Why complete Business Disability Forum’s Global Assessment

What is Business Disability Forum’s Global Assessment?

The BDF Global Assessment is designed for multinational, matrixed organisations to measure their performance on disability inclusion for disabled customers, clients, service users, employees and other stakeholders. It also provides practical recommendations and tools to improve on disability inclusion in key strategic business areas.

The Assessment shows how disability-smart your organisation is globally – at both a Headquarters and country level – enabling focused and effective strategy development.

If your organisation operates solely in the UK, our Disability Smart framework may be more appropriate.

What makes Business Disability Forum’s Global Assessment unique?

Unlike many assessments that take a one-size-fits-all approach, our Global Assessment recognises that each country has its own unique operational, legal, and cultural landscape. This is reflected in the creation of distinct question sets and User Guides for each country, ensuring that the insights are both relevant and actionable.

The Assessment empowers you to measure progress across markets, benchmark against best practices, and prioritise impactful actions to drive positive outcomes across markets.

Each participating organisation receives a tailored report identifying strengths and areas for improvement, which can form the basis of a discussion with a dedicated Senior Business Partner if you opt for a feedback session. You will also gain access to dedicated resources developed to help you address areas where your organisation may be at risk.

What global organisations can learn from the Global Assessment

The verified Global Assessment will enable you to:

• Assess disability inclusion maturity at the global headquarters level.
• Evaluate performance at a country level across up to eight regions.
• Identify areas and regions performing well within the context of their local markets.
• Pinpoint gaps or risks in disability inclusion strategies and practices.
• Reduce legal, compliance, and reputational risks related to disability inclusion.
• Access tailored, expert insights to inform a sustainable and impactful Global Disability Inclusion Strategy.

What do organisations gain from completing the Global Assessment?

All organisations receive a tailored report outlining key strengths and priorities for action, helping you target efforts where they will have the greatest impact. The report includes insights from global headquarters and country-level operations, making it a valuable tool for both strategic planning and internal stakeholder engagement. If you opt for a feedback session, your Senior Business Partner will work with you to interpret the results and identify practical next steps.

You’ll also receive a Global Assessment Toolkit, which includes:

• In-depth guidance on each strategic business area (Pillar)
• Best practice examples
• Practical steps to strengthen policies, processes, and outcomes

Used together, the report and Toolkit provide a clear roadmap to building a focused and effective Global Disability Inclusion Strategy.

What does the Global Assessment cover?

Business Disability Forum’s Global Assessment evaluates disability inclusion maturity across 10 key business areas (known as Pillars) at a global headquarters level and across eight countries. Country-level question sets are tailored to reflect the specific legal, cultural and operational context of each region. Question sets are available for:

• USA
• UK
• Brazil
• China
• Poland
• UAE
• India
• South Africa

For full details of what the Assessment covers, see our page ‘What completing the Global Assessment involves.’