USAID Disability Policy: Low Bandwidth Version - Policy Into Practice

POLICY INTO PRACTICE

Operationalizing Disability Inclusion at USAID‌‌‌

“As an organization and as persons with disabilities, we do not want tokenism.
We want meaningful engagement as equal partners in the process.”
—GANESH SINGH, PROGRAM MANAGER, GUYANA COUNCIL OF ORGANIZATIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

To achieve the vision, goal, and objectives of this policy, USAID has identified the following as key approaches and opportunities to promote effective implementation and to support a systematic change-management approach to furthering USAID’s disability-inclusion work. These recommended (unless otherwise indicated as a requirement) approaches draw on the collective experiences and learning of USAID staff, implementing partners, bilateral and multilateral development and humanitarian assistance agencies, and—most importantly—persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. These approaches are also consistent with a holistic approach to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, which embraces work at every level so that our people, partnerships, programs, processes, and policies are inclusive, reflect diversity, advance equity, and enhance accessibility.

Engagement and Communications

A Disability-Inclusive Approach to Locally Led Development: USAID’s commitment to locally led and inclusive development fosters diversity in implementing partners and affords a prime opportunity to intentionally engage diverse representation from local DPOs/OPDs as leaders, implementers, and key decision-makers of development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding assistance interventions. Consistent with its Local Capacity Strengthening Policy, USAID is also committed to capacity strengthening that supports DPOs/OPDs’ abilities to deliver and sustain development results. Such approaches are strengthened where we include persons with disabilities at all phases of the program life cycle and support the organizational capacity of DPOs/OPDs to contribute to USAID’s strategic planning; participate in project design, including through accessible and inclusive collaboration and co-creation processes; and respond to USAID solicitations, including as first-time recipients of USAID funding.

Partnering for Success: Collaborative partnerships among USAID, persons with disabilities, donors, governments, civil society, and others are necessary for effective implementation of this policy. Clarity of expectations is essential to foster mutually beneficial partnerships. Explicit references to persons with disabilities in all solicitation phases for all activities are important to communicate that Agency-funded programs should equitably include and be responsive to persons with disabilities and that potential implementing partners will be assessed on their understanding, willingness, and capacity to implement programming consistent with this policy.

Communications: USAID’s work and how we communicate about this work should be consistent with the vision, goal, objectives, and principles of this policy (including in Agency-funded publications and communications products). This includes promoting empowering and respectful representation of persons with disabilities that challenges societal discrimination and euphemistic or ableist framings of disability. With respect to accessibility of IT procurements and communications products (including social media posts, videos, electronic briefers, factsheets, reports, etc.), compliance with the accessibility requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is an existing legal requirement for USAID and considered as part of program design more generally.

Foundations for Operational Success‌

Twin-Track Approach: USAID is committed to a twin-track approach that recognizes that inclusion of persons with disabilities in mainstream programming across all USAID sectors and portfolios and programming targeted to the specific needs of persons with disabilities are essential. Inclusion of persons with disabilities at all phases of the program life cycle is relevant to both types of programming.

Budgeting for Success: A valuable approach to programming (mainstream and targeted) that equitably includes persons with disabilities is to assume that persons with disabilities can and should be included and to budget accordingly within available resources. Given the global disability prevalence rate of 16 percent, persons with disabilities should be reflected in potential participant pools for USAID-funded activities broadly and not only in activities targeting persons with disabilities. Budgets should proactively and intentionally support principles of UD and the provision of disability reasonable accommodations where UD alone may be insufficient to facilitate the equitable participation of program participants and staff with disabilities.

Leveraging Principles of UD: UD offers an important foundational approach to inform program design and implementation for all people. However, where UD principles alone are insufficient, reasonable accommodations remain an important tool to effect appropriate modifications and adjustments to ensure persons with disabilities are equitably engaged and included. As noted previously, both approaches are most effective when proactively supported by intentional budgeting.

Approaching Our Work Across the Life Course: Persons with disabilities exist at all ages, as disability can be acquired at any age and stage of life. The disability experience can affect individuals’ needs throughout their life course. Although programs or interventions may necessarily be targeted to specific ages or stages within the life course (e.g., infancy and childhood, youth, or older adults), it is important that USAID’s programming as a whole foster accessible, equitable, safe, and inclusive societies that are responsive to persons with disabilities across the life course, including their transitions between life course stages. Especially for children and youth with disabilities and older persons with disabilities, it is important that the Agency continues to support and promote protective, nurturing, and loving family care as well as home- and community-based support services. Such approaches are critical to supporting the full inclusion of persons with disabilities of all ages in their communities and society and the transition from relying on residential care settings to supporting persons with disabilities living independently and being included in the community. At the same time, USAID programming should avoid approaches that would strengthen or perpetuate institutions and other residential care settings that contribute to the segregation from society of persons with disabilities of all ages.²⁸

Systems Strengthening: Achieving and sustaining any development outcome depends on the contributions of multiple and interconnected actors. Focusing on the system as a whole—the actors, their interrelationships, and the incentives that guide them—will typically drive a more positive impact during the long term than more limited approaches.

Interventions and programming that encompass whole-of-society engagement, locally driven solutions, and social and behavior change are best positioned to strengthen societal systems with which persons with disabilities interact; combat discrimination and ableist norms that may manifest in those systems; and ensure such systems are responsive to and supportive of persons with disabilities fully enjoying their human rights on an equitable basis with others. A systems-strengthening approach also has the potential to increase its impact and sustainability through the long term. Effective systems-strengthening work relies on robust engagement with persons with disabilities, raising the importance of USAID interventions and programming that support and empower DPOs/OPDs and networks of persons with disabilities and their allies.

