This paper provides the conceptual foundations for a study funded by the Australian Research Council and industry partners Yooralla and Jewish Care titled "Understanding 'encounter' as a dimension of social inclusion for people with intellectual disability." Since the early 1980s, disability policy has envisioned the social inclusion of people with intellectual disability in a broadly similar manner--as participation in community life. The 1986 Australian Disability Services Act aimed to "enhance the quality of life experienced by people with a disability by assisting them to live as valued and participating members of the community." A similar theme is replicated in more recent Australian and international disability policy that commit governments to the full inclusion and participation in the community by people with a disability (United Nations, 2006). Despite longstanding policy aspirations, as a group, people with intellectual disability are among the most disadvantaged and socially excluded in Australian society. Theoretical and conceptual frameworks have been largely absent from policy or empirical research about the social inclusion of people with intellectual disability (Verdonschot, De Witte, Reichrath, Buntinx, & Curfs, 2009). An exploration of the encounters experienced by people with intellectual disability may provide a better understanding of the various forms of social inclusion that exist between and beyond "community presence" and "community participation." The concept of encounter encourages a wider perspective on social processes, the practices of mainstream community services such as libraries and community centres, and the skills, attitudes, and practices of those non-disabled strangers in society who are equally important actors in social inclusion.