Advancing social justice and inclusion since 1966

Parking Permit Program

Since 1984, SPARC BC has managed B.C.’s Parking Permit Program for People with Disabilities. Apply for or renew your permit to use designated parking spots anywhere in B.C.

NEW SPARC VIDEO!

SPARC BC has been working with the City of Vancouver to test five different accessible parking standards. See what we learned thanks to participants from various disability organizations who spent a day helping us to test and evaluate the different standards.

Watch the Video >

SPARC BC 2 days ago

It was incredible to gather with the community this past Saturday to celebrate #AccessAwarenessDay at the ACCESS-Ability Parade! Thank you to everyone who made it a huge success 😀 If you were unable to make it, check out some of the highlights here:

SPARC BC 5 days ago

Demain, le 4 juin, célébrons la journée nationale de l’accessibilité – soulignons l’accessibilité et l’inclusion des personnes en situation de handicap. Partagez une photo ou une vidéo de la manière dont vous soulignez cette semaine importante! #InclusifDesLeDepart #SNA2022 https://t.co/iQPxcac085

SPARC BC 5 days ago

Tomorrow, June 4th, marks the 25th annual Access Awareness Day – a day for communities to come together and celebrate what it means to be truly accessible and inclusive for everyone! Please tag us if you or your community will be celebrating 😊 #AccessAwarenessDay #NAAW2022 https://t.co/9PDLrVu1Kq

Our Values

Social Justice: We strive for a just and healthy society.

Inclusion: We are committed to achieving full engagement for all citizens.

Integrity: We are independent, accountable, transparent and non-partisan.

Learning: We seek, develop and share knowledge to inform decision-making.

What We Do

These values guide our work in five, interconnected areas of focus. Please visit the pages below to learn more about our work with communities.

Parking Permit Program

Over 55,000 people depend on us each year for their permits to use designated disability parking spaces

Community Development

This is the heart of what we do. We create diverse tools to help communities build their capacity to identify and meet the needs of their citizens.

Social Policy RESEARCH

Effective social planning depends on evidence based decision-making. We specialize in comprehensive data collection, analysis and presentation.

Accessibility and inclusion

We promote accessible and inclusive communities by conducting research, leading public education campaigns, partnering with community groups.

Planning and consultation

Our Consulting Services are delivered by a passionate team of multidisciplinary researchers and project coordinators who excel at bringing people together.

Who We Work With

Through these five focus areas, we’re committed to supporting Indigenous people, community organizations, seniors, people with disabilities and all levels of government, including First Nations.

How We Do It

We start at the beginning. We gather comprehensive data about BC communities and use it to identify needs and gaps in the social safety net. Working with local governments and communities, we create plans to meet those needs and effect genuine change.