Getting stakeholder buy-in for a new research initiative can be like getting a group of people to agree on a vacation plan. Illustration by Emma Siegel.

Quick Tip: Stakeholder Buy-in for Research with People with Disabilities

You’ve learned some insights for why and how to center people with disabilities in your research—now to get everyone else on board!

Some of your teammates or stakeholders may dismiss inclusivity and accessibility concerns as concepts relevant to only a “niche” population. They may say that it would be a better use of time to focus on the “general population,” where a broader impact might be had. In response, here are some points for them to consider:

• Understand the statistics. More than one billion people worldwide have a long-term disability. The CDC estimates that there are 61 million people with disabilities in the United States—that’s one out of every four people. In the UK and Australia, the numbers are similar. One out of every five people has disclosed a disability or disabilities (that’s 11.2 million and 4.4 million people, respectively).
• Unlock innovation. Time and time again, we’ve seen that inclusive considerations lead to ground-breaking opportunities. Understanding the needs of people with disabilities unlocks innovation. E-mail, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech technologies were all originally invented for use by the disability community, and each was ultimately adopted by the general population. What benefits people with disabilities can and will benefit the larger population. Disability intersects with other identity categories, such as race or gender. Use the constraints of disability to unlock innovation.

See our section on getting buy-in for more general inclusive research for a deep dive into stakeholder management.

Ready for more?

Learn how to reach out to disability communities to build relationships and partner on research.