Innovation in the disability sector

It was a pleasure to host the speakers and guests who came to discuss innovation in the disability sector at EY’s Melbourne office last Thursday. The event, part of EY’s Public Policy Series, brought together people from the private, public and non-for-profit sector, with a passion for bringing fresh ideas and innovation to the goal of giving all Australians with a disability (or differently-abled Australians) a fair go.

 A huge thank you to our outstanding line up of speakers; Janine Toomey, Executive Director for Disability and the NDIS of the Victorian Government; Debbie Dadon AM, founder and director of TOM: Melbourne; John Davey, differently-abled advocate and participant in this year’s TOM: Melbourne Makeathon; Tamara Rozentals, Marketing Manager and founder of the Innovation Index at GiveEasy; Dr Hannah MacDougall, Paralympian and wellness specialist; and Dr Shol Blustein, founder of Impact Co and new member of the Victorian Disability Advisory Council.

Key themes discussed were :

-      centring the user at the heart of design and decision making;

-      the power of collaboration between industries, organisations, and government;

-      the criticality in sharing knowledge and experiences to make Australian’s living with a disability more visible;

-      how we scale and industrialise the great work in start ups and grass roots organisations to make accessible tools and supports that enable a better day to day life experience for all who need them, at an acceptable price;

 We also had a range of views on what is innovation within this context ? We don’t need bean bags or rocket scientists necessarily to come up with fresh thinking and ideas that will make a difference to people’s life quality, day to day experience and how they fulfil their potential. Adapting, for some, is a way of life. But big leaps forward in technology will make a big difference in our lifetime. My favourite insight is the importance of leadership in creating a culture of innovation and improvement.

 At EY, we pride ourselves on our ability and agility to jump in with a problem solving mindset. We have an excellent team who work in the disability sector, who work with Commonwealth Government, NDIA, State/Territory Governments, providers and peak bodies. We advise, support and deliver work on customer experience, workforce development, market development and more. This breadth gives us a fascinating lens through which we understand the sector and where we can see huge opportunities for more innovation and greater impact for the current excellent examples of innovation already happening (including from some of our speakers and attendees). For me, this event was a fantastic way to continue the engagement we began this year in working with the Give Easy Innovation Index and our participation in the TOM Makeathon. I look forward to continuing this important conversation. Keen to stay involved and engaged.

 Thanks again to everyone who attended – almost all of our audience would have made an excellent speaking panel !