1. The case for charter marks – the Disability Standard
Diane Lightfoot, CEO, Business Disability Forum
NADSN 13 July 2018

2. Who are we?
Business Disability Forum is a not-for-profit member organisation that makes it easier and more rewarding to do business with and employ disabled people
We have more than twenty-five years’ experience of supporting organisations by sharing expertise and advice, providing training and facilitating networking opportunities
Our 300 members employ c. 15% of the UK workforce – and include an increasing number of Higher Education providers
Ultimately, we exist to transform the life chances of disabled people as employees and consumers – students!

3. The Disability Standard
1. Commitment
2. Know-how
3. Adjustments
4. Recruitment
5. Retention
6. Product and services
7. Suppliers and partners
8. Communication
9. Premises
10. Information and communication (ICT)

4. Why do it? Go beyond Disability Confident to become “Disability Smart”
Whole organisation approach – not just HR or D&I or CSR
Identify barriers for both employees and students
Identify priority areas of focus and action plans for improvement
We manage what we measure! KPIs and ROI = justify investment
Monitor progress – are we on track? How else do you know?
Benchmark against – and learn from – others
Prove it – create a USP to attracted disabled talent – students and staff
Visible and public commitment
Transformational

5. Achievable!
Manchester Metropolitan University achieved gold in our Disability Standard – a score of 90+%
Manchester Met have offered to host an event for HEIs on procurement and IT – let me know if you if you are interested