Measuring Up

2010 Legacies Now has a vision of British Columbia as a place where people can easily live, work, play and visit. With support from the Province of BC and other partners, 2010 Legacies Now is guiding communities in becoming more accessible and inclusive for everyone.

What is Measuring Up?

Measuring Up is both a guide and a process that assists communities in assessing and improving how accessible and inclusive they are for people with disabilities and others including seniors, parents pushing baby carriages, tourists carrying luggage, and people with injuries. By increasing accessible employment opportunities and improving public spaces, recreation facilities, restaurants and shops, Measuring Up is assisting communities in becoming more accessible and inclusive, so everyone can benefit.

The Measuring Up guide

The Measuring Up guide (in PDF and Word) leads communities through discussions of diverse and often complex disability issues. The Measuring Up framework is built on elements which enable people with disabilities to participate in their communities in a meaningful way. The Measuring Up guide has four main elements:

• Support Services: including transportation, housing, emergency preparedness, personal supports and fully accessible environments
  
  
• Access to Information: including universal signage, plain language, and multiple formats (i.e. large print, Braille, sign language etc.)
  
  
• Economic Participation: including business and skill development, jobs and labour supply, disability market and consumer spending, and niche markets such as accessible tourism
  
  
• Community Contribution: including bringing new energy and talent to the social, recreational, sport, environmental, business and cultural life of communities

These four elements depend on one another. For example, people cannot contribute to their communities economically without access to the right information or without personal supports such as an accessible transportation system. When the four elements are in place, people with disabilities are enabled to participate fully in their community.

The Measuring Up process

Through the Measuring Up process communities are able to evaluate and advance local accessibility and inclusion. This process is:

• Self–directed: each community designs its own plan using Measuring Up as a guide
• Practical: it fosters local solutions and learning between communities
• Inclusive: it actively involves the whole community
• Collaborative: it engages municipal, business, and other community leaders

The Measuring Up process focuses on dialogue as the means for assessing and advancing accessibility and inclusion. Dialogue helps people to understand the needs of others and results in lasting relationships that have the potential to create and enhance caring communities.

Initiating the Measuring Up process

The Measuring Up process can be started by anyone - a person with a disability, a parent, or a health, social service, municipal or education professional. In some communities municipal staff take the lead to implement Measuring Up. In others it is an elected official, a community leader, or a non-profit organization. Other potential partners such as Spirit of BC committees or local Chambers of Commerce can also offer leadership during the Measuring Up process.

To find out more about how you can implement Measuring Up in your community go to Starting Up, a step-by-step guide that provides tips for getting started.

How 2010 Legacies Now can help

2010 Legacies Now can help your community build a legacy of accessibility and inclusion. Throughout the Measuring Up process, 2010 Legacies Now can help you by:

• Introducing Measuring Up, its purpose, the guide and process, and resulting social and economic benefits
• Connecting you with local and provincial disability leaders and organizations
• Suggesting partners and supporters
• Recommending steps for your community’s process
• Sharing information, tools and best practices from other communities
• Linking you to other communities with similar circumstances
• Connecting you with other financial and in-kind resources

2010 Legacies Now is also interested in hearing how your community is using Measuring Up. If you would like to share your experiences, stories or resources with other BC communities, please send them to measuringup(at)2010LegaciesNow.com.

For more information on Measuring Up:
Please contact measuringup(at)2010LegaciesNow.com or call 778-327-5123.

Measuring Up Accessibility and Inclusion Fund 

2010 Legacies Now received a $2-million grant from the Province of BC to establish the Measuring Up Accessibility and Inclusion Fund. To date, $575,000 was distributed to 30 communities to support community projects aiming to improve how people with disabilities can actively participate in, and contribute to, their communities. The Fund supports the provincial government’s goal to build the best system of support in Canada for people with disabilities. 

For more information on the Measuring Up Accessibility and Inclusion Fund, please contact measuringup(at)2010LegaciesNow.com or 778-327-5123.

Measuring Up Accessibilty and Inclusion Fund resources:

• Passing a Motion (PDF)
  Passing a Motion (Word)
  
  
• Forming a Measuring Up committee (PDF)
  Forming a Measuring Up committee (Word)
  
  

Measuring Up was created in partnership with the Vancouver Agreement, representing the provincial and federal governments and the City of Vancouver; the Vancouver Foundation; and over 80 disability organizations throughout BC.