The Access Wheel Framework: Aligna’s Signature Strategy for Inclusion

The Access Wheel™: A Framework for Decisions That Hold

The Access Wheel™ is Aligna’s core decision-making and systems-design framework. It helps leaders anticipate constraints, align values with legal and operational reality, and make decisions that don’t collapse under pressure.

Rooted in disability wisdom and real-world leadership, the Access Wheel turns complexity into structure — before failure forces clarity.

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THE FRAMEWORK

What The Access Wheel™ Is

The Access Wheel is not a checklist, toolkit, or compliance exercise.

It is a thinking and practicing framework designed to help organizations see what is actually shaping their decisions — including legal obligations, power dynamics, operational limits, and access needs — before those factors surface through harm, conflict, or crisis.

Leaders use The Access Wheel to:

  • Surface hidden constraints early
  • Clarify trade-offs and decision authority
  • Align values with what systems truly produce
  • Reduce risk without freezing action

WHY IT MATTERS

Why The Access Wheel Matters

Most organizational failures aren’t caused by bad intentions. They happen when complexity is underestimated or deferred.

The Access Wheel helps leaders design for reality, not just aspiration, and:

  • Identify where systems are likely to break
  • Understand why well-meaning efforts stall
  • Integrate access and disability as sources of intelligence, not afterthoughts
  • Make decisions that remain workable over time

How It Works

The Access Wheel looks at decisions through interconnected lenses that shape what is possible in practice. Each lens reveals different risks, responsibilities, and opportunities. Together, they provide a fuller picture of what a decision will actually do once it meets real people, systems, and constraints.

When It Is Used

Leaders and organizations use The Access Wheel to:
  • Align governance, policy, and values
  • Redesign systems that aren’t working as intended
  • Navigate disability, access, neurodivergence, or inclusion questions without panic
  • Create a shared language of commitments and tools
  • Pressure-test major decisions before implementation
  • Bring coherence to fragmented initiatives

Where The Access Wheel Thrives

This framework serves leaders and organizations that are responsible for designing systems that impact real people, such as:

  • Nonprofits navigating growth, transitions, or culture change
  • Government agencies advancing accessibility, equity, and public accountability
  • Education systems supporting diverse learners and families
  • Foundations shaping equitable grant-making or community-forward funding strategies
  • Consultants and facilitators seeking a structured, disability-equitable framework
  • Boards and executive teams aligning values with decisions

IN PRACTICE

The Access Wheel in Practice

The Access Wheel is composed of ten interconnected practices and four areas (Foundation; Power & Participation; Accountability & Impact; and Community). You don’t need to memorize them—they’re designed to guide thinking, not overwhelm it. Below each practice is a summary of the concept.

Build access in from the start, not as a reaction.

Design around those most affected by decisions.

Treat all needs as legitimate and valid, instead of negotiable.

Name power dynamics; redistribute influence.

Plan for fluctuating energy, pace, and communication styles.

Replace assumptions with inquiry and learning.

Expect conflict; prioritize relationships.

Every procedure impacts someone directly.

Barriers signal broken systems— not individual failures.

Foster shared access and collective care.

HOW WE WORK WITH IT

Five Ways Align Offers to Work with the The Access Wheel™

  • Access Wheel Consulting (Most Popular)
  • Organizations bring Aligna in to apply The Access Wheel to strategic challenges, transitions, or systems’ redesign. Engagements include strategy sprints, alignment work, facilitation, and customized systems design.
  • Access Audits (Diagnostic Tool)
  • A structured assessment of access across policies, culture, communication, leadership, and operations—rooted in the 10 practices.
  • Licensing (Coming Soon; Currently Limited to Select Clients)
  • Organizations will be able to license the framework, with guidance on best practices, training, and internal implementation.
  • Practitioner Pathway (Future Ecosystem)
  • A certification pathway for consultants, facilitators, and practitioners who want to integrate the framework into their professional work.

WHY WE DO IT

What Clients Gain

When organizations use The Access Wheel, they gain:

  • Earlier visibility into opportunities and risks
  • Clearer decision pathways
  • Reduced rework and conflict
  • Stronger alignment between values and outcomes
  • Structures that hold under pressure

Many engagements begin with a Strategy-Fit Call to explore how the framework applies to your context. If you’re navigating a complex decision and want to understand how The Access Wheel could support your work:

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