Developmental Disability, Independent Facilitation, and Citizenship

Increasingly, organizations supporting people with disabilities, like Facilitation Wellington Dufferin (FWD), describe their activities in terms of citizenship goals, e.g., promotion of social inclusion, control over ones own life, and access to natural supports. Key concepts such as citizenship and inclusion are philosophically disputed, raising a measurement problem—what would even count as evidence of success? The intern will distill the citizenship concepts embedded in FWDs practice, locate them in the relevant theoretical literature, and suggest practical mechanisms for their measurement. Since communication is essential to controlling ones own life, a second part of the project will involve designing a communication-support capacity-building project, including a best practices guide. The benefits to FWD include improved: understanding of citizenship; ability to measure their success; positioning for future advocacy; and access to expertise in designing the capacity-building project. The project will offer the intern experience in an applied research setting.

Faculty Supervisor:

Chris Lowry

Student:

Catherine Klausen

Partner:

Facilitation Wellington Dufferin

Discipline:

Philosophy

Sector:

Management of companies and enterprises

University:

University of Waterloo