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disability forum type non profit industry not for profit founded london england 1991 headquarters london england key people warren buckley chairman sir ian cheshire honorary president susan scott parker obe founder & honorary vice president david goodchild joint interim ceo nils kendall joint interim ceo products disability standard helpline publications training & events number of employees 35 slogan building disability smart organisations website efd.org.uk business disability forum bdf is the uk s national employers network specifically focused on the topic of disability . employers forum on disability efd officially became business disability forum on 1 october 2012 . this was done to better reflect the role of the group as a bridge between disabled people and the world of business . the organisation has about 350 members including 100 multinational corporations small and medium sized enterprises and public sector employers employ approximately 18 per cent of the uk workforce . members include employers from banking education health broadcasting telecommunications manufacturing and retail sectors . 1 the organisation provides a wide range of products and services for business including recruitment and retention of disabled employees services to disabled customers and development of partnerships with disabled people as stakeholders in the wider community . membership benefits includes a helpline offering expert information on all aspects of disability a connection service helping members to resolve potential equality act 2010 claims member policy audits and a wide range of events and publications . business disability forum also operate a management tool called the disability standard that enables organisations to accurately measure their performance on disability across the whole business and put in place an action plan to address priority areas . 2 contents 1 history 2 mission 3 structure and partners 4 disability standard 5 improving ict accessibility for job seekers employees and customers 6 providing information and advice on disability confidence 7 training 8 achievements 9 lessons learned 10 references 11 external links history edit established in 1986 as the employers forum on disability the group pioneered the first employers organisation of its kind . at the time of its formation the initiatives to promote the employment of disabled people in the uk were largely developed in isolation of employers needs so the creation of efd started addressing that gap . efd was launched with support from the prince of wales advisory group on disability and business in the community bitc a business led coalition promoting corporate social responsibility . the original founding members at the official launch in 1991 were barclays bbc pearl assurance prudential assurance shell international and shell uk . efd was created when its founder susan scott parker proposed to business leaders that companies should jointly fund a central expert resource which would allow employer members to benefit from best practice and disabled people to benefit from economic and social inclusion . many of these business leaders had personal contact with disability through connections with disability ngos and or family members . efd was re branded to become the business disability forum on 1 october 2012 . mission edit the underlying idea in the business disability forum approach is that corporate disability confidence presents a huge potential to businesses as they learn how to recruit and employ disabled people on the basis of capability and as they learn how to become fully accessible for disabled customers and stakeholders in the wider community . given this the organisation aims to enable employers to become competent in disability inclusion and to support a broader systems and culture change in terms of policies and practices related to disability . it serves its members through advising and supporting businesses in all aspects of disability confidence conducting training on disability issues and providing a range of services and resources . the most powerful thing the group did in the beginning to trigger change was to run the world s first leadership development programme for people with disabilities . the programme run by the former efd for seven years enabled disabled entrepreneurs to access leadership and management training courses organised by major corporations for their own employees . participating corporations found that their management expectations regarding people described as disabled were transformed by this opportunity to work alongside them during the courses . structure and partners edit the business disability forum is an independent not for profit organisation managed and funded by its members through membership fees and through financing websites new initiatives tools and events . some members also provide pro bono advice and actively participate in joint problem solving such as the business taskforce on accessible technology . although technically a charity the group does not receive government grants or charitable donations . business disability forum has a group of around 50 core funders or partners representing both the public and private sector and various business sectors . these gold members as they are called receive certain benefits such as additional support free services and access to focused networks . business disability forum is governed by a board composed of representatives from the membership and is managed by a ceo and circa 35 staff . people with disabilities are strongly represented in the organisations activities including through an influential network of associates . the disabled associates all experienced in business matters and serve as expert advisers ambassadors speakers and trainers . they contribute to all events and to the drafting of guidance on best practice . the 20 strong uk network