Posted 10.06.2021

Today's exciting virtual event celebrated the impact of DRILL and shared the findings from our Impact Report produced by S3 Solutions.

The event had input from partners, reflections from projects and a panel discussion and acknowledged all the hard work and effort funded projects and partners contributed to DRILL.

DRILL Delivery & Impact

Number of research and pilot projects funded: 32

Total amount of funding distributed for research and pilot projects: £2,985,371

Total number of people that participated in DRILL projects: 4,856

Summary of Key Findings

A number of key summary points from the consultation are set out below:

• The level of interest in the application process is considered a key success. The demand and interest in the programme helps to demonstrate its relevance, and the capacity to fund 32 projects with high optimism about their impact is an important achievement.
• DRILL has created a rich and diverse portfolio of quality research and evidence based work about approaches to independent living which aligns with the original aim and intention of the programme.
• DRILL has demonstrated that co-production works and that disabled people are the experts on their own impairments. It also indicates that investing in and committing to quality co-production can generate impacts
  in terms of feeling valued, empowered and improved confidence. 
• DRILL was a new programme that created new structures. There are many lessons to be drawn from DRILL. Learning includes a better understanding as to how co-production works in theory vs practice, the importance of investing time and energy to build strong partnerships and in relation to research, the importance
  of sharing and dissemination.
• The prominence of co-production across all aspects of DRILL was championed by the Four Nation partnership, it is questionable whether an alternative delivery model would have achieved the same level of commitment and buy in to co-production.
• DRILL has highlighted that working in partnership is challenging, but it can lead to innovation, imaginative working and can develop skills in resourcefulness. Significant time and resources are required to invest in partnerships if they are to be successful. This should be factored into future work.
• There is a lot more work to do to realise the impact of DRILL, to change attitudes, influence policy and change practice. There is a requirement for a legacy project to DRILL which will require additional investment, resources and commitment to work in partnership across the Four Nations.

Read the impact report of the DRILL Programme which looks at its overall impact and key findings from the 5 year programme.

DRILL Impact Evaluation Report

Executive Summary

Executive Summary Easy Read Version

DRILL - Disability Research on Independent Living & Learning - is an innovative 5 year UK-wide Four Nation Research Project which delivered the world's first major research programme led by disabled people, for disabled people and was funded by the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF). Launched in 2015, the Programme is led by Disability Action NI in partnership with Disability Rights UK, Disability Wales and Inclusion Scotland.