Posted 29.06.2021 

The pioneering five-year programme, led by disabled people, for disabled people, has left a legacy of independent living research that can now be used to lobby for change in policies and services across the UK, according to the DRILL report launched earlier this month by Disability Action in partnership with national DPOs Disability Rights UK, Disability Wales and Inclusion Scotland.

John Pring writing for the Disability News Service continues, it has also shown that research can be done in a “truly co-produced way” and has increased the ability of disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) to influence change.

The independent report, which analyses the impact of the Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning (DRILL) programme, says it has “demonstrated that co-production works and that disabled people are the experts on their own impairments”.

The five-year, £5 million programme has researched subjects such as the barriers disabled people face in renting accommodation; violence and abuse against disabled women and girls; participation in civic and public life; and barriers to employment in the legal profession.

The aim was to “build better evidence” on different approaches to enabling disabled people to live independently”, to use that evidence to influence changes in policy and service provision, and to “give a greater voice to disabled people in decisions which affect them”.

Andrea Brown, Disability Action CEO said:

It’s hard to understate how important DRILL has been. The positive effects on our organisations, partners and disabled people as a whole over the last five years has been huge. It’s shown how and why disabled people can and should be at the centre of projects affecting them.

You can read John's full article in the Disability News Service. 

Read the DRILL Impact Report and key findings