public procurement & accessibility gunela astbrink australian igf ambassador
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PUBLIC PROCUREMENT & ACCESSIBILITY
Gunela Astbrink
Australian IGF ambassador
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What is public procurement?
Government purchasing processes
• Government is large purchaser of goods and services including information and communication technology (ICT) such as:• Phones• Computers• Public service terminals• A range of software applications
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Accessibility criteria in public procurement can:
• Provide more streamlined IT provision for persons with disability in the government workplace
• Have flow-on effects for greater availability and affordability of accessible ICT in the general community
Government can influence market by setting purchasing criteria including accessibility
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Examples of accessibility criteria
• Ability to use display for a person without sight• Ability to use interface for a person without hearing• Ability to use interface for a person with physical
limitations• Enabling seamless use of assistive technologies with
common computer programs• Preventing common computer programs from rendering
inbuilt accessibility features defunct
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Research project
• By University of Wollongong and GSA InfoComm• Study and benchmarking of OECD countries and their use
of accessibility criteria• Detailed analysis of 6 case-studies:
• USA• Japan• European Commission • Ireland• UK• Canada
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Findings
• Majority of OECD countries include ICT accessibility criteria in public procurement law
• In this group, the great majority allow discretion in application of accessibility criteria when procuring ICTs
• Half have some reporting and compliance measures in place
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USA is a model case• Section 508 is an amendment of the Rehabilitation Act to
enable US public servants with disabilities to use office equipment on an equitable basis to able-bodied peers
• Section 508 standards ie accessibility criteria for use by government agencies in their tender documents
• THIS IS MANDATORY• Buy Accessible Wizard • Together with anti-discrimination legislation, has had
positive impact on companies (eg Apple & Microsoft) when designing mainstream products that are more accessible
• Section 508 guidelines have been “refreshed”
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European Commission
• Mandate 376 for 3 European standards bodies to develop:• Accessibility guidelines in line with Section 508 in USA• Toolkit for suppliers
• European Accessibility legislation, if enacted, will make accessibility criteria in public procurement mandatory in European Union countries
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Conclusion
• Research indicates that mandatory inclusion of accessibility criteria has the most impact
• Action on accessibility criteria in public procurement in European countries and USA should influence ICT accessibility internationally
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Resources and further information
• Research report and advocacy toolkit: http://www.gsa.com.au/portfolio.html
• Further information:• Gunela Astbrink – g.astbrink@gsa.com.au• Will Tibben – wjt@uow.edu.au
This research was made possible through the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network’s Grants Scheme.
Research funding was also supported by the Faculty of Informatics, University of Wollongong
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