About

The UCL Disability Research Centre

We’ve expanded!  The UCL Disability Research Centre, (formerly The Leonard Cheshire Research Centre) at University College London, has been undertaking cutting-edge research on disability and international development since 1995.   The Centre is a leading research and teaching facility, concentrating specifically on global health and international development as it impacts children and adults with disability and more broadly, undertaking research on vulnerable and marginalized populations.  Our applied research contributes to generating a body of knowledge that helps to improve the lives of people with disabilities, their families and their communities and helps to shape national and global policy and practice. We are committed to developing an evidence-base on ‘what works’ in disability-inclusive development and in empowering people with disabilities to advocate for their rights as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

The research Centre is based at University College London (UCL), which is currently ranked 7th in global ranking of Universities.  The research team is comprised of academics trained in a range of fields including anthropology, psychology, political science and public policy, health economics, education and global health.  We collaborate with colleagues throughout UCL and with academic institutions around the UK and around the world.

Staff at the research centre regularly advise local and national governments, UN organisations and international civil society organisations, and sit on multiple boards, committees and advisory groups.  The Centre has formal associations with organisations such as Leonard Cheshire and the Global Disability Innovation Hub.  Currently we also provide an academic home base for the Secretariat of the Washington Group on Disability Statistics, through funding from the Australia Department of Finance and Trade.

Research Expertise

Faculty and staff at the research centre have an established expertise in areas which include international development, global health, poverty alleviation, inclusive education, and employment, health, wellbeing and social protection for people with disabilities.  In 2019, the mission of the Centre was expanded to increase our focus in areas which we have been involved with for some time:  disability and public health, the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations and people with disabilities in humanitarian and disaster settings.

Our approach and our impact

Our research is undertaken by both disabled and able-bodied faculty and research staff in partnership with people with disabilities and their representative organisations, acknowledging the call of ‘nothing about us without us’. Our research also aims to form strong partnerships with academic institutions in the countries in which we are working. Promoting links between our academic partners and disability communities is a core component of our research design and is a powerful force for promoting disability issues and disseminating results in partner countries and globally.

Teaching

Our Centre accepts PhD and provides specialized MSc courses in Disability and Development as a component of the MSc in Global Health, through the Institute of Global Health (IGH) at UCL.  We are always pleased to discuss projects with potential doctoral students and we do accept a limited number of Post-Docs and visiting graduate level students, as well as host funded visiting scholars from academic institutions around the world.