ConnectAbility at the Integrated Health Care conference

What the project set out to do

ConnectAbility aims to expand participation for people with disabilities through digital inclusion, reduce isolation, support key life transitions, and build provider capacity for virtual and hybrid services, all aligned with the New Directions policy framework. Rather than treating virtual delivery as a bolt-on, the project grounded it in authentic co-design with people supported, their families, and frontline staff.

How it works

The project uses a mixed-methods approach: a baseline needs analysis survey across participating organisations and in-person site visits to gather grounded insights into what was needed, and structured co-design workshops with people receiving services, families, and staff built a better picture. Iterative feedback loops, visual brainstorming tools, co-design templates, and peer-facilitated sessions kept the design process genuinely participatory rather than top-down.

What we are learning

There is a strong appetite for co-designed hybrid supports, with people wanting practical life-skills content such as online safety, money management, social and communication skills and stress management, creative programming in music, art and drama, peer-led delivery, and social activities. At the same time, real barriers surfaced: inconsistent device access, variable digital skills, limited accessible platforms, family apprehension, and siloed working across providers, all things any replicable model has to design for, not around.

Why this matters going forward

ConnectAbility shows that virtual services work when they are co-designed and positioned as an enhancement to in-person supports, not a replacement for them. The project provides an evidence-informed model that HSE-funded services could adopt nationally, with real implications for digital equity, New Directions implementation, and person-centred service transformation more broadly. I am grateful to be contributing to work that takes systemic, relational thinking out of theory and into practice for people who deserve services designed with them, not just for them.

For further information see here.

Joan's Ph.D focused on the development of virtual disability services. She is a Strategic Learning Partner with the ConnectAbility project run by Enable Ireland and funded by the HSE.