DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION Economic participation is considered a concrete indicator of an inclusive society where people with disability are able to contribute to society and local economic growth. However, as the above research suggests, the majority of people with disability experience barriers to work or livelihoods opportunities and do not earn enough income to improve their household well-being. The proposed recommendations below are informed by our findings and, to some degree, integrate with the GoI and key donors’ strategies and priorities with regards to disability and development. The recommendations aim to offer a multi-pronged approach towards supporting livelihoods among people with disability in order to promote and ensure economic inclusion. As this study focused on the greater Yogyakarta region, our recommendations continue that geographic focus. It is not to say that these recommendations could not be implemented elsewhere in Indonesia, but rather that context matters and what works well in one area may not easily work elsewhere. Bearing that caution in mind, these recommendations are listed in no particular order or priority. Rather, we suggest that prospective funders consider incorporating flexibility and adaptability in their planning and implementation in order to fit with local circumstances when choosing and mixing possible ways to partner with the disability community. One important factor that we wish to emphasize is that the onus for economic inclusion falls on all parties, not simply the disability community. While we appreciate the sentiment that Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs) are major players when it comes to advocacy, implementation and evaluation, the reality is that DPOs are quite limited in their capacity to implement. This reality reflects that effective economic inclusion ‘takes a village’ and requires the support of the entire community and partners at all levels: international and local funders, local / provincial / national government, private sector, etc.
Recommendation 1: improve data collection and analysis on livelihoods among people with disability. Existing data are insufficient for planning purposes when it comes to initiatives pertaining to disability and livelihoods. Census data have proven to be largely inaccurate and even if census data were approximate or accurate, there are other data that would be significantly helpful for creating effective program design and implementation to improve economic inclusion. Such data include, but are not limited to and are posed with regards to people with disability: 21
