Identify and attract participants
Provide potential participants with clear recruitment information. Promote your activity through broad or targeted channels to reach more and diverse people with disability.
Provide clear recruitment information
Provide clear information to help potential participants make an informed decision about whether to participate in your activity. Communicate using plain language so that the information is easy to understand.
Recruitment information should include:
- who you are seeking to engage and why
- what participation involves
- where and when the activity is expected to happen
- how participants will be compensated
- what support is available to help people participate
- how to request alternative formats for materials
- who to contact for answers to questions
- how to express an interest to participate
- the ethics approval number and the name of the approving body.
People with disability are a diverse group. Some people may require Easy Read documents, while others may need information in another accessible format. Depending on your target audience, you may need to make your information available in braille, Auslan, Easy Read, large print, different languages, audio described, and/or compatible with assistive technology.
Consider how you might recruit and communicate with participants who perhaps do not have ready access to the internet.
Relevant pages
Context: Understand what disability means
Plan: Create accessible materials
Tool: Expression of interest form
Plain language and word choice (Australian Government Style Manual)
Broadcast and social media communication in emergencies (Centre for Inclusive Design)
Promote your activity
Make sure to allocate enough time to promote your activity, as attracting participants with disability may require a significant investment of time. This is because it may take longer to reach potential participants, organise necessary supports, provide accessibility accommodations, or adjust the activity.
To reach more people with disability, you can try:
- partnering with disability organisations with extended networks
- communicating through relevant government social media channels
- communicating through disability organisation social media channels and other relevant social media groups
- advertising in newsletters targeted at people with disability.
When partnering with other organisations:
- Discuss how the organisation can support your activity.
- Refine your communication so it is accessible for the people the organisation will contact.
- Agree on suitable promotion periods.
- Include remuneration for recruitment efforts in your project budget.
Relationships take time to nurture. Take care to establish trust between your organisation and the organisation you are contacting.
Relevant pages
Design: Consider time and costs