Changes to overall life outcome measures for disabled people, such as the level of educational achievement, income level, or the numbers in employment, occur over the long term. It is necessary to look to earlier indicators to judge progress in the shorter term – to those things that we might expect to see if, ultimately, life outcomes are to improve for disabled people.

An outcomes framework was developed to model how the implementation of the Disability Strategy contributes to changes in central government agencies and other agencies’ policies and services, which ultimately result in positive changes in the life outcomes and value of disabled people. The model derives from the Disability Strategy and other relevant documentation, and discussions with key stakeholders.

The outcomes framework aligns with the theory of change embedded in the social model of disability that underpins the Disability Strategy. As defined by the Office for Disability Issues,4 a social model of disability is one where individuals with impairments are considered to be disadvantaged by social and environmental barriers to participation and, thus, they are disabled.

Within the context of the social model of disability, the theory of change detailed is one where agencies, whether government, non-government or private, alter their policies, processes and services to foster positive life changes for disabled people. In addition, disabled people themselves, their membership organisations, their families, whānau and friends, and wider society will also experience, and contribute to, change. This theory of change is depicted below.