Evaluators of IDEAS Project Find Disability World Provides Unparalleled Global Information Service

"The evaluators wish to stress the outstanding outreach and service this project has given to the international disability and rehabilitation community. The support and approbation received from readers, email surveys and personal interviews were overwhelmingly positive." This was a concluding comment of The Galvin Group in its in-depth evaluation of The IDEAS for the New Millennium project, funded by the U.S. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR--#H133A990006).

The IDEAS project, consisting of three main elements – the DisabilityWorld webzine, an allied international database of literature abstracts, and an annual symposium – is carried out as a collaboration among four U.S. based organizations with international outreach: the World Institute on Disability, Rehabilitation International, Independent Living Research Utilization and the Inter-American Institute on Disability.

Now in its fifth year, the IDEAS project was due for a summative evaluation and after reviewing several candidates, selected the Galvin Group, primarily due to the international experience of its principals, Don Galvin, Ph.D. and Jan C. Galvin (http://www.galvin-group.com). Their report, released on May 10, emphasized the:

• global outreach and impact of the project, involving 95 countries
• comprehensive bilingual coverage of DisabilityWorld, in effect, NIDRR’s main outreach to the Hispanic community
• impressive scope of its 5 key topics: employment, independent living/disability rights, accessibility, media treatment and governance
• steady growth over 5 years, producing 22 issues of DisabilityWorld, visited by 43,000 readers in March and
• reliance on leadership by disabled reporters and staff, comprising 70-80% of those employed by the project.

The 10 point Executive Summary of the evaluation is reproduced below and the full report is available from Jennifer Geagan: Jennifer@wid.org after July 1st. All 22 issues of DisabilityWorld can be read in English and Spanish at the site (http://www.disabilityworld.org) and recent issues can be downloaded in full in PDF or Word files. The IDEAS database is also stored on the Disabilty World site.

Executive Summary
This summative evaluation of the IDEAS for the New Millennium project (sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research) permitted the reviewers to reach ten major conclusions which address the value and impact of the project.

1) In borrowing a tag line from ABC's Wide World of Sports - the IDEAS project has become the "Wide World of Disability." "Spanning the Globe" in search of the most relevant information, the most germane developments in the field and the most rewarding relationships.

Riding the wave of globalization, the IDEAS project was able to construct a project of impressive scale. Readers of DisabilityWorld, for example, frequently commented that it "provided a unique, timely and comprehensive perspective on issues facing the disability community worldwide."

The combined resources, experience and expertise of the four partner organizations allowed them to creatively address the needs of persons with disabilities, improve disability and rehabilitation practice and inspire social change globally. Their global outreach is attested to by the fact that over 95 countries were in some fashion involved in one or more project activities.

2) Beyond the unparalleled scale of the project, its scope was most impressive. That is, the scope of the five key topics; independent living/disability rights, employment, accessibility, media treatment and governance, combined to address the key elements promoting the full integration of people with disabilities into community life - worldwide. Project elements, which are the webzine DisabilityWorld, the international database, and the symposia, were orchestrated in such a way as to reinforce and amplify the treatment of each topic.

3) One of the objectives stated in the original proposal was to create a "Disability Lexus" (i.e., DisabilityWorld) an "international exchange of information and experience on disability and rehabilitation to connect the disability research and advocacy leadership" The evaluators can easily confirm that IDEAS has achieved this objective, perhaps beyond the expectations of the IDEAS partners. As one survey respondent noted, "with email addresses provided for all articles in webzine, people feel 'one click away' from contact with a new source."

DisabilityWorld has become "the chronicle of record" a centralized information service for those involved in international disability and rehabilitation work. In substantiating this finding, the evaluators note that 22 issues of DisabilityWorld were published from March 2000 to April 2004. These 22 issues contained 2,135 pages of content, with portrayals of 93 countries including the U.S. and 6 world regions. And, most significantly, when the most recent issue was posted in March 2004, the website, in a single month, experienced 43,000 visitors!

4) One may employ the magnet metaphor in terms of describing the project's ability to attract a remarkable representation of the global disability/rehabilitation community. Over 215 institutions of higher education were connected; of these, 130 were U.S. institutions of higher education. As one respondent from Yale University emphasized, "most importantly, it brought people together, made connections, and followed on with contacts made. The symposia brought academia together with applied grass roots practice. Unlike most conferences, this one gave context and a reality check to theoretical positions."

The DisabilityWorld readership, database users and symposia participants represented educators/researchers, people with disabilities and their families, public policy makers, media experts, students, service providers, advocates and others. Thus, IDEAS served a significant cross section of the U.S. and international disability/rehabilitation community and served as an important meeting ground for individuals having a wide-range of interests and expertise.

