This section highlights most of CCDS’ national-level projects since the beginning of the organization. If you have a question about any of these projects, please contact us.
This collaborative project involved five organizations across Canada focused on issues related to disability and mental health, women and girls, LGBTQ2iS, and indigenous persons. The project was completed in the Winter and Spring 2018 at CCDS in partnership with the DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada, Egale Canada Human Rights Trust, the British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, and the National Network for Mental Health.
In October 2017, the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies completed a multi-year evaluation of the Special Needs (SNP) and Moving On (MO) Projects in collaboration with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). With recognition of the demands of work and parenting, the SNP and MO projects provide resources and support for workers at the post office whose children have disabilities. Project supports are available to members of the CUPW and the Union of Postal Communications Employees-Public Service Alliance of Canada (UPCE-PSAC). Evaluation results indicated that the SNP and MO projects are providing needed supports for working parents of children with disabilities. However, due to the broad systemic challenges facing working parents of children with disabilities, members continue to experience need for greater financial, child care, therapeutic and other supports for their child (ren).
Findings from the interviews completed during this phase of the project demonstrated a strong support for VisitAble Housing due to simplicity, broad applicability, and its tendency to promote inclusion, socialization and human rights. Interview participants also noted that due to inconsistencies in use of the term ‘VisitAble’, lack of housing specifications, and confusion about the concept of the term, future phases of VisitAble Housing is necessary to promote the social inclusion of persons with disabilities in Canada.
In 2017, CCDS founded a partnership with the Peter Norman Levesque and the Institute for Knowledge Mobilization (IKM). Together, CCDS and IKM have explored the art and science of knowledge mobilization on disability issues, seeking to transform and disseminate research and connecting researchers, students, administrators, and community leaders. In partnership, CCDS and IKM are currently planning for a 2-day interdisciplinary conference, (inclusive of a pre-conference) for learning and professional development in Winnipeg, entitled “Mobilizing Evidence for Human Rights and the Social Development Goals”.
The purpose of this nine-month project (funded by Human Resources and Social Development Canada) is to focus on a range of issues that exist for people with disabilities as they contemplate or assume the role of informal “caregivers” to other adults.
This document provides a thematic review and meta-analysis of general and disability-related literature in order to identify interrelationships between disability and job retention/career progression for Canadian working people. It develops four broad groups of macro- and micro-level variables that are considered in the literature to be strongly related to how employment histories evolve. The review provides direction for the development of a series of research questions addressing gaps in our understanding in this area.
The Livable and Inclusive Community model is based on the premise that there is a direct correlation between citizens’ overall health, well-being and quality of life and the political, social, physical and economic environments, and in order to develop communities that are truly livable and inclusive for all citizens, the four environments must be addressed in tandem.
The Aging and Disability project is based on the core value that seniors with disabilities should be included and fully participate in the community, and the environmental, social and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with disabilities from full participation in society are removed.
When examining issues of aging and mobility it is useful to conceptualize a continuum of transportation resources that recognizes a range spanning between independent (driving oneself) and dependent (para-transit services) mobility options. The adequacy of access to this continuum has important implications for well-being and overall quality of life for older adults.
The purpose of this resource guide is to outline various community planning documents that will support pilot communities move towards Livable and Inclusive Communities for Seniors with Disabilities.
This document is meant to provide information regarding the issue and challenges facing seniors with disabilities which substantiates the need to address these issues at the community level.
“Creating Opportunity and Sharing Knowledge: Leadership Development in the Canadian Disability Community”, the leadership project, a partnership including Canadian Centre on Disability Studies (CCDS), the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) and Philia has been completed.
The leadership project will address this concern in three phases: “Gathering our wisdom and learning from our experiences”; “Creating new opportunities for knowledge development”; and “Evaluating pilot projects and sharing new knowledge about leadership development.
