Purpose and Priorities

ERN focuses on applied Prosthetic and Orthotic and Disability research in lower resource settings. Our approach uses ethical, country- and culturally-appropriate methods and includes capacity building in research locations.

ERN is a voluntary, international, multi-sector and multi-disciplinary research consortium coordinated by Exceed Worldwide. It promotes high quality, needs-led research and development in the field of physical and mobility impairment.

ERN works by bringing together experienced researchers and practitioners from the NGO, academic and private sectors to carry out ethical research that will benefit people with disabilities. The Network has a particular focus on country- and culturally-appropriate Prosthetic & Orthotic (P&O) and disability research in lower resource settings, including activity to support the work of P&O service providers.

ERN shares, coordinates and responds to relevant research calls, facilitating partners to develop research consortia, deliver high quality research, build capacity in research locations and disseminate findings.  It also engages with research funding organisations, aiming to promote priority research topics, especially in the P&O sector.

In summary, ERN is a unique Network of experts, centred on P&O, which aims to access funds to implement the ERN research agenda by influencing funding and development bodies; promoting standards; delivering research; including capacity building in all projects; and disseminating research findings.

Jan Andrysek, University of Toronto, talks about ERN.

Exceed Key Research Priorities

  • Increasing Access to Affordable and Sustainable Lifetime Care in Physical Rehabilitation for People with Disability in Lower Resource Settings;

  • Assessing the Impact of P&O Services;

  • Relevant, Useful, Ethical and Culturally-Appropriate Approaches to Research and P&O Service Delivery in LMICs.

ERN researchers aim to use scientific, technical, engineering, medical and socio-economic research to support the work of P&O service providers and benefit people with disabilities in low resource settings by addressing the following priorities:

  • i. Increasing access to existing P&O services by improving service design, efficiency and operations through the use of scientific and socio-economic research, data, technology and engineering. 

    ii. Sustainable P&O Service Development – using research and data to develop sustainable and efficient models of service delivery, like social enterprise, to create services that match the means and the treatment, technical and outcome needs of clients and facilitate investment in the P&O sector, within the social, economic and health care frameworks of particular countries.

  • i. Identifying, testing and introducing the most cost-effective technologies and service innovations for particular settings.

    ii. Developing and using P&O technical and socio-economic outcome measures designed for lower resource settings.

    iii. Measuring the economic and social impacts of P&O services, to demonstrate the value of investing in P&O services.

    iv. Diabetic foot care - development of the diabetic care pathway in lower resource settings.

  • i. Developing the ethical framework for good quality research to protect the rights, safety and health of research participants.

    ii. Protecting the rights, safety and health of recipients of P&O devices.

    iii. Focusing on needs-led, person-centred research.

    iv. Building local research capacity in project locations.