Experiences of disability: interdisciplinary insights co-design benefits and best practice event summary report

Al-Harasis, Dania ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9102-8882, Kasem, Menatalla ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7650-661X and Oates, Rebecca 2026. Experiences of disability: interdisciplinary insights co-design benefits and best practice event summary report. Cardiff University.

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Abstract

The third annual Experiences of Disability: Interdisciplinary Insights event took place on Thursday, 23 April 2026 at CUBRIC, Cardiff University. Now established as an annual gathering for the Cardiff disability research community and beyond, the 2026 edition brought together more than 40 participants from academia, practice, the third sector and independents. This year's theme was co-design, exploring what it truly means to conduct research with disabled people rather than about or for them. The event marked a distinctive evolution in the series' format: for the first time, a number of presentations were delivered jointly by an academic researcher or practitioner alongside their co-researcher or co-design partner with lived experience of disability. This structural change embodied the event's theme, demonstrating co-design in practice rather than simply discussing it in principle. Twelve presentations were delivered across the day, spanning topics from inclusive architecture and sensory research to drama, exercise, education, and emerging technology. The insights that emerged clustered around five interconnected themes: making co-design accessible; the added value co-design brings; best practices; the benefits for co-researchers themselves; and the challenges that remain. This report synthesises those insights and offers recommendations for researchers, institutions, and practitioners committed to more equitable and collaborative engagement with disabled and neurodivergent people.

Item Type:	Other
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Architecture Schools > Healthcare Sciences Schools > Psychology Schools > Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education) Schools > Computer Science & Informatics Research Institutes & Centres > Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
Publisher:	Cardiff University
Funders:	Cardiff University Research Culture Fund
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 May 2026
Last Modified:	19 May 2026 09:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/187097

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