Context
This document brings together shared experience, research, and insights about data collection on persons with disabilities and the use of the Washington Group Questions on Disability. Specific guidance on expanding the use of the Washington Group Questions to humanitarian programming is provided, as well as tips for humanitarian actors. This document is useful for CCCM actors designing HLP and tenure security projects that need to understand disability inclusion needs to plan for service delivery and responses.
Summary
The document provides background on the challenges, gaps, and needs with disability inclusion data collection and an explanation of the Washington Group Questions on Disability inclusion as the preferred data collection methodology by the global community for national data collection on disability, and increasingly more so for humanitarian and development practitioners (p. 3-6). The Washington Group tools include four different sets of questions aimed at identifying different groups of persons with disabilities, but there is a particular focus on the Washington Group Short Set (WGSS) of questions. The WGSS is a set of 6 questions designed to identify (in a census survey format) persons with disabilities (p. 7). A summary of Humanity and Inclusion’s action research into the use of the Washington Group Questionnaire (WGQ) in humanitarian action is outlined (p. 11). Also included is a detailed analysis of the research’s key findings:
- External and internal factors that affect the use of the WGQ (p. 12)
- The impact of the WGQ, including an increased understanding of disability and resulting positive culture changes towards disability inclusion (p.14)
- Understanding the scope of the WGQ (p. 16)
- Using the WGQ in humanitarian action, including examples from Syria (p.18)
- Understanding the entry points for using the WGQ in humanitarian contexts, including guidance on how different humanitarian sectors will have different entry points (p.19). Overall protection mainstreaming was highlighted as a good entry point for data collection on persons with disabilities (p. 19)
- Guidance on WGQ administration in the field (p. 20)
Additionally, guidance is provided on translation and language around disability (p.21) and asking WGQ at the household level. Especially relevant for CCCM programming is the guidance provided using the data collected for inclusive program design and implementation (p.27).
Finally, the document also highlights the following best practices for administering the WGQ: including the WGQ in the demographic section of a questionnaire (as opposed to the health section), providing a clear introduction and explanation of the aim of the questionnaire, and providing information on the services available (p. 23; 28).
