Since making pivotal commitments at the 2021 Global Disability Summit, CBM Global has worked actively to strengthen the influence and resources of Organisations of People with Disabilities (OPDs).
By prioritising funding aligned with OPDs’ needs, championing diverse and underrepresented voices, and setting high standards for accessibility, CBM Global aims to enhance OPDs’ effectiveness and inclusivity. Through collaborative advisory and advocacy efforts, and with a doubling in OPD-led projects across our programs, CBM Global remains committed to supporting OPDs’ leadership and fostering consistent, impactful feedback.
International Programs - Specific Projects
Through our International Programs portfolio, CBM supports standalone capacity development programs which focus on increasing the skills and capacity of people with disabilities and OPDs, enabling them to access their rights and opportunities and become agents for change.
International Programs - Other Projects
We often include an OPD capacity development component to projects that have a wider thematic focus, such as community mental health or disaster risk reduction programs.
Initiatives like the Advisory Capacity Development and Exchange Fellowship
This fellowship supports individuals from the disability movement Asia region to increase their skills in providing disability inclusion advice to various key stakeholders.
Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) - Partnership Approach
IAG’s approach is to work alongside OPDs to provide disability inclusion and capacity building advice to governments, UN agencies, development banks, managing contractors and international and local NGOs. Working in partnership with often complementary skill sets and experiences leads to ongoing capacity building of both our team and OPDs.
Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) - Specific Support
Our IAG team is often also called upon to deliver direct support to OPDs across the Asia-Pacific region – either under longer term capacity building partnerships, or in relation to provide support around discrete activities such as helping OPDs run trainings or prepare presentations, or providing technical advice to OPDs on a particular issue.
Considerations within our approach
As we implement our capacity strengthening strategies, we are guided by several key considerations:
- Being aware of different agendas: It’s crucial to recognise that OPDs have their own visions and aspirations that need to be supported. Instead of always prioritising donor agendas, we strive to find a balance.
- Paced and phased funding: We consider the benefits of phased funding models that provide incremental support over time. This approach enables OPDs to build capacity around programming at a pace that ensures they are able to absorb and implement changes and learnings at a sustainable rate, without being overwhelmed.
- Adapt language, tools and templates: As we work with OPD members, we seek to simplify complex terminology and instructions, and think about how to minimise the complexity of reporting and accountability requirements.
- Covering core costs and reasonable accommodations: We acknowledge the importance of covering core operational costs and budgets large enough to cover reasonable accommodations.
- Navigating power dynamics and seeking new relationships: We aim to manage power dynamics and ensure transparency in our funding decisions to avoid conflict within the disability community. Further to this, we work to ensure support is provided to a variety of diverse OPDs, rather than those we already know and work with.
CBM Australia is committed to continuous reflection and adaptation in our capacity strengthening efforts. We are committed to learning from our experiences and refining our strategies to align with our commitments to advance global disability inclusion.
For more insights on how we partner with OPDs and foster disability inclusion, visit our website.