New Futures Workshop Report on The Futures of Disability and Community

By Willow Pryor - Futures Consultant

You can now read my latest report created for NDS Queensland (National Disability Services QLd)- Futures of Disability and Communities: Creating alternative and preferred futures with the six pillars approach.

I hope you are inspired as I was by the collaborative and innovative work that this multi stakeholder group did during their two and a half day futures workshop!

The disability sector is faced with momentous change as they prepare to make systemic, cultural and practice shifts towards the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) proposed to be fully implemented by mid-2019. In an effort to prepare the sector, National Disability Services (NDS) Queensland engaged key disability and community sector stakeholders in a foresight process that would assist them in this sector transformation.

There are a number of key concerns for the disability sector as they prepare to make the biggest transition since Australia deinstitutionalised people with disability (PWD). While the shift from a market model could serve to empower the end user, it also has a number of inherent risks. Will the disability sector be able to stay relevant and yet true to their values and visions? While these questions and more were explored over the two and a half days, it was the personal and methodological insights that brought an even deeper level of understanding to participants.

There are three key insights that participants had during this workshop that I want to share with you here:
1. My assumptions shape the future
2. Futures thinking starts with Self
3. The future is changing even as we sit here in the room