Global Assessment

Measure and elevate your global disability inclusion performance

Business Disability Forum’s Global Assessment gives multinational organisations a clear, evidence-based picture of their disability inclusion performance across markets, and supports them to develop a practical roadmap to improve it.

Designed for organisations operating across multiple countries, the Global Assessment helps you understand where you are today, where the gaps are, and what to prioritise next.

Created in collaboration with leading global organisations and experts in disability inclusion and accessibility, including:

Shell

Schneider Electric

GSK

Amazon

Global disability inclusion is complex and hard to measure

For global organisations, disability inclusion often looks very different from one country to the next. Legal frameworks vary. Cultural attitudes differ. Data is inconsistent. And without a shared standard, it’s difficult to answer critical questions:

• How inclusive are we really across our global operations?
• Where are the biggest risks or gaps?
• Which regions or functions should we prioritise?
• How do we track progress year on year?

Without clear, comparable data, inclusion efforts can stall or may focus on the wrong areas.

The solution: a single, robust framework for global disability inclusion

Business Disability Forum’s Global Assessment is built on a structured, internationally relevant framework to assess disability inclusion maturity across your organisation.

The Global Disability-Smart Framework combines expert understanding, practical insights, and actionable outputs to support better decision-making at both global and local levels by examining activities across ten strategic business areas.

How the Global Assessment works

The assessment evaluates your organisation against a comprehensive set of criteria covering disability inclusion strategy, systems, processes and practices.

1. Assessment approach
Organisations complete the assessment either as:

• Self-assessment.
• Verified assessment, independently reviewed by Business Disability Forum experts. Verification is only offered for the corporate element of your operations, not at each local level.

2. Global and local insight
The framework is designed to work across different legal and cultural contexts, allowing meaningful comparison while recognising regional differences. We currently offer tailored question sets for the following eight countries: Brazil, China, India, Poland, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States.

3. Scoring and analysis
You will receive clear scores and auto generated output reports for each region you assess, providing insight into strengths, gaps, and opportunities. If you complete a verified assessment, you can upgrade to receive a personalised feedback session from a Business Disability Forum inclusion expert.

4. Action-focused outputs
You will get access to From Score to Strategy – a comprehensive resource that will guide you through understanding your results and turning them into a clear and evidenced-based global disability inclusion strategy.

Need more detail? Read here for more information about what completing the Global Assessment involves.

Is the Global Assessment right for your organisation?

The Global Assessment is designed for:

• Multinational organisations and global employers.
• Organisations seeking consistency across regions.
• Organisations at any stage of their disability inclusion journey.

Whether you are building a global disability inclusion strategy for the first time or strengthening existing work, this assessment will provide clarity and direction.

Frequently asked questions

• How long does the assessment take?

The completion window is three months – we will release dates for the 2027 window shortly. The time it will take you to complete it will depend on the size and complexity of your organisation, as well as whether you choose self-assessment or verification.

• What’s the difference between self-assessment and verification?

Verification includes independent review and validation by Business Disability Forum experts. You will be asked to submit evidence for approximately 50% of the questions which will then be analysed to validate your score.

• Is the assessment confidential?

Yes. All assessment data is handled confidentially and shared only as agreed.

• Can the assessment be repeated?

Yes – organisations are encouraged to repeat the Global Assessment periodically as a tool to track progress over time.

Further information

Not sure how to secure buy in? Read our page about how to make the business case for completing the Global Assessment.

Find out how the Global Assessment aligns with laws and other frameworks.

Ready to dive into the detail? This page explains exactly what completing the Global Assessment involves (with a handy sharable video).