Dis-IT Partner Organization Descriptions

Adaptech Research Network

The Adaptech Research Network is a bilingual team of academics, students and consumers that conducts research on the use of computer, information, and adaptive computer technologies by Canadian college and university students with disabilities. It is based at Montreal’s Dawson College.

British Columbia Institute of Technology - Living Laboratory

The Living Laboratory at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Vancouver, British Columbia is a full-scale simulation facility designed for the research and development of accessible technologies for older adults and people with disabilities. The primary mandate of the facility is to improve the “fit” between people and their daily living and working environments by studying people’s interaction with devices, assistive technology, other products and environmental features.

Canadian Association for Community Living

The Canadian Association for Community Living is a Canada-wide association of family members and others working for the benefit of persons of all ages who have an intellectual disability.

Canadian Association of Disability Service Providers in Post-Secondary Education

The Canadian Association of Disability Service Providers in Post-Secondary Education (CADSPPE) undertakes activities that improve accessibility and enhance the post-secondary education of persons with disabilities. Activities include, but are not limited to, those that contribute to the field and professional development of persons engaged in the provision of services to students with disabilities in Canadian colleges and universities.

Council of Canadians with Disabilities

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) advocates at the federal level to improve the lives of men and women with disabilities in Canada, by eliminating inequality and discrimination. Its members include national, regional and local advocacy organizations that are controlled by persons with disabilities.

Global Applied Disability Research and Information Network on Employment and Training

GLADNET is a web-based network of research centres, universities, enterprises, government departments, trade unions, and organizations of and for persons with disabilities with the common goal of advancing competitive employment and training opportunities for persons with disabilities.

IDEAL Group Inc.

IDEAL Group Inc. is a service organization dedicated to maximizing the accessibility and usability of electronic and information technologies.

Industry Canada

Industry Canada's Assistive Devices Industry Office (ADIO) provides advice to business that develop and market devices, services, and systems which help people with disabilities live more independently. It also works to ensure that Industry Canada programmes and services are accessible to Canadians with disabilities.

Industry Canada's Web Accessibility Office (WAO) promoted accessible Web design to enable Canadians to access Web content through sight, sound and touch. To help meet the public Internet access needs of Canadians with disabilities and literacy issues, Industry Canada supported the development Web-4-All, a package of assistive technologies that configures public access computers to accommodate the special needs of users with disabilities.

NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation is a global technology company that, amongst other things, produces ATM banking machines and other automated self-service machines that dispense cash, tickets and other non-cash offerings in banks, retail stores and transportation terminals around the world. It is developing relationship management tools that allow ATMs to recognize and respond to the unique requirements of different users.

National Educational Association of Disabled Students

NEADS is Canada’s only consumer-based cross-disability advocacy organization that works on issues of access to post-secondary education and employment. NEADS encourages the self-empowerment of post-secondary students with disabilities, and advocates for increased accessibility to college and university education for people with disabilities.

Neil Squire Foundation

The Neil Squire Foundation is a Canadian national non-profit organization that provides innovative education, technology and career development programs and services for people with physical disabilities. The Foundation, which has developed some of the world's leading edge assistive technology for people with physical disabilities, has offices in Vancouver, Victoria, Regina, Fredericton, Moncton and Ottawa.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and its subsidiaries operate under the master brand name of RBC Financial Group, and has five major lines of business: personal and commercial banking (RBC Banking), wealth management (RBC Investments), insurance (RBC Insurance), corporate and investment banking (RBC Capital Markets) and securities custody and transaction processing (RBC Global Services). RBC is one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies and Canada's largest bank as measured by assets and market capitalization.

Simon Fraser University - School of Interactive Arts and Technology

The School of Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University offers undergraduate programs in Information Arts and graduate programs in Computing Arts and Design Sciences.

Université Laval - Centre interdisciplinaire de recherché en réadaptation et integration sociale

The Centre interdisciplinaire de recherché en réadaptation et integration sociale (CIRRIS) is devoted to multidisciplinary research in the rehabilitation and the integration of persons with physical impairments.

University of Toronto - Adaptive Technology Resource Centre

Through research, development, education, proactive design consultation, and direct service, the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre (ATRC) at the University of Toronto advances information technology that is accessible to all.