Say Yes, Ontario! Say Yes, to Effective Frameworks for Individualized Funding!

Many countries are seeing the benefits of various individualized funding models for people of all ages and challenges.  From children through to older adults, people living with various developmental, physical, psycho-social, aging and memory issues have experienced the benefits of flexible, individualized models of support. 

Only a few years ago, access to various research studies and evidence was scattered. In the last few years, that has changed. More and more researchers and leaders, both internationally and in Canada, have gone ‘digging’ and found lots of evidence to back up individualized funding approaches and models.  This work is being shared collectively as summaries, studies, reports, and/or examples compiled in literature reviews with links, systematic reviews, research papers, reports, and video selections. They have also combined this information and videos in ways that make access easier. This is exciting news.

In October of 2018, people, families, partnering agencies and allies with the Individualized Funding Coalition for Ontario came together to identify priorities and strategies for moving forward. Following that meeting, a small focus group came together in November 2018 to discuss what was doable, and made the intention for some to explore research and writings on individualized funding that were available. The goal was to see if common themes around successful models were out there.

By this time, it was also common knowledge that the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in Australia had taken on the bold move of providing this type of support on a national scale. Not without its bumps along the way in the transition, it still offers the most comprehensive approach a country could provide because the support crosses ages and disabilities instead of working in silos. Many people and families are taking advantage of the scheme.

In 2019 a systematic review of individualized funding approaches and models across countries was published. Seven researchers from different universities around the world did this work. This ground breaking work is currently being highlighted on our website. Other ‘newer’ resources are being highlighted in this section of the website as well, from around the world, and from within Canada. 

The Individualized Funding Coalition for Ontario website is known for being a source of good information about individualized funding and the mechanisms that are needed for success. Newer pages and references have been added to expand the repository of relevant information. For those who are interested in individualized funding as an approach to supporting full citizenship and respect for people living with various disabilities and challenges across the ages, we believe these newer resources (at the links below), as well as our previous ones (found under the Resources tab on this website), will be helpful.

Did You Know? About the 2019 Review, and the Positive Benefits of Individualized Funding?

From Around the World – More International Research and Reports

Made in Canada – Canadian produced publications, resources, and videos