Step 7: Considering how disability outcomes can be monitored and evaluated
In this step, you will consider how to monitor and evaluate your policy to test if and how the situation for disabled people has improved because of your policy.
Make disability an explicit part of your intended monitoring and evaluation of your proposal(s). If you are not explicit about your intention to monitor and evaluate impacts on disabled people, you won't be able to say if your policy has made a difference or by how much. Anecdotal success stories only get you so far.
Why do I need to focus on statistics and data collection?
The lack of explicit collection of data on disabled people contributes to their invisibility in government policy development. In the absence of disability data, the needs of disabled people are neither explored nor addressed.
It is essential to have good data collection about disabled people to raise the awareness, profile and visibility of disability issues.
As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) external URL , government agencies (including local government) are expected to “collect appropriate information, including statistical and research data, to enable them to formulate and implement polices to give effect to the Convention” external URL . In particular, the information collected should be disaggregated, to identify and address the barriers faced by disabled people.
If you are surveying your target population or undertaking a national survey (for example the national census), you should include the Washington Group Short Set of Questions of Disability (WGSS) external URL .
You can read about these, including questions and issues around their use, here:
Contributing to measuring the outcomes of the NZ Disability Strategy 2016-2026
Some data may already be collected that could help inform your policy development or implementation.
Following the launch of the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2016-2026 (the Strategy), a set of indicators were developed through a co-design process with a group of disability experts. These experts were the group that provided advice to government on the development of the Strategy. The set of 28 indicators aligned under the eight outcome areas of the Strategy approved by Cabinet in 2018, represent what disabled people consider is important to measure to show that progress is being made.
Not all indicators have measures associated with them. The development of measures and collection of data is an ongoing process. The data that is currently being collected can be seen in the Disability Data Indicators Dashboard.
The New Zealand Disability Survey remains the only measure of prevalence of disability in New Zealand (24%). This post Census survey is run once every 10 years. Therefore, until the 2023 Disability Survey results are released, prevalence of disability in New Zealand is reported from the 2013 Disability Survey external URL .
The Standards of Workforce Information for Agencies in the State Services by the Public Service Commission external URL is a guidance document for agencies on collecting data on the prevalence of disability in their workforce.
Consider whether the evaluation of your policy project could fill some of the existing data gaps or add to what is already being collected. Collaboration with Stats NZ on new data collection proposals and methodologies is strongly advised to ensure the data is robust and statistically viable. It is also important to consider how you will keep personal data private, and to ensure that you have permissions to use it from the outset.
How will the policy intervention be changed if it is not delivering as expected?
Consider what the next steps will be if the policy is not delivering as expected. What will be the process from evaluation of monitoring to instigation of further policy change? Do you have an effective feedback loop so that issues can be raised, and complaints received by the appropriate people?
And you're done!
Nice work! You have come to the end of the seven-step process to incorporating a disability perspective into your policy process. If you don’t think you have quite nailed it, you can contact Whaikaha for advice.