What are forums and working groups?
Forums usually centre around an area of interest or bring together people who have a similar role in their organisation to share views, challenges, and practices. Forum meetings are informal; people can ‘dip in and out’ of the meeting as they please. Each meeting presents one or two topics for the group to discuss, debate, or share their views on. Forums are ongoing and they are based on discussing interests and current issues.
Working groups are created for our members to inform a time-limited task or project, such as a piece of research or responding to a consultation. When the project or task is complete, the group disbands. Meeting agendas are structured, and meetings are usually more regular than forums to help achieve a project deadline.
Why join a forum or working group?
Our forums and working groups are only open to our Members and Partners. When you join, you are helping to influence and inform the decisions we make and the knowledge we create. This informs the solutions that we present to Government policy makers to influence change for better business and better experiences for disabled people.
You will meet colleagues with similar life experiences or who are working on similar topics and have the opportunity to share both personal and professional views on a range of topics. You’ll certainly make new connections and, often, new friends.
Whether you have never worked on the topic before or you have spent your whole career on the issue, you are welcome to attend; your voice is important to us. Come and share your expertise, or learn about a new topic. Feel free to argue with our policy team, or sit back and listen to new ideas. In the words of a member of our Including Carers Forum,
“If you are willing to join this call, if you are willing to listen and understand, you are already doing so much for other people.”
Our current forums and working groups:
- Disability Data Monitoring Working Group
- Disability Network Leaders Forum
- Access to Work Forum
- Work and Health Policy Forum
- SME Business Forum
If you want to find out more or join any of our forums or working groups get in touch with our policy and research team.
