CRISPESH: new horizons

By Mr Thomas Henderson, Director, Centre de recherche pour l’inclusion scolaire et professionnelle des étudiants en situation de handicap  (CRISPESH).

The Research Centre for the Educational and Professional Inclusion of Students with Disabilities (CRISPESH) is a College Technology Transfer Centre in Innovative Social Practices (CCTT-PSN) born out of a partnership between the Cégep du Vieux Montréal and Dawson College in October 2010, with the support of approximately 30 other organizations. At the end of the centre’s first three year mandate, the CRISPESH team worked together to develop a new vision for the Centre, redefine its mission, and create a five year strategic plan.

The mission of CRISPESH is the advancement of knowledge and the development and promotion of social practices that target the educational, social and professional inclusion of people living with disabilities.

Its vision is to be an inclusive and synergistic hub paving the way to full inclusion of people with disabilities in all sectors of society, by bringing together leaders and stakeholders in the fields of development, research, transfer and innovation. CRISPESH aims to offer a dynamic and positive environment which values and promotes the diversity of research and innovation carried out by the Centre and its community partners.

This plan establishes a vision and plan of action for the Centre, including strategic orientations, the allocation of resources and processes for decisions which will enable the growth and development of the Centre and its activities. The Centre’s team and executive committee undertook a transparent and inclusive process in preparing the 2013-2018 Strategic Plan. CRISPESH will enter into partnerships, commit to coordinated strategies, and prioritize the development of its own resources to meet the new objectives established in the plan. The team will actively work to establish itself as a provincial leader in the area of inclusion, as defined by the Centre’s new vision statement, in order to establish the alliances and coordination needed to achieve each goal the Centre has set for itself for the next five years.

CRIPSESH hopes to contribute to paving the way for the improvement of services, to greater independence, and to a reduction of the obstacles to success experienced by people with disabilities. For the Centre to continue to accomplish this social mission, it will support innovation and new perspectives that will lead to greater understanding and knowledge. The Centre is equally committed to evaluating and promoting best practices in inclusion. We hope via our innovative research and transfer activities to positively affect inclusive practices for people with disabilities.

In support of this mission, CRISPESH generates and promotes research towards fulfilling the following four objectives :
• promote the discovery and use of technology that supports inclusion;
• develop knowledge in the field of universal design;
• create new and better tools and strategies which meet the various needs and realities of people with disabilities;
• reinforce the social impact of research for people with disabilities by creating bridges between research communities and practice.

Transfer… supporting our partners and developing collaborations –
This plan strongly emphasizes the implementation of concrete steps for establishing relationships with our community partners and helping them to be better informed and equipped to support people with disabilities. All parties must be actively engaged in this process so that, in the end, the new tools, strategies and knowledge gained throughout the research process improve the lives of people with disabilities.

Post-secondary Applications of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) – Two Collaborative Projects!

Starting this fall, CRIPSESH will be involved in two projects looking at post-secondary applications of UDL model. The Centre will be coordinating, along with its partners; the Cégep du Vieux Montréal, Collège Montmorency, Collège Marie-Victorin, Université de Montréal, and Université de Québec à Montréal, a two year project looking at developing pedagogical applications of universal design for learning. CRISPESH will also collaborate on a project involving McGill University, Dawson College, Collège Marianopolis, Collège John Abbott and Collège Centennial, looking at developing a UDL tool box to promote the sustainable adoption of the UDL model in post-secondary institutions.

For more information on the Centre and its activities or to access the strategic plan, please visit our site.