The Good Measure Project provides the resources to reform the State Plan for Independent Living evaluation process and ensure that individuals receiving services have an elevated and essential role in how Independent Living services are evaluated. Good Measure is designed with equity in mind for individuals with disabilities to ensure time and effort of sharing expertise, experiences, and feedback are compensated appropriately. This project is designed to engage people with disabilities throughout the process to harness their knowledge and use their collective intelligence to define evaluation questions, and methods and guide how these results improve planning and programs.
The Good Measure Project outcomes provide for future State Plan for Independent Living to include an evaluation system based on community engagement. Meaningful and equitable engagement with the populations served by the State Plan is an essential step of ensuring full participation, access, and accountability in the work of partners and communities. The Independent Living Philosophy is founded on the principles of choice and involvement of the individuals the programs are intended to serve. Inclusion necessitates Texas SILC work, ensuring access and meaningful participation in all elements of our responsibilities. Previously, Texas SILC has limited performance beyond evaluation requirements. Good Measure’s support ensures Texas SILC’s evaluation furthers the services of people with disabilities and those in the most vulnerable communities.
Good Measure also aims to learn and develop community outreach methods and expand on Texas SILC’s current disability community partners. While Texas SILC has a host of partnerships, including but not limited to the Disability Policy Consortium and the Texas Independent Living Network, the project purpose is to gather community-based feedback on the State Plan and Independent Living Services that are independent of current partnerships. Good Measure Project has assisted in developing a community-based, ground-up methodology to gather input, monitor, and evaluate the SPIL and the framework of services and use lessons learned to assist other Centers for Independent Living in the delivery of Independent Living Services.