Introduction to the CBID approach

CBID is founded on self-empowerment and participation of persons with disabilities in their communities as the basis of collective action to build resilient, equitable and inclusive communities.

CBID is becoming more relevant in the current context of localisation of the SDGs. Sustainable CBID outcomes can be achieved by creating synergy among multiple actors achieved through participatory community mapping, understanding and engaging with local networks and forging community ownership. CBID needs to be accountable to the community, including persons with disabilities.

CBID is:

• a people-centred approach that places persons with disabilities in the centre of the development process to ensure that persons with disabilities have choice and control over their own lives;
• community-driven and has a focus on community engagement and ownership;
• human rights-based and provides a practical way for the implementation of the CRPD and the SDGs. CBID embraces diversity across multiple and intersecting categories of identity.

Communities play an important role in leading decision-making and solution-designing. What is valued is transforming existing systems to be more inclusive and to deliver better quality services to all, across all sectors, rather than creating parallel systems of services.

CBID is essentially implemented through the activities below.

• Participatory mapping: Understanding the context and the issues that have shaped the community by mapping local stakeholders, resources, services, infrastructure, terrain, hazards and barriers to inclusion.
• Capacity building: On a broad range of topics, such as rights, accessibility of services, or how to form local peer support groups.
• Awareness raising and advocacy: Bringing about change and reducing stigma and discrimination.
• Networking: Mapping, understanding and engaging in local networks. Collaboration with other development and human rights actors.
• Sharing, learning and accountability: Bottom-up, community-led monitoring, evaluation and research link learning and accountability, and provide the data and evidence to influence both local and national policies and frameworks.

The stakeholders CBID projects engage with

The various stakeholders of a CBID project will include persons with disabilities and their families, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), self-help groups, and other stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), faith-based groups, and local government agencies. It may also include (international mainstream development and humanitarian organisations, UN agencies, global and regional OPDs.