Intellectual Disability and the Boardroom
While disability sector organisations increasingly recognise the principle of “nothing about us without us”, a stark gap remains between rhetoric and boardroom reality. Individuals with intellectual disability face routine exclusion from governing boards.
Paternalistic assumptions regarding capacity, alongside an absence of documented, evidence-based models to guide inclusive practice, actively sustain this exclusion. The research and reports provided below aim to dismantle these barriers by offering rigorous, actionable frameworks for inclusive governance.
About the Project and Our Findings
Authentic inclusion requires framing lived experience as specialist governance expertise rather than a symbolic presence. True participation relies on the board taking collective responsibility to recruit an appropriate candidate and implement a suite of practical mechanisms that facilitate effective participation, including:
Support Worker Facilitation: A neutral enabler who facilitates full participation by translating complex material and assisting communication.
Pre-meeting Preparation: Producing accessible documentation, such as Easy Read board papers, and ensuring timely circulation before meetings.
In-meeting Adjustments: Managing the pace of discussion, using plain language, and providing regular summaries of complex items with opportunities for clarification.
Process Consistency: Ensuring that these supports are implemented systematically rather than on an ad hoc basis.
Board Mentors: Offering strategic guidance on board dynamics and governance processes, helping new directors build long-term confidence in their roles. You can read the full outcomes from our research below:
Summary report: Download here (PDF) →
Easy Read Version: Download here (PDF) →
Plain English Version: Download here (PDF) →
The Legal Basis for Inclusive Governance
Perceived regulatory risks and restrictive interpretations of corporate law often deter boards from appointing directors with intellectual disability. However, our commissioned legal analysis challenges these assumptions. It demonstrates that with appropriate structural supports, boards can maintain strict compliance while empowering directors to lawfully discharge their duties.
Resources
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This is a policy for boards to help them be inclusive.
A policy is rules for the board to follow.
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This template helps boards think about what they are doing and what else they can do.
A template is a form with information you can change to suit your needs.
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This is a framework for inclusive governance.
A framework shows you how to do something.
There are some workshops that boards can do to be more inclusive.
It is written in Plain English.
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This paper helps boards learn more about being inclusive.
It tells boards how to help board members with intellectual disability.
It has a Plain English summary at the start.
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This resource helps boards to learn more about disability and feel more confident about inclusive governance.
There are also podcasts to listen to.
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These are forms to help you at board meetings.
They include lists of:-
what to talk about
simple information about money
forms to help you get ready.
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Tips for boards to help them be more inclusive.
It is written in Plain English and Easy Read.
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This tells boards how to plan and run inclusive meetings.
It is written in Plain English and Easy Read.
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These two websites tell people how to make Easy Read documents and websites.
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This is a template to help boards write the job description for a support person. The job description tells the support person what they should do.