Introducing the ADVANCE Network!
The ADVANCE Network works towards improving access to disability programs through pan-Canadian partnership.
DiPo, in partnership with Kids Brain Health Network, has developed the Alliance for Disability Voices, Advocacy, and National Community Empowerment (ADVANCE) Network, which brings together youth, families, researchers, community organizations, and decision-makers across Canada to co-design and implement solutions to improve access to disability programs for all Canadian youth – regardless of where they live or who they are.
ADVANCE has a strong leadership team, consisting of five academics (Lucy Lach, Keiko Shikako, Michelle Phoenix, Grant Bruno, and Jennifer Zwicker), three lived experience experts (Genevieve Currie, Logan Wong, and Sharon McCarry), and an operations manager (Brittany Finlay). To date, ADVANCE consists of 20 national community partners, a youth and parent advisory council, an Indigenous Advisory Circle, and over 20 academics from across Canada.
ADVANCE has four core areas of focus, in addition to an Indigenous Parallel Path, co-developed with current ADVANCE Network members:
Program Types and Governmental Efficiency, focusing on identifying opportunities to improve coordination and efficiency across fragmented disability program landscapes.
Access Trajectory, focusing on defining and addressing barriers along access pathways from early childhood through young adulthood.
Eligibility and Design, focusing on improving alignment between eligibility criteria, assessment processes, and functional needs.
Access and Exclusion, focusing on addressing inequities in program uptake and designing targeted outreach strategies for individuals that do not currently access disability programs.
Indigenous Parallel Path, which supports Indigenous-led definition and redesign of disability programs across jurisdictions.
To support foundational work of the Network, we have recruited four ADVANCE Network Fellows, who will complete a research project in each of the areas of focus listed above. Click here to read about preliminary findings shared by our four ADVANCE Fellows at the Disability Without Poverty Research Symposium. Stay tuned for more information in Summer 2026!
Interested in learning more or being involved? Click on the button below to send us an email!