Setting a National Agenda for Research, Practice, and Policy

In August 2015, a National Goals in Research, Policy, and Practice working meeting was held in Washington, DC to summarize the current state of knowledge and identify a platform of national goals, organized by 10 strands (focus areas), in research, practice, and policy in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Products were developed for a variety of audiences with the overarching goal of advancing a research agenda that will influence policy and practice for and with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities over the next 10 years.

Products

Videos, featuring professionals and self-advocates explaining the goals. This resource is useful to most people who want to become familiar with the the most pressing issues in each focus area. Videos are available below.

Issue Briefs, describing the most important issues identified by each strand, found below. This resource is useful to advocates seeking to clarify the most pressing issues with policy makers and others. Issue Briefs are available below.

Journal Articles provide the evidence base for the the goals. This resource is useful to students and researchers. Links to articles are below, access to abstracts is available at no cost; full-text access is available at a fee or with AAIDD membership.

Book. Critical Issues in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2016) provides a concise review of what we know in ten key areas and what that knowledge means for future developments in public policy, research, and practice in the field of IDD. This resource is useful to policymakers, teachers, researchers, students, and others who desire a overview of what we know. The book is available for purchase in the AAIDD bookstore for a fee.

The Partners
The meeting was jointly organized by the Research and Training Center on Community Living, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota; Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Developmental Disabilities and Health, Institute on Disability and Human Development University of Illinois Chicago; Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Advancing Employment for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston; The Arc of the United States; Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD); and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), with the support of National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR).