Engage 
Engaging People With Disability
Driving inclusion involves determining the appropriate area to focus on. However, this cannot be effective by determining the needs of people with disability through mere speculation. It is necessary to understand these exact needs through consultation with the concerned parties. In turn, it becomes important that local governments engage people with disability to determine their needs.
Today, various local governments constantly engage their local communities. This engagement extends to people with disability, careers and family members of this group. This engagement occurs across a wide range of operational and strategic issues. In turn, it enables the local government to access the necessary information that it needs to act.
Levels of Engagement
The engagement with people with a disability occurs across various levels. They are:
Low Level of Engagement
This involves a surface engagement with people with disability. In most cases, it involves informing the affected individuals and consulting with them to understand their needs.
This engagement provides an opportunity for local governments to access relevant information.
Mid Level of Engagement
This is a more intensive level of engagement with the concerned parties. In this case, it also concerns informing and consulting with them. However, it goes one step forward as it involves them in the planning. In turn, it ensures that they can contribute to the direction that action will take.
High Level of Engagement
This involves all that is available under the mid-level of engagement. However, in this case, it extends to collaborating with the concerned parties then empowering them. Under this, it allows the concerned parties to contribute significantly to the nature of the action and its implementation.
Precisely, the local government empower those affected and allow them to make decisions that affect them.
Regardless of the level of engagement, various actions remain at the core of local governments attempt to engage with people with disability. They cut across the following areas.
Enable Access to Information
One core area of engagement is ensuring that people with disability have access to the necessary information that concerns them. This involves ensuring that people with disability can read up on the various reports on sites affecting them, understand current actions taken by the local government, and plans.
Identify & Engage with the Concerned Parties
This involves the local government identifying those with disabilities and interacting them. This allows the local government to gain insight into their present and future needs. This will also extend to interacting with family members and caregivers.
Empower Concerned Parties in the Decision-Making Process
This involves providing decision making powers to concerned parties. This will ensure that they can identify the actions and results.