About the Fund

The Commonwealth Parliamentarians with Disabilities (CPwD) Capital Investment Fund is a reserve of funding established by the CPA Secretariat in 2021 with the aim of raising the accessibility of CPA member Parliaments to persons with disabilities. The priorities for the Fund include but are not limited to, improving the physical accessibility of Parliaments or the procurement of assistive technology. 

Examples of initiatives:

• Installation of a ramp(s) with a low gradient, allowing a person to access a higher level in a building.

• Provision of transcription or sign language interpretation of live parliamentary proceedings.

• Enabling vocal commands, braille, and/or screen readers on computers, allowing persons with visual impairments to use them easily.

• Installation of automated doors, making entering a parliament building easier for persons with mobility impairments.

• The conversion of documentation into easy-to-read formats for people with sight impairments.

• Procurement of benches/resting areas in long corridors, allowing those who use crutches to rest.

• Widening of doorways, security barriers, and/or lifts for access to wheelchair users.

• Construction/development of restrooms for persons with disabilities.

• Improvement of access to a parliament’s website (e.g. text-to-speech features).

• Expansion/development of parking for persons with disabilities.

• Provision of hearing loops in meeting rooms to facilitate the participation of persons with hearing impairments.

These examples merely illustrate the type of proposals that will be considered. The proposals are then selected based on suitability and how far they contribute towards the aims and priorities of the Network in enabling the effective and full participation of persons with disabilities in representative democracy. Proposals for the fund to cover costs as part of a larger project involving other entities will be considered.

Fund structure and how to apply

For 2025, the Fund will be a total of 60,000 GBP, from which Branches may claim up to 10,000 GBP to support efforts within their institution toward improving its accessibility.

The Secretariat would like to note the following points about submissions to the Fund:

• All funds supported by the Capital Investment Fund must be spent in 2025.
• We expect that the necessary approvals required within the Parliament submitting the proposal will have been received by the time the project's implementation starts this year.
• We will only accept bids submitted by the institution's central authority (the Clerk's Office/CPA Desk).
• It is expected that, beyond incidental expenses that invoices can be provided for, costs incurred from the involvement of staff of the bidding Parliament will be borne by their Parliament salary.

To submit a bid for the CPwD network’s Capital Investment Fund in 2025, please complete the below form by Wednesday 16th December 2024.