Better Accommodation Project
Working with nine partner departments and the Impact and Innovation Canada Unit at the Privy Council Office, the Deputy Minister Champion for Employees with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service launched the Better Accommodation Project in September 2024. The goal of the project is to drive transformative change in how federal employees with disabilities are accommodated across the public service. Although the federal public service works diligently to identify, prevent and remove workplace accessibility barriers, more can be done. Driven by evidence, behavioural science, shared learnings, input and engagement with employees, best practices, sludge audits and the testing of prototypes, the project identified ways to make improvements in accommodations for employees with disabilities.
The nine partner departments identified accommodations as a top priority in their accessibility plans, were committed to making improvements and agreed to dedicate resources to the project. All of the partners committed to learning from each other in real-time and to embed the “Nothing without us” principle.
How the project is supporting federal organizations
Project proponents worked with public servants to create practical, evidence-based tools. Implementing these tools will help departments and agencies improve their accommodation services.
You can access all BAP tools:
- Better Accommodation Project on GCpedia (accessible only through the Government of Canada network)
- Better Accommodation Project Index
There are two main tools:
- Toolkit for organizations: This toolkit will help deputy heads and organizations review and strengthen their workplace accommodation services. It includes a roadmap and practical tools to support measurable organizational change, improve consistency and enhance the accommodation experience for employees with disabilities and their managers.
- Toolkit for users: The toolkit will guide employees and managers through every step of the accommodation process. It offers tips and tools to encourage respectful conversations and support timely and effective workplace accommodations.
Our vision
The Better Accommodation Project promotes best-in-class accommodation services that:
- Reflect the social model of disability
- Are timely, consistent, inclusive, and responsive
- Give all federal employees with disabilities the support they need, no matter where they work
Built on experience
We developed our tools based on:
- Previous government initiatives
- Extensive research
- Experiences of private sector and non-profits
- The lived experiences of people with disabilities
- Practical testing with public servants
These tools:
- Support the goals of the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada
- Help the federal public service lead by example and use resources effectively
- Should be incorporated in departmental accessibility plans
Better Accommodation Project - Transcript
Hi, I’m Tina Namiesniowski, Deputy Minister Champion for Employees with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service.
As Champion, I am lucky to work with employees with disabilities. I get to see their contributions and I get to hear their stories.
While they bring so much talent to the public service, not all of their experiences are positive. Some of our employees aren’t receiving the accommodations they need to do their work—to feel fully part of their teams.
As an employer, we have a responsibility to do better. As a public service, we have a duty to manage all of our resources—especially our people—with care.
So we launched the Better Accommodation Project—a one-year project to transform how we support employees with disabilities.
Starting in , the Better Accommodation Project brought together nine partner departments and the Privy Council Office’s Impact Canada team.
This was a true partnership.
We asked experts for their advice. We consulted with many employees with disabilities, because we value the “nothing without us” principle.
We did our homework. We looked at initiatives already completed or underway.
We spoke to disability and accessibility leaders in and out of government.
And we found other employers who were leading in this space and we examined what research tells us about accommodations best practices.
We also worked with each of our nine partner departments to help them analyze and test solutions to improve their accommodation services.
So the result?
We have developed practical tools that departments can use to build more inclusive and responsive accommodation services.
I’m super proud to share these tools with you.
We know that accommodation involves many people—which is why we developed something for everyone.
The Toolkit for Organizations gives deputy heads and leaders the roadmap to build best-in-class accommodation services.
The Toolkit for Service Users will help employees and managers navigate the accommodation journey with confidence and understanding.
So I encourage everyone—all departments and agencies—to use and share these toolkits.
There will be opportunities to improve them over time.
But we didn’t want to wait. We know we need to take action now because the cost of waiting is too high.
By implementing the Better Accommodation Project tools, all departments and agencies can unlock the potential of what it will mean for organizations, for teams, and for our employees with disabilities if we can provide supports to them in a timely, efficient and effective way.
Together, we can drive meaningful change in the public service as part of realizing our vision of being the most accessible public service in the world by 2040.
So thanks to one and all for helping us make this happen. Thank you.