stress the need for individual
plans/building of support circles around individuals
Acquired a better sense of what people need, rather than having to fit into what the system offers;
Importance of a collective identity for social change.
Questions to guide the work... What is the role of a national coordinating body in
a local to national strategy?
What is needed to establish a national infrastructure with
the capacity to support local communities to organize
around the issue?
What partnerships need to be in place and what types of
social and economic investments need to be committed at
the national level?
More questions ...
What is needed to establish a local infrastructure
that supports a community to organize around the
issue?
What partnerships need to be in place and what
types of social and economic investments need to
be committed at the local level?
Questions ...What is the best way to convene local level community dialogue around the issue? Who needs to be involved andwhy?
What are the socio-environmental and historicaldeterminants of marginalization experienced by the
affected population?
What are the key components of an inclusive consultationprocess that recognizes the barriers to communication andthe articulation of needs for the affected population?
And more...What are the key characteristics of a social
problem thatare critical to understand in order to address it?
What is the past and present policy and programframework related to the social issue?
What characteristics of the local geographic community
can be seen as assets or liabilities in addressing the social
problem?
Still coming at you with questions!What are the kinds of tools and resources thatwould best support that strategy?
What ways can local level results have an impact and influence national policy and broad scale social change?
What needs to be in place to support the sustainability of local work in
order to ensure curative short term outcomes and positive long term
quality of life results?
The most important question...
How can the people withdisabilities/families be
empowered and supported to be leaders of the local level process?
The Concept of Inclusion
The strategy empowers the group who has been marginalized to self facilitate
towards better articulation of their needs and the development of strategies that
will mobilize and also empower the various sectors towards an effective
community and broader societal response.
Buildingstronginclusive communities