Inclusive Acquisition and Assistance: USAID acquisition and assistance (A&A) processes and procedures afford multiple opportunities to ensure that activities and programming achieve inclusion of, and responsiveness to the needs of, persons with disabilities. In addition to explicit references to persons with disabilities in all solicitation phases for all activities, encouraging proactive budgeting for accessibility and reasonable accommodations promotes the efficacy of disability-inclusive programming in targeted and mainstream programming contexts. Consistent with USAID’s New Partnerships Initiative, and while maintaining appropriate safeguards on taxpayer resources, A&A processes and procedures should be reviewed and, where feasible, adapted to lower barriers to DPOs/OPDs as implementation partners of Agency programming. At the same time, assistance standard provision packages in ADS 303maa (Standard Provisions for U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations), ADS 303mab (Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Nongovernmental Organizations), and ADS 303mat (Standard Provisions for Fixed Amount Awards to Nongovernmental Organizations) contain mandatory references to the USAID Disability Policy and nondiscrimination against beneficiaries provisions that are a requirement in such awards. ADS Chapter 551 Section 508 and Accessibility offers guidance on the building of accessible information and communications technology (ICT), including ICT products and services developed, procured, maintained, or used by USAID; and all USAID electronic content including, but not limited to, electronic files, videos, online training materials, external and internal Agency-funded websites, electronic systems, Agency Notices, blogs, and social media. In the context of any new or renovation construction project funded by USAID, the use of the USAID Policy on Standards for Accessibility is an existing requirement in all Agency A&A for construction and alteration.

Living Our Values‌

Supported and Representative Staffing: Consistent with USAID’s commitment to enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility throughout the Agency, effective implementation of this policy will be strengthened by promoting a diverse and representative workforce at all levels across USAID and implementing partners, as appropriate, that is inclusive of persons with disabilities. This necessitates a commitment to hiring persons with disabilities in a manner consistent with applicable legal protections and hiring targets while leveraging relevant staffing authorities, including Schedule A hiring. It also requires fostering a workplace culture where colleagues with disabilities are welcomed, respected, and supported (including through UD and provision of reasonable accommodations) in their performance, professional development, and advancement on an equitable basis with others. Supported staffing also necessitates promoting the knowledge, capacity, and confidence of USAID staff, and where appropriate implementing partners, to pursue disability-inclusive programming. This can be achieved through provision of training and technical guidance and facilitating direct engagement with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. USAID Missions and Operating Units are encouraged to designate one “Disability Focal Point” to drive championing and ownership of disability inclusion across the Mission or Operating Unit and provide technical support. Disability Focal Point(s) should have, at a minimum, completed “Disability 101” and “Disability 102” training and training on inclusive development.

Leading Through Development Diplomacy—Advancing Progress Beyond Programs: The convening power of USAID offers a unique opportunity to bring together a wide variety of relevant stakeholders to share knowledge and foster commitment to disability-inclusive principles and practices. Such stakeholders include DPOs/OPDs, wider civil-society groups and community-based organizations and networks, the private sector, other bilateral development agencies, philanthropies, multilateral institutions, regional organizations, international financial institutions, host-country governments, and the wider U.S. interagency. Perhaps most importantly, the Agency has the opportunity in its convenings to ensure that persons with disabilities have the opportunity to participate fully and on an equitable basis with others. Especially in contexts where persons with disabilities are marginalized in society due to stigma on the basis of disability, USAID can exercise its convening power and influence to demonstrate the value of inclusion, push back against ableist norms, and encourage others to do the same.

Commitment to Continued Improvement: As reflected in USAID’s systematic and intentional use of “collaborating, learning, and adapting” practices, the Agency is committed to continuously improving the effectiveness of its work across the program cycle. In the context of implementation of this policy, it reflects USAID’s commitment to continuing to improve through regular evaluation, solicitation of stakeholder feedback, and periodic review and updating of both policy and practice. It also means recognizing and responding to situations where our systems and approaches may unintentionally hinder the ability of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations to partner with us effectively.

Disparate outcomes for persons with disabilities should not be considered inevitable. Intentional and meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities across all areas of USAID’s work is essential so countries can meet their development goals and individual citizens can reach their full potential.

CONCLUSION

USAID has a long-standing commitment to nondiscrimination and inclusion of persons with disabilities in society on an equitable basis with others. Following two and a half decades of learning, through this 2024 “Nothing Without Us: USAID Disability Policy,” USAID seeks to position itself to partner with persons with disabilities across all aspects of its work in meeting the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century.‌

Through a principled and rights-based approach, grounded in the Social Model of disability and key legal and policy frameworks and informed by sector-specific technical guidance, USAID will work toward building peaceful and prosperous societies in which persons with disabilities enjoy the rights, agency, access, influence, and opportunities to pursue their life goals and equitably contribute to and benefit from the Agency’s development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding assistance interventions that engage people across societies, communities, and countries. In doing so, USAID will leverage key approaches to operationalizing disability inclusion that draw on the collective experiences and learning of Agency staff, implementing partners, bilateral and multilateral development and humanitarian assistance agencies, DPOs/OPDs, and—most importantly—persons with disabilities.