Inclusion advice, provided through our Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) is one of CBM Global’s vehicles of change and a major growth area. We partner with the disability movement to influence organisations, institutions and systems to realise the rights of people with disabilities. We believe that tailored input – communicated effectively, with the right people at the table – can help make inclusion a reality.
In 2022, we continued to strengthen and expand out IAG network and advisory programme, from its beginning in Australia 15 years ago. We pursued partnerships that allowed us to influence at local community through to national, regional and global levels. Global partnerships continued to grow, particularly with UN entities (e.g., UNFPA, WFP, UNICEF) as they sought support to realise their UN Disability Strategy commitments. We also started a multi-year partnership with Abilis supporting the Finnish Red Cross.
With the completion of transition, country teams enthusiastically embraced opportunities to engage more in advisory work. We welcomed several new local advisors in countries such as the Philippines, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Many teams were refining local strategies for advisory work – exploring partnerships and opportunities where advising mainstream development and humanitarian partners and programmes could help them meet the objectives of their country plans and the local disability movement. Often, we support organisations to strengthen inclusion in their own policies, resources and staff capacity (e.g., WFP Nepal). Increasingly, opportunities to build advisory work into broader development and humanitarian programming are emerging, especially amidst a growing emphasis on larger scale, consortia-based funding.
As our IAG network and programme grows, so too does our commitment to our advisory approach. Numerous teams from across the IAG network met in Manila in late 2022, where we sought to strengthen and refine our advisory approach, including tailoring advice, and partnering with the disability movement. It was also a critical opportunity to build capacity and connections across our network to better foster our team approach.
Read more examples illustrating our IAG network and approach in action.