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PRODUCE POLICY.
PRODUCE POLICY.
BUILD POWER.
BUILD POWER.
Disabled people are already policy experts. The Disability Policy Foundry builds the infrastructure for them to lead.
Disabled people are already policy experts. The Disability Policy Foundry builds the infrastructure for them to lead.
The Disability Policy Foundry is a nontraditional space to develop, publish, and advance disability policy grounded in lived experience.
We exist because too much policy is written about disabled people, not by us.
We are building the infrastructure to change that.
Disability Policy Foundry.movDisabled people are already analyzing policy every day: navigating benefits systems, education, employment, health care, and more.
However, there are few places to:
develop policy ideas,
publish them, or
connect them to real policy change.
The Disability Policy Foundry exists to close that gap.
"Treat lived experience, especially by young people, as the policy expertise it often is." - Casey Doherty, Founder of the Disability Policy Foundry
Video from the National Academy of Social Insurance.
Build Policy
Build Policy
We publish policy briefs, analyses, and ideas that might not emerge from traditional academic or professional policy-making environments, but are critical to forging real-world policy.
Build Leaders
Build Leaders
We support disabled people in developing their ideas, sharpening their analyses, and stepping into policy leadership. No prior experience required.
Build Power
Build Power
We advance ideas beyond the page by connecting contributors with community members, journalists, advocates, and policymakers. We sharpen each other’s ideas.
Icons from Freepik - Flaticon.
What do we mean by "policy?"
Policy includes laws, regulations, practices, and systems that shape everyday life, like:
What do we mean by "policy?"
Policy includes laws, regulations, practices, and systems that shape everyday life, like:
Social Security (SSI/SSDI), Medicaid, and other benefits
School policies (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IEPs, 504 plans)
Workplace policies and accommodations
Health care access and insurance rules
Housing, transportation, and other accessibility infrastructure
Voting rights and civic participation
Caregiving and support service systems
Emergency preparedness and public health responses
Guardianship and conservatorship
Technology, digital accessibility, and access to information
Corporate or organizational policies
Practices that may not be written into law but still shape access, inclusion, and opportunity
At its core, policy is about power: who gets to participate, who gets access, and who gets to make decisions about the conditions of everyday life.
At its core, policy is about power: who gets to participate, who gets access, and who gets to make decisions about the conditions of everyday life.
Why are we called "The Foundry"?
Why are we called "The Foundry"?
A foundry is a place where raw materials are forged into something new, powerful, and lasting.
Just like a foundry forges metal into tools, we help forge lived expertise into policy by providing the space, support, and platform to develop ideas and share them with the world.
The Foundry's cane-and-anvil logo reflects our core belief that disabled people are already policy experts. The cane represents lived experience and expertise; the anvil represents the work of shaping ideas into action.
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