The Disability Inclusive Development Initiative was awarded two important grants to expand their work during the 2019-2020 academic year. The Carnegie Opportunities Fund has allowed DIDI to recruit an additional 10 fellows to work on a collective “filling the gaps” research project focused on disability inclusion in the Sustainable Development Goals. DIDI fellows are preparing briefs on international norms, best practice, and current research regarding disability inclusion in humanitarian assistance, global health, and education. These briefs are targeted for “mainstream” international development NGOs working in these fields, to ensure they are aware of inclusion norms and can connect to resources that will make their practices disability inclusive.
The second grant was awarded by the UW Global Innovations Fund. The DIDI: Building an International Collaborative project will support DIDI broadening its research base by facilitating online collaborations between DIDI researchers and fellows and faculty and students at the Centre for Disability Studies at the University of West Indies in Mona, Jamaica and the Disability Studies Programme at the University of Cape Town and the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. This collaboration will enhance DIDI’s ability to incorporate a diversity of perspectives in its research program and create new opportunities for international collaborative learning initiatives, such as linking UW courses and facilitating student projects with courses taught in Jamaica and South Africa.
