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The Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) is a self-funded research and development centre at OCAD University in Toronto, Ontario. It is an international community of open source developers, designers, researchers, advocates, and volunteers who collaborate to ensure that emerging information technology and practices are designed inclusively.

The IDRC leads a large number of diverse research networks that operate as globally distributed open source projects. The research team is distributed world-wide so all communication is conducted online and explicitly documented in a transparent format. The IDRC supports open standards &mdash; as well as open access and open source wherever possible—to distribute the community's work as widely as possible and to encourage broad participation in their initiatives.

IDRC's Mission
The IDRC's mission is to ensure that mainstream information and communication technologies (ICT) are designed from the beginning to be inclusive of the full range of human diversity with respect to ability, language, culture, gender, age and other forms of human difference.

The IDRC community promotes inclusion by:
 * growing design and development practices
 * creating tools that others can use and contribute to
 * teaching the principles and techniques of inclusive design
 * advocating for inclusion in international standards
 * providing services that match solutions with individuals

Most of the IDRC's current body of work involves "access for all" with a focus on achieving this through auto-personalization. The idea of auto-personalization moves away from a one-size-fits-all solution about accessibility, towards the aim of a one-size-fits-one solution. (Please see GPII for more information...)

The IDRC's philosophy is to infuse inclusive-design knowledge and skills into mainstream practices and to help sectors such as government, education, digital industries, entertainment, arts, culture and health, innovate in inclusive directions.

History of the IDRC
In 1993, the Adaptive Technology Research Centre (ATRC) was established at the University of Toronto in as an international centre of expertise in the inclusive design of emerging ICT and practices. On August 1, 2010, the ATRC moved to OCAD University and was renamed the IDRC.

About the Facility
The IDRC research and development centre is housed in the south campus of OCAD University in the historic New Textile Building at 205 Richmond St. W., which was renovated in 2008.

Located on the second floor, together with the Inclusive Design Institute (IDI) and the MEIC Convergence Incubator, the facility serves as a hub for collaboration and innovation. To that end it accommodates a state of the art multi-panel display conference room, fully integrated design labs, meeting rooms, administrative offices and a reception.

About Supporters
The IDRC and its research efforts are supported by a diverse group of granting organizations and bodies interested in promoting and/or integrating inclusive design as a key component of their innovation life cycle.

Among the major supporters of the IDRC are the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, Martin Prosperity Institute, UNESCO, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services and the Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence program.

Projects

 * [Fluid Project]: Fluid is an open-source software community.
 * [ATutor]: Learning Management System
 * [FLOE Project]: Floe provides the resources needed to enable inclusive access to personally relevant, engaging learning opportunities for the full diversity of learners and content producers.
 * More [New Projects]
 * [Ongoing Projects] (e.g., AChecker.ca)
 * [Completed Projects]