DCOI 1.0

The Accessibility Institute at Carleton University (formerly READ Initiative) conducted an environmental scan of Canadian post-secondary institutions that provide employment supports for students with disabilities. The scan revealed clear evidence of gaps in post-secondary capacity for services to support the employability needs of students with disabilities.

DCOI 1.0

Phase 1 overview

Phase 1 of the DCOI project (DCOI 1.0) was a two-year applied research project that started in June 2018 and ran until early 2020, when it was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was funded through a $5 million grant from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU).

DCOI 1.0—led by the Accessibility Institute at Carleton University, and in partnership with the University of Ottawa, Algonquin College, and La Cité—focused its efforts on understanding the full spectrum of factors that influence development of employability for postsecondary students with disabilities.

We immersed team members within each of the partner institutions’ career and accessibility offices, spoke with employers who typically recruit post-secondary students for a variety of work-integrated and experiential learning and new graduate recruitment opportunities, and engaged with community service providers that provide supports to both employers and individuals with disabilities.

Strategic goals

Out of this work, we determined and pursued a series of strategic goals.

1

Increase campus employment supports for students with disabilities to facilitate employment and career success.

In collaboration with our post-secondary partners, we identified opportunities to enhance existing campus employment services and programs, develop new ones to address gaps, and supported research that lead to greater employment success for students and graduates with disabilities, while helping employers make inclusive changes that also benefit their businesses.

2

Be a trusted partner.

We worked with employers, agencies, secondary schools and post-secondary institutions to build knowledge, spread our message, and close the employment gap between students with disabilities and their peers without disabilities.

3

Spread knowledge widely.

We shared our knowledge, resources, research findings, best practices and evidence-based tools with employers and post-secondary institutions throughout the province.

4

Remain relevant.

We created our programs, services, research activities, funding strategies and performance-measurement tools such that they can survive and thrive beyond the life of our initiative.

5

Raise public awareness.

We engaged with employers directly and equipped them with the knowledge and tools to make real changes in their recruitment and hiring practices. We also made it possible for people to gain a greater understanding of the myths and other barriers that prevent students with disabilities from moving down pathways to meaningful employment. We did this through the #AbleTo campaign.

#AbleTo campaign

We knew that to be successful in our applied research, we needed to address cultural biases, fears and perceptions. So we organized and implemented a public campaign to make it possible for people to gain a greater understanding of the myths and barriers that prevent students with disabilities from moving down pathways to employment and career success.

We called this campaign AbleTo. We communicated it through a range of media:

advertisements on buses and in campus newspapers
an identifier that people and organizations can use in their email signatures and on job postings
written and video pledges from a variety of people on how they are taking action to close the employment gap
print-ready infographics that bust myths, help business owners make workplaces more inclusive, and present the business case for hiring students and graduates with disabilities

DCOI 1.0 Project team

The DCOI 1.0 team operated within the Accessibility Institute at Carleton University. Its members were:

Shawn I. Anthony

Marketing Communications Officer

Amanda Barresi

Employment Outreach & Enterprise Specialist

Lindsay Bortot

R&D Officer

Laura Brawn

R&D Officer

Julie Caldwell

Assistant Director, Program Operations

Erica Carson-Sami

R&D Officer

Jeremy Cassidy

R&D Officer

Michael Coady

Education and Training Specialist

Yvonne Collins

R&D Officer

Tara Connolly

Assistant Director, Research and Development

Charlotte Evans

Manager, Program Operations

Andrea Gorra

R&D Officer

Wendy Hamm

Senior Administrator

Anastazia Krneta

Senior Development Officer

Lorie Laroche

R&D Officer

Moira McGrath

Events Officer

Rawad Mcheimech

Data Officer, Research & Development

Dean Mellway

Special Advisor

Viginthiny Paramananthan

R&D Officer

Mirvat Sanaallah

Program Support Administrator

Emma Scammell

Manager, Research & Development

Boris Vukovic

Director

Emily Thompson

Employment Pathways Facilitator

Courtney Weaver

R&D Assistant

DCOI 1.0 Advisory Council

We believe in collaboration. So we set up a committee to make sure the collective voice of post-secondary students and graduates with disabilities, as well as student services professionals from each partner institution, were reflected in our efforts. These are the members of that advisory council:

Jeff Agate, Associate Director

Student Support Services

Kristina Johnston

Manager, Career Services

Sara Jordan

Manager, Centre for Accessible Learning

Stephane Cote

Directeur, Bureau des admissions et du registraire

Jean-Robert Sabourin

Manager, Employment Ontario

Paul Toupin, Directeur

La Cite des affaires

Vincent Beaulieu

Manager, Academic Accommodations

Nicole Miller, Assistant Director

Learning and Professional Development

Rocio Alvarez

Manager, Career Development