of associates was created in 1991 followed by a growing network of eight worldwide associates in 2007 . business disability forum has good relations with other disability organisations in the uk and beyond but does not have formal partnerships with them . in addition to the general network the business disability forum has facilitated sub networks by region and economic sector . scotland wales and yorkshire have formed regional networks while sector specific networks exist for the creative industry the police and ict technology the pioneering broadcasting and creative industries disability network bcidn active from 1989 to 2011 consisted of the major broadcasters in the uk . business disability forum facilitated the recruiting and retention disabled employees the sharing of good practices among its members and promoted a non stereotypical representation of people with disabilities in the media . the emergency services and law enforcement network elen which has more than thirty members was organised in 1999 at the specific request of the association of chief police officers . the network shares best practice and provide advice on the service delivery within law enforcement . the business taskforce on accessible technology btat launched in 2008 is the most recent of the sector specific groups . its thirty five members have come together with shared aim to advance accessible technology products and services . in 2007 the business disability forum president created a president s group bringing together members at chief executive and board level to position disability as a top management issue to do with business and investment in human potential . disability standard edit to enable its members to measure their performance on disability confidence the group created the disability standard in 2004 . the disability standard is self assessment tool validated by experts in the organisation for enterprises and public bodies to evaluate their performance relating to disability as it affects their entire business the disability standard measures three areas employer commitment organisational policy and practice and the impact of policy and practice . disability standard participants carry out an online assessment by rating their performance on a range of disability related issues including accessibility outsourcing recruitment customer services and providing evidence in support of the ratings . disability experts assess the ratings and evidence of each participant and draw up a diagnostic report for each company . the results of all participants are pooled together to establish a benchmark score . the report assesses the member s performance against previous disability standards rating if available their sector average and the overall benchmark average . on the basis of the report individual employers can develop a disability action plan . while the individual employers ratings are confidential participants receive either a platinum gold silver bronze or participant certificate depending on their rating . tracking of the disability standard participants performance over time shows that employers disability confidence rating has improved as they continue to benchmark themselves with the help of the disability standard . the first disability standard in 2005 had some 80 employers participating while the subsequent standards in 2007 and 2009 had over 100 participants . consultation with members and disabled people after the 2009 disability standard found the standard to be a useful and credible exercise enabling business improvement but also a resource intensive exercise that needed to be more versatile to meet the specific needs of individual organisations . the disability standard is therefore being revised and the new version will be available to members in 2011 . over 100 organisations took part in the 2009 disability standard . the following organisations were ranked as the top ten 1 . the british library 3 bt 2 . motability operations 4 . barclays plc 5 . disability east london borough of tower hamlets 7 . microlink pc uk 8 . habinteg housing association luton and dunstable hospital nhs trust 10 . ministry of defence all participating organisations receive a rank to demonstrate their commitment to disability confidence . top scores achieve platinum followed by gold 4 5 silver bronze and participants ranks . improving ict accessibility for job seekers employees and customers edit the business disability forum undertook with the help of the consulting firm mckinsey the first research into the many obstacles created by inaccessible online recruitment systems . mckinsey founds that 1.3 million disabled people in the uk alone were unable to apply for jobs with the vast majority of companies only recruiting via online processes . as a result the group published the guidance on how to ensure online recruitment does not systematically exclude disabled and other disadvantaged job seekers backed by the website www.barrierfree recruitment.com . in addition business disability forum facilitated business taskforce on accessible technology btat has created its own accessible technology charter to which companies can sign up . the signatories of the charted commit to ensuring that the technology they purchase and use allows them to hire from and provide products and services to the widest pool of people . the charter also requires them to consult with disabled employees and integrate accessibility into procurement processes . the charter has been complemented with a business tool called the accessibility maturity model which enables companies to measure their ict accessibility . public launch of these initiatives is due in late 2011 . the senior ict directors engaged in btat are also contributing to the creation of a procurement protocol that can be adopted by any company wanting to ensure that all new ict purchases make accessibility and usability an important requirement when deciding on