Working with service providers, provincial and national advocacy organizations and federations and the private and public sectors, IRIS seeks to identify and remove the barriers people with disabilities and their families face when attempting to access health, social, financial and other types of services needed to advance their inclusion in society.
Current Projects
Past Projects
Accessibility and Inclusion Culture Change Strategies Inclusive of People with Intellectual Disabilities
Timeframe: September 2021 to June 2022
This project aims to identify key lessons for inclusion and accessibility culture change initiatives that address barriers faced by people with intellectual disabilities, and increase awareness at the federal level of the need for a comprehensive, robust, and targeted culture change strategy to advance goals of the Accessible Canada Act.
Achieving Accessibility Culture Change: A Review of Exemplary Initiatives
Timeframe: December 2020 to June 2021
The purpose of this project was to contribute to the development of a Government of Canada culture change strategy with respect to accessibility and the social inclusion of persons with disabilities. The work involved the identification and analysis of exemplary initiatives for achieving culture change related to accessibility and social inclusion.
This project was led by Sherri Torjman, a long term IRIS collaborator.
The Accessibility Exchange | Connecteur pour l’accessibilité
Timeframe: September 2020 to December 2022
IRIS is pleased to be leading the development of an online platform “The Accessibility Exchange” to help realize the vision of the Accessible Canada Act for an inclusive and accessible Canada by 2040.
The Accessibility Exchange is an online platform that assists federally regulated organizations in finding and recruiting diverse people with disabilities and Deaf persons, their supporters, and their organizations to participate in consultations to build effective accessibility plans.
The platform will support people with disabilities and Deaf peoples to share their expertise with federally regulated organizations in how to remove barriers in their policies, programs, workplaces, and services.
The Accessibility Exchange has been developed by diverse people with disabilities, Deaf people, their supporters and disability, civil society, and federally regulated organizations.
To sign up for updates and to learn about how you can engage in The Accessibility Exchange, please visit https://news.accessibilityexchange.ca/ We look forward to welcoming you as it begins to launch in the fall 2023!
Supported by Employment and Social Development Canada.