5) Responses to the surveys and interviews confirmed a major benefit of the project, namely, the opportunity for personal and professional growth. U.S. respondents emphasized that as a result of contacts with the project their interest and involvement in international affairs had been enhanced, their horizons were broader and they had a greater appreciation for evolving topics such as independent living/disability rights, media treatment of disability issues, the issues facing women and children with disabilities and the impact people with disabilities have had on policy, legislation and service delivery.

Through the project new opportunities for new contacts in the field were created, networking among national and international entities was stimulated and international dialogue ignited new awareness and understanding.

6) The disability rights perspective and the full integration into society of people with disabilities was a pervasive theme, a primary value in the selection of key issues, and a driving force throughout the project from conceptualization through all major events and daily practice. Involvement of and leadership by people with disabilities was evident throughout. It is noteworthy that 70-80% of all project staff and the DisabilityWorld reporters were persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities also made up a significant number of symposia participants and the readership of DisabilityWorld.

7) In the proposal, it was projected that DisabilityWorld would build gradually to provide comprehensive coverage in Spanish, consisting of translations and original articles in Spanish. No other webzine on disability issues existed in Spanish. By attending to their language needs, (61.9% of all articles have been translated into Spanish) the demand created by providing a webzine for Spanish-speaking people both within and outside the U.S. was truly remarkable.

All partners agree that the Spanish translations, primarily conducted in Costa Rica, were both a unique and an important achievement, very probably reflecting NIDRR's most substantive non-English production of disability/rehabilitation information.

8) The IDEAS project effectively capitalized on the new technologies of the information age. The use of the Internet as a tool to provide timely and accessible information in Spanish as well as English enabled the project to attract a huge audience, many of whom would not have known of such a resource and certainly would not have been reached through the production of hard copies and postal services to nearly 100 countries.

We would make a personal observation here simply to note that the Galvin Group principals were both engaged in international disability/rehabilitation information exchange several years ago. We could never have conceived the explosive impact and benefit the Internet would have upon such work. It is now possible to achieve what was nearly impossible and far too costly just a few years ago.

9) The IDEAS project achieved notable innovation and had a significant impact as regards to three topical areas, namely independent living/disability rights, media treatment and influence of governance.

The independent living/disability rights phenomenon has become a subject of study by social scientists as a social change model. Through the symposium on the topic and related articles in DisabilityWorld, independent living/disability rights is now perceived and practiced in a more culturally sensitive and respectful manner. The outcome has been a more holistic conceptual framework no longer dominated by the U.S. approach. It is now appreciated that the nuances of diverse countries and cultures will significantly shape the nature, direction and development of the movement. Through various activities, including speaking engagements, symposia discussions and 90 articles in DisabilityWorld the IDEAS project has educated its international audience about the U.N. Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities. Indeed, as recently as March 30, 2004 Kathy Martinez, IDEAS project partner, testified on behalf of the U.N. Convention before the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

The Moscow media symposium was the first of its kind held in Russia, bringing together individuals who were immersed in the mass media treatment of disability, including news reporters and film producers as well as public educators and persons with disabilities. The symposium produced an international "advocacy library" of juried films; stimulated an international network of colleagues interested in pursuing continued exchange; made possible a mini-film festival and symposium which was welcomed in six distant Russian cities, and played a major role in the adoption of integrated public schools in Moscow. In fact, the Russian organizer has scheduled a second invitational film festival in Moscow in November, 2004.

The governance symposium in Durban, South Africa drew an audience of 300 people when 60 were anticipated. The primary focus of the symposium, the impact disabled legislators and public officials can make on public policy and legislation was literally "discovered" by the IDEAS project. That is, they were the first to appreciate and address this new global phenomenon. From China, England, Norway, Hong Kong to India, Canada, Uganda and the United States we are witnessing the fact that individuals with disabilities are being elected and appointed to high government positions; more Councils of people with disabilities are being established and more supportive disability policies and laws are being enacted.

As a result of the success of the December symposium, a participant from Norway volunteered to conduct a similar session in Oslo in June 2004 to address the same phenomenon in the European Community.

10) The project's innovative spirit, openness to change and their flexibility to address new opportunities are exemplified by the project's reorganization of its accessibility topic. It can be reported that the focus on this topic evolved and took a dramatically useful and relevant direction. It is particularly noteworthy that the project was an active participant in educating Congress to the effect that P.L. 108-199 was passed on January, 23, 2004 requiring that U.S.A.I.D. "shall seek to ensure that programs, projects and activities administered by U.S.A.I.D. in Afghanistan comply fully with U.S.A.I.D's "Policy Paper: Disability" (1997) and which states in part, U.S.A.I.D. "shall develop and implement appropriate standards for access for people with disabilities for construction projects funded by U.S.A.I.D."

In closing, the evaluators again wish to stress the outstanding outreach and service this project has given to the international disability and rehabilitation community. The support and approbation received from readers, email surveys and personal interviews were overwhelmingly positive. Several recommendations were made for improvements or changes in the future years and these can be found in the body of the report.

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