Manawanui, Self-Directed Support for people with disabilities

Laura Hurtado on 12 June 2024

Project aimed at enhancing the autonomy and freedom of choice for people with disabilities

Manawanui is an initiative that promotes Self-Directed Support, a system of assistance that encourages people with disabilities to choose, through a personal budget, how, when, and with whom they manage the care services they receive.

Through these personalized budgets, “agents” (mostly volunteers) guide and accompany users in decision-making and self-management of these services. The main goal is to place the person at the center and promote their autonomy.

Users develop a personal life plan and are responsible for managing home care services, hiring necessary personnel, and setting their own goals. In this way, people with disabilities gain independence and freedom of choice in their daily lives.

Característiques de la innovació

Disability, Independent living, Innovative organization, New model of intervention, Personalization of the service, Self-management and participation, User empowerment

Localització

New Zeland

Col·laboradors / Finançadors

–

Gènesi

Manawanui was created in 2004 and has become a leading and pioneering initiative in self-managed funding for people with disabilities in New Zealand.

Nivell d’implantació

According to Manawanui, 26% of the population under 65 in New Zealand eligible for the program is enrolled in the project. The organization has more than 3,500 users in total, 68% of whom are under 35 years old.

More information

Propose your innovation

See our selection of innovations

Banc d’innovacions

Imatge d'una persona amb necessitats d'accessibilitat digital

Acctua, a technological solution promoting digital accessibility on the Internet

Acctua is a technological service that promotes digitial accessibility and digital inclusion.

Soy yo literal, a Digital Platform for Youth Mental Health

Soy yo literal is a digital platform promoting mental health among young people

FOKUS PI, an application that facilitates digital social planning

FOKUS PI is a a decision-making support tool for professionals in the social, healthcare, and educational sectors

BCI, a device that restores communication in patients with neurodegenerative diseases

The BCI is a technological innovation that restores communication in patients with neurodegenerative diseases

Cuppa, virtual meetups for unpaid carers

Cuppa is a video call program aimed at carers with the goal of sharing experiences and building community.

ATENEA, device adapted to combat the digital divide

ATENEA is an adapted device that contributes to the digital and technological transformation of social services, focusing on the most vulnerable citizens

Morphic, technology that improves computer accessibility for people with disabilities

Laura Hurtado on 5 June 2024

Application that allows computers to be adapted to the different needs of people with disabilities

According to the organization Raising the Floor, one in five people in the world has some form of disability. Only 19% of these people are employed, in contrast with 64% of people without disabilities. Regarding students, 20% have some form of disability.

Morphic is an application that improves the accessibility of computers for people with various types of disabilities. The platform allows one-click access to integrated accessibility functions through a customizable menu. Some of the program’s functions include changing text size, applying a magnifier to specific fragments, enabling text-to-speech, changing color contrast, or setting dark mode, among others.

Additionally, the “Assistive Technology (AT) on Demand” mode allows AT users to access their tools on any computer, regardless of whether the computers have them installed beforehand or not. The goal is to promote digital equity for people with various limitations. This functionality can be applied at home, work, library, school, etc. Different organizations and establishments can make AT appear automatically on any computer, and once the user has finished the session, it will disappear. All this in an efficient and simple manner.

Characteristics of innovation

New technological tool, Disability, Innovative organization, Personalization of the service, User empowerment

Localization

Washington (USA)

Partners / Funders

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), Administration for Community Living of the United States, Health and Human Services, Trace Center (University of Maryland), Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Education, Inclusive Design Research Center (IDRC) of the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University in Toronto, and the European Union, among others.

Genesis

Morphic emerged in 2016 from the work of an international consortium of organizations led by Raising the Floor, the Trace Center at the University of Maryland, and the Inclusive Design Research Center at OCAD University, all focused on the universal design of information and communication technologies.

Currently, the non-profit organization Raising the Floor, founded in 2012, manages Morphic, from software development to community building, growth, and sustainability.

Level of implementation

Currently, Morphic operates on more than 10,000 computers at universities, libraries, community centers, rehabilitation programs, and workplaces in the USA and Canada, and recently received the Zero Project Award 2024. The initiative was chosen from 523 nominations from 97 countries for its pioneering innovation in improving computer access for people with various disabilities.