Empowered participation of users with disabilities in R&D projects

This paper provides an introduction to empowered participation of users with disabilities in research and development (R&D). It is based on the experiences of the European project FORTUNE (Buhler, 2000). Introductory experiences about the state of the art of disabled user involvement in European R & D are reported. The value of participation of users with disabilities is discussed. An overview of the FORTUNE curriculum and training is provided. The FORTUNE concept of user participation in projects is introduced as a reference model for participation of users with disabilities, followed by a scheme of criteria for the assessment of user participation as a practical tool. A brief overview of methodologies for user participation and potential organizational frameworks is presented.