Our winning idea!

THE CHALLENGE: How might we reduce stigma and increase opportunities for people with disabilities

OUR SOLUTION: A global toolbox for inclusive workplace adaptions that can be used in developing countries

With support from the HI team, Angela Kohama, our talented inclusive livelihoods policy officer, submitted the idea of a global toolbox that will assist employers in creating workspaces, tools, and work methods that are accessible for people with disabilities.

Globally, people with disabilities are underemployed, at staggering rates. We know that often very simple changes or adaptions make it easy for a worker with a disability to thrive. We want to ensure that employers have the tools they need to make their offices, factories, bakeries, and more, accessible for their workers.

HI already has effective advocacy tools to convince employers and entrepreneurs that employing disabled people benefits everyone in a community and is particularly important in low and middle income contexts. However, employers and entrepreneurs often need support to adapt the work environment to ensure everybody can thrive and realise their potential at work. That's where we step in!

HOW IT WORKS

The toolbox can be organised as a phone or web-based application. The person using the toolbox application is presented with a wide selection of employment opportunities or training options, contextualised to developing countries.

The user selects the profession or training, and is brought to the next page: disability type. The user selects the type of disability (all disabilities will be included). The application then returns a tailor-made page offering comprehensive information about how to adjust the tools, work methods and environment based on the type of impairment recorded and the specific work opportunity selected. This will not be prescriptive – Handicap International believes people with disabilities can enter any job, given the right preparation and accommodation.

The user of the application can combine these suggestions with local resources to create contextually relevant workplace adaptions. In addition, as the end users identify new solutions for reasonable accommodation, they can upload them in the application - ensuring even more people can benefit.

Learn more about our winning idea!

MANY THANKS TO AMPLIFY FOR SUPPORTING OUR INNOVATIVE IDEA!

ABOUT AMPLIFY
Amplify is a series of innovation challenges bringing increased collaboration and a human-centered design approach to early stage solutions addressing some of the world’s toughest problems. Amplify is a joint initiative of OpenIDEO, IDEO.org and the UK Department for International Development (DFID). It is made possible through DFID funding.