The Centre for Global Disability Research (CGDR) is an active and dedicated centre for research and teaching on all aspects of the disability experience, with a special focus on the global South. Our work engages world class researchers, academics and activists, with a view to influencing policy, professionals and organisations (national and international) to think critically about disability in the global South, improve practice, and challenge disablism.
We understand disability in critically, contextually and culturally sensitive and nuanced ways and prioritise the voices and demands of disabled people, especially those living in contexts of poverty. We are committed to supporting the emergence of these narratives as well as grassroot work by disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), activists and theorists from the global South.
Our work is genuinely interdisciplinary and we engage from a range of fields including: disability studies, critical global health, international development, sociology, anthropology, geography and psychology. We collaborate with groups and individuals round the globe to work on research that spans a diverse and interconnected web of themes including (not exclusively):
- Disability and poverty
- Global health and rehabilitation
- Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR)
- Disability and Gender
- Disability and HIV/AIDS
- Race and ethnicity
- Disability arts
- War, conflict and humanitarian issues
- Disability and migration
- Livelihoods and Education
- Cultural constructions of disability
- Postcolonial issues
- Religion and spirituality
- Disability rights
- Participatory, indigenous and decolonizing research methodologies
Our research approach
Our research brings together innovative and mixed methods, including audio-visual methods, netnography, and mapping. Our strength lies in approaches that are participatory and inclusive, prioritising narrative, and action research.
We have vast experience working in a range of areas and with different populations in the global South, especially rural areas; conflict and post-conflict countries; and with indigenous populations.
We work in culturally and contextually sensitive and inclusive ways with disabled people, their families and communities to produce innovative research that can be used for project development, evaluation, lobbying and activist purposes. Our approach is defined by flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness.
Engaging with CGDR: for research, evaluation and other queries and proposals please visit our contacts page and send us an email.
Studying with us: If you are interested in opportunities to study with us, please follow the Courses link. Our courses are largely online, have a strong practical component, and provide a rich platform for collaborative learning. Courses are targetted at researchers as well as activists and practitioners of various levels and experience. Through the course you will interact with and have access to a diverse research community, who will assist with tutoring and support.
Training and capacity building: At CGDR we also offer customised capacity building, training sessions and courses, online, offline and through blended learning. Where possible, most of our research includes a component of capacity building. Our approach is participatory, strongly inclusive, and we strive to use localised approaches, tools and knowledge. Please contact us and let us know what your needs are and we are happy to discuss with you.