Who we are

The Blackwood Foundation is a Scottish charity working to improve and enhance the lives of people with disabilities.  Our work is primarily in the fields of accessible housing design and personal support.  The mission of the Foundation is to be a catalyst for innovation, development and improvement.

Our aims are achieved through collaboration with others.  We have a range of networks which include service users, support providers, technical, development & design agencies, policy & political organisations and academics.

What we do

The Blackwood Foundation brings networks together to stimulate debate & creativity in order to generate innovations and new ideas.  We establish and deliver pilot projects so that these innovations can be tested in a real world setting.  This ensures our assessments are robust and credible.  Once projects have been evaluated we disseminate our findings and promote best practice.

Our work is not merely about accessibility and support – it’s about enhancing the life of people with disabilities.  Making sure people can live life to the full.

How we do it

The Blackwood Foundation seeks to be a resource for a range of organisations with an interest in accessible housing and personal support.  We provide the opportunity for partners to step back, to identify and work through new ideas.  We create links across the sector, source funding, co-ordinate pilot projects, and evaluate outcomes. 

The Blackwood Foundation runs a number of projects through two programmes.

The Innovations Programme is focussed on the practical application and demonstration of new ideas.  The aim of the programme is to provide a real test for ideas and innovations with feedback and evaluation from service users.  The findings of projects under this programme inform best practice and lead to service improvements.

The New Knowledge Programme is about identifying knowledge gaps and conducting research to fill these gaps.  The aim is to build knowledge of needs and issues relating to accessible housing and personal support.  The findings of projects under this programme increase understanding within the sector and support the development of new ideas and innovations.

Contact Us

If you would like to become involved in one of our networks, or if you have an idea you would like to talk to the Blackwood Foundation about, please get in touch.

David Jarrold
Director
davidj@mbha.org.uk
0131 317 0138