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The Business Advisory Board on Disability (BABD) is a consortium of businesses that is committed to raising disability awareness and promoting disability issues in the business community. It was created in 2008 by Russian and international companies: ANCOR, Clever, Citi, Clifford Chance, Coleman Services, DPD, Ernst & Young, Hewlett Packard, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, Microsoft, Naim.ru, Nike, Raiffeisen Bank, Transaero, and the Regional Society of Disabled People – Perspektiva – a disability NGO.

 

The BABD developed out of a group of businesses that Perspektiva had been working with to find jobs for youth with disabilities in Moscow. When Perspektiva launched its employment programme in 2003, it provided job support and training for youth with disabilities and collaborated with employment agencies. However, it soon became clear that people with disabilities would be more successful in finding jobs if Perspektiva and the business community worked in partnership. Perspektiva learned about networks of businesses in other countries that were also promoting employment opportunities, such as the UK Employers Forum on Disabilities (EFD) and the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN). In 2008, it secured a grant from the UK Embassy in Moscow to collaborate with EFD in a project that would aim to develop a similar network in Moscow. The BABD was the result of the project.