The research produced a report containing (1) demographic statistics about people who are deaf-blind in Canada; (2) a qualitative examination of the experiences and service needs of persons who are deaf-blind and their parents/advocates; (3) an overview of the services available to meet the needs of persons who are deaf-blind and parents/advocates; and (4) directions for future research. CCDS is conducting this one-year study for the Canadian National Society of the Deaf-Blind and the Canadian Deafblind and Rubella Association.
This longitudinal study examines the experiences of university and college students with disabilities in Canada as they make the transition from post-secondary education to employment.
Canadian Network on Inclusive Cultural ExchangeCanadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online Program
The lives of people with disabilities are shaped by their racial and ethnic status, their religion and their first language. Yet little research has been done on these intersections. What research has been done is primarily from the vantage point of service providers and the need to provide culturally appropriate services. Much research is still required to understand the unique situations of immigrants with disabilities, people of colour with disabilities, Aboriginal people with disabilities and non-English/French speaking people with disabilities. This paper was commissioned by Canadian Heritage for an upcoming policy research seminar on “Intersections of Diversity” to be held in Ottawa in April 2003.
In order to challenge and offset mainstream society’s notions of them, it is important that people with disabilities play a role in documenting, recording and analyzing their own history. Written by and for Canadians with disabilities and their communities, Making Equality: History of Advocacy and Persons with Disabilities in Canada contests attitudes toward disabled people and their participation in Canadian society. It presents as formal knowledge disabled peoples’ stories, observations and analyses in an effort to bridge the sizeable knowledge gap faced by educators and professionals.
This study developed a framework for assessing disability community capacity in Canada. The disability community is filled with both strong and effective voices among individuals with disabilities and within organizations. Associations are working in extremely difficult circumstances and are continually being asked for more without being afforded sufficient resources. People with disabilities are living longer and experiencing increasing needs for services and advocacy support resulting in higher demands being placed on the limited resource capacities of organizations. In addition, all levels of government and the private sector are requesting greater organizational participation in consultations on disability issues and policy development to advance the disability agenda. This is not a sustainable situation, and it is a critical time in which to develop support to enhance the capacity of the disability community. Funded by Human Resources Development Canada (Social Policy Development)
This project developed criteria for measuring the success of the World Bank’s efforts to integrate the concerns and needs of people with disabilities in its development strategies, policies, programs and projects. The criteria will be used to create a baseline against which future progress can be compared.
This study is examining the experiences of college and university students with disabilities as they make the transition from post-secondary education to employment. Funded by The Office for Disability Issues (Human Resources Development Canada).This report describes what the students told us about their post-secondary experiences, including various factors that contributed to their successes, as well as obstacles they encountered. The report also provides findings about the participants’ use and their impressions of services for students with disabilities, institutional financial supports, and career/employment services provided by their universities and colleges.
This 2000-2001 report surveyed major Canadian corporations about their needs for information about persons with disabilities. It also documented the positive contributions corporations have made to disability issues in Canada. This research was funded by Human Resources Development Canada.
This 2000 proposal recommended that the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) establish an institute on the disability process and include disability as a cross-cutting theme in other CIHR institutes. Funding was received from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canada Health Services Research Foundation under the CIHR Design Grant Program.
The purpose and long-term outcome of this project is to determine the impact of Visitability on communities. This project will be a major step forward in creating inclusive and livable communities. The project focuses on Canada to discover where Visitability initiatives are taking place and what factors are facilitating its growth or are creating barriers to implementation. Visit the Visibility Canada website for more info.
This joint project with Queen’s University is examining the accessibility of primary health care services in Canada. It is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.
As a member of the Canadian Network on Inclusive Cultural Exchange (CNICE), CCDS has created a virtual museum exhibit on the relationship between the Canadian disability rights movement and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This exhibit offers a look into the history of the disability rights movement in Canada and how it changed the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is a joint project of CCDS’s Research and Disability Information Network programs, and is funded by Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online Program.
