Dr. Emma Smith has recently joined EDF as a Marie Sklowdowska-Curie Research Fellow, in partnership with the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute at Maynooth University (Ireland). Researchers at the ALL Institute work extensively on policy issues, including partnership with civil society organizations, using participatory research approaches to ensure the work is grounded in the experiences of people with disabilities.
Over the next three and a half years, Emma will be working with the EDF Policy Team, as well as key stakeholders in the area of assistive technology throughout Europe to develop a framework and guidance for assistive technology policies which are both inclusive of the voices of persons with disabilities, and resilient to change.
This project will include research to identify existing policies, including examples of good practices, as well as a consensus building process with persons with disabilities to identify the most important aspects of assistive technology policies. At the moment, Emma and her team are working on identifying existing examples of policies relevant to assistive technology across a range of areas, including health, education, labour, and others, as well as reviewing existing global research to identify good practices and recommendations for assistive technology policy.
Starting in 2023, the consensus building process will involve multiple rounds of feedback from assistive technology users, as well as other key stakeholders in the assistive technology field, including health providers, policy makers, and industry representatives.
The data gathered during this process will inform a framework, outlining the most critical concepts which should be included in assistive technology policies to ensure they are both inclusive and resilient. The resulting framework will be available for advocates and policy makers to help guide the next generation of assistive technology policy, or as a tool to evaluate existing policies to advocate for change.
This work is funded by the Marie-Sklowdowska Curie Actions program, part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme of the European Commission. A call for participation in the consensus building process will be announced early in 2023.
Blog post written by: Emma SmithÂ