PwD-Led Shared Leadership Advocacy Framework (Version 3): A Pilot-Stage Conceptual Governance Proposal

Abstract This paper presents a pilot-stage conceptual framework for sustainable leadership and advocacy development among persons with disabilities (PwDs). The model introduces a structured, three-stage sequential participation pathway comprising Foundational Participation (Belonger), Peer Succession Leadership (Leader), and an optional Societal Extension through participant-controlled digital advocacy (Advocate). Progression is voluntary but non-skippable for those who choose to advance, ensuring coherent development, peer accountability, distributed authority, and leadership formation grounded in lived experience. The framework has evolved iteratively across six versions. Version 1 established the staged participation theory; Version 2 introduced a peer-led, accessibility-oriented role system; Version 3 reframed the final stage as a participant-controlled digital advocacy pathway; Version 4 operationalized development through stage-based Core Projects; and Version 5 formalized the “Leadership Regrowth Engine,” a cyclical mentorship model supporting succession and institutional sustainability. Version 6 further strengthens the framework through the introduction of the Belonging Space, a reflective environment fostering relational trust, identity affirmation, and peer-supported learning, and the Stage Advancement Passport, a structured tool for tracking participant growth and readiness for progression across stages. Across the pathway, participant development is implemented through sequenced Core Projects and sustained through reciprocal mentorship, where Stage 2 participants support new entrants in Stage 1. This design positions lived experience as a valid foundation for leadership while enabling diverse forms of contribution beyond public advocacy. The framework is presented as a pilot-stage proposal for iterative testing and adaptation and does not claim empirical validation at the time of publication.