NSF Convergence Accelerator: Accelerating Disability Inclusion in Workplaces through Technology

残疾人的劳动力市场参与率明显低于非残疾人。世界上有10多亿残疾人，是开发和提供产品和服务的就业人才来源。这些人在为我们的社会做出平等贡献方面所面临的挑战不仅对我们的经济有影响，而且对人权、平等、公平和多样性也有影响。知识价值：研讨会具有创新性，因为它是前瞻性的(先发制人，而不是反动)，创建了一个研究议程，包括各种新兴和预期的技术发展，以及人的因素，以及社会和行为科学。此外，通过采取全面和普遍的设计观点，它计划考虑所有主要的残疾(视觉、听力、认知和智力、身体和行动能力，以及这些残疾的组合)。研讨会的重点将是开发具体的辅助技术，旨在将残疾人士纳入未来的劳动力队伍，以及所需的相关教育和培训举措。该项目的参与者将包括为残疾人服务的非营利组织、残疾人雇主、劳动力培训机构、全国残疾人包容性倡导者、学术界和工业界的研究人员。更广泛的社会影响：更广泛的社会影响包括：1)工作工具和技术的发展(以及相关的技术转让)，提高残疾人和普通民众的劳动力参与度和生产率；以及2)为解决残疾纳入问题的其他类似未来努力(工作之外)创建一个模式。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The labor market participation rate of persons with disabilities (PWD) is significantly lower than persons without disabilities. There are more than one billion PWDs in the world and constitute a source of talent for employment towards the development and offering of products and services. The challenges faced by this population in contributing equally in our society has implications not only to our economies, but also human rights, equality, equity, and diversity. Intellectual Merit: The workshop is innovative in that it is forward-looking (pre-emptive as opposed to reactionary) in creating a research agenda encompassing various emerging and expected developments in technology in conjunction with human factors, and social and behavioral sciences. In addition, by taking a comprehensive and universal design view, it plans to consider all the major disabilities (vision, hearing, cognitive and intellectual, physical and mobility, and combinations of these. The workshop will focus on developing specific assistive technologies to be designed to integrate PWD in future workforce and the associated education and training initiatives that will be required. The project will be informed by participants that span nonprofits serving PWD, employers of PWD, workforce training institutions, national disability inclusion advocates individuals with disabilities, researchers from academia and industry. Broader Impacts:Societal broader impacts include: 1) development of work tools and technologies (and associated tech transfer), that increases the workforce participation and productivity of people with disabilities and the general population; and 2) creation of a model for other similar future efforts (beyond work) to address disability inclusion.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.