No, not for funding.
Our organization has developed an extensive range of materials that can be used by both disability and business development organizations to work with people with disabilities who are interested in becoming self-employed. That was one of the first things we did. We took the time to talk to individuals and organizations that had significant experience in both self-employment development and disability issues.
Our organization has also worked consistently over the last number of years to try to bring disability and business development organizations together within communities. Rather than each one trying independently to remake the wheel, so to speak, they can learn from each other. There are very effective approaches to working with people with disabilities when it comes to types of training, approaches, and counselling. Sometimes business development organizations may not be aware of those approaches.
At the same time, there is the need to assist people with disabilities, as with anyone, to be very realistic about their business ideas and work with them to develop business ideas that will work effectively. This is one of the things we've learned.
We believe so strongly in this approach because there are very innovative and tremendous things being accomplished by organizations across the country. But we think the time is now ripe for the federal government to show leadership in providing some research and working to bring more organizations together, because in many cases organizations are working in a little bit of a vacuum.
We think there is a need for more information sharing and more ability to provide resources--by that I mean primarily research information on best practices and those types of resources--so that more people with disabilities can have the information they need to become successfully self-employed...but also the organizations that serve them.