The Diversity Partners Project: Multi-systemic knowledge translation and business engagement strategies to improve employment of people with disabilities | Knowledge Translation for Employment Research Center

Authors:	Catalano,D., Pereira, A., P., Wu, M., Y., Ho, H., & Chan, F.
Year Published	2016
Publication	Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation
Volume	46
Number	3
Pages	273-285
Publisher	IOS Press
Background	The Diversity Partners Project was created to develop, test, and launch a new learning intervention to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Key arbiters were identified as employment service professionals (ESPs) who are skilled in using labor market data, building relationships with employers, community based disability service professionals, and staffing firm staff who specialize in locating human resources. This project was developed in response to policy changes like Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title I and Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act.
Purpose	The purpose of this project was to test a learning intervention that would improve the relationships between ESPs and employers, and illustrate a systematic knowledge translation approach to the project. These research questions were used as a framework for development efforts: 1. How does an external agency create ongoing engagement in local ESP organizations? 2. What competencies will lead to ESPs being successful? 3. What situations do ESPs face when building relationships?
Setting	An online "Toolbox" was created through a knowledge translation process and included beta testing and feedback.
Sample	Target audiences included national ESPs and employers.
Data Collection	Online surveys and interviews were conducted.
Control	There was no control condition.
Findings	Specific evaluation activities have yet to be developed.
Conclusions	Knowledge translation is difficult to achieve in varied contexts with segmented audiences and siloed systems. It is still too early to determine any concrete conclusions about the effectiveness of the Diversity Partners project.
URL	https://content.iospress.com/download/journal-of-vocational-rehabilitation/jvr862?id=journal-of-vocational-rehabilitation%2Fjvr862
Disabilities	No specific disability
Populations	Male & Female \| Transition-age youth (14 - 24)
Outcomes	Employment acquisition
NIDILRR Funded	Yes
Research Design	Observational, Qualitative
Peer Reviewed	Yes

Year Published

2016

Publication

Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation

Volume

46

Number

3

Pages

273-285

Publisher

IOS Press

Background

The Diversity Partners Project was created to develop, test, and launch a new learning intervention to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. Key arbiters were identified as employment service professionals (ESPs) who are skilled in using labor market data, building relationships with employers, community based disability service professionals, and staffing firm staff who specialize in locating human resources. This project was developed in response to policy changes like Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, Title I and Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act.

Purpose

The purpose of this project was to test a learning intervention that would improve the relationships between ESPs and employers, and illustrate a systematic knowledge translation approach to the project. These research questions were used as a framework for development efforts:

1. How does an external agency create ongoing engagement in local ESP organizations? 2. What competencies will lead to ESPs being successful? 3. What situations do ESPs face when building relationships?

Setting

An online "Toolbox" was created through a knowledge translation process and included beta testing and feedback.

Sample

Target audiences included national ESPs and employers.

Data Collection

Online surveys and interviews were conducted.

Control

There was no control condition.

Findings

Specific evaluation activities have yet to be developed.

Conclusions

Knowledge translation is difficult to achieve in varied contexts with segmented audiences and siloed systems. It is still too early to determine any concrete conclusions about the effectiveness of the Diversity Partners project.

URL

https://content.iospress.com/download/journal-of-vocational-rehabilitation/jvr862?id=journal-of-vocational-rehabilitation%2Fjvr862

Disabilities

No specific disability

Populations

Male & Female | Transition-age youth (14 - 24)

Outcomes

Employment acquisition

NIDILRR Funded

Yes

Research Design

Observational, Qualitative

Peer Reviewed

Yes