Quality Considerations When Planning and Conducting a Virtual World Café Using an Inclusive Research Approach

There is a growing movement to equitably include people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in disability research, but traditional research systems pose challenges to sharing power and co-designing research with people with disabilities. We developed an Inclusive Research Learning Series (IRLS) to build the capacities of adults with disabilities to conduct research. Emerging Researchers (i.e., adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities participating in the IRLS) conducted a World Café to research support needs of disabled adults.

We scored the administration of the World Café using a pre-established rubric, and we qualitatively analysed semi-structured interviews with nine Emerging Researchers using deductive coding.

The inclusive research approach was successful in conducting a quality World Café. The Emerging Researchers shared considerations for inclusive research teams conducting future World Cafés.

We discuss considerations for those seeking to challenge barriers to research training opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.