Engaging with Disabled People

Our Processes for Engaging and Consulting with People with Disabilities

One of our main strategic priorities at the NDA is to foster strong and open processes for engaging and consulting with people with disabilities and the wider disability community.

We work hard to make sure our advice and guidance are informed by the experiences of persons with disabilities.

Here are some of the ways we make sure our advice is informed by the disability community:

• When we start large research projects, we establish an advisory group composed of disabled people and other stakeholders who have expertise or experience on the subject matter
• When preparing policy advice for the Government, we organise, when relevant, focused consultations on the topic so we can be sure we understand the perspectives of disabled people, their families and their carers
• We organise an annual listening session, where we hear directly from people with disabilities and their representative organisations about their opinions on specific topics
• We learn from the input of disabled people who sit on working groups and committees alongside us and other public officials
• We engage with Disabled Persons Organisations and other relevant stakeholders when developing our Strategic Plans and periodically to hear about key issues that can inform our work planning
• We commission large public surveys to understand attitudes toward disabled people or to gather information on how included people with disabilities feel in our society
• We collaborate with the Participation Unit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to learn how best to engage with children and young people with disabilities
• We invite disabled speakers with particular expertise on the topic in question to contribute to our Annual Conferences