Grant and Funding Programs Offered by The PROUD Project (PROUD)

The PROUD Project is a disability-led, non-profit research hub based in Canada that examines barriers to meaningful employment and broader health and social inequities affecting disabled adults. Its work combines qualitative and quantitative research, policy analysis, and public engagement to promote the inclusion of disabled workers across sectors and countries. In addition to publishing scholarly and public-facing outputs, the organization manages fellowship opportunities and other supports that help cultivate a new generation of disability-focused scholars and advocates.

A key element of its funding activity is the PROUD Fellowship, through which the organization selects and supports graduate students and emerging researchers whose work aligns with disability justice, employment access, and critical disability studies. The published list of 2024–2025 PROUD Fellowship recipients illustrates how the project channels resources toward individuals developing original research on disability, care, and social justice in diverse disciplines such as anthropology, English, information studies, and political theory.

The PROUD Project primarily serves disabled adults, disabled workers, and their allies, as well as employers, governments, policy makers, educational institutions, and advocacy organizations seeking to improve equity in employment. Its research portfolio addresses themes such as workplace inclusion, anti-ableism, clinical ethics and frailty scoring, disability history, and the lived experience of disability in different policy and cultural contexts. Current projects include work on accessible mapping of Toronto’s historic queer village, multi-country phenomenological analyses of disability and employment, and the production of the "Broadcastability" podcast.

The organization acknowledges financial and institutional support from a range of funders, including university partners, government programs, research councils, and private-sector supporters. These partnerships enable The PROUD Project to sustain multi-year, international research initiatives and to offer fellowships, training opportunities, and knowledge mobilization activities.

Guided by its mission to foster the inclusion and integration of disabled people so they can realize their potential and contribute fully to their communities, The PROUD Project integrates disability leadership at all levels of its work. It positions research as a foundation for robust advocacy, shaping public debate and informing policies on employment equity, anti-ableism, and health ethics. Through fellowships, research collaborations, workshops, and media engagement, the organization plays a distinctive role in the disability and employment funding landscape in Canada and beyond.