Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations - February 2020 Update - Procurement
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Slide deck from webinar broadcast 27 February 2020 Part of our bi-monthly series of updates on how Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations are being implemented by universities and other HE (higher education) institutions. As well as providing regular updates to give the latest news and advice relating to the regulations, on this webinar Claire Gibbons from Leeds Trinity University shares her institution's approach to ensuring accessible procurement throughout its processes and projects.
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Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations - February 2020 Update - Procurement
- 1. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Procurement: checking external products are accessible Annie Mannion, AbilityNet (host) Claire Gibbons, Leeds Trinity University Abi James, AbilityNet Thursday 27 February 2020, 1pm (BST)
- 2. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Welcome • This webinar provides: • Live captions during the webinar – MyClearText • Slides, a transcript and recording will be made available • Please use the Q&A window to ask questions • Please use the chat window for general conversation • Feedback form to ask any follow up questions post-webinar
- 3. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 AbilityNet “AbilityNet supports people of any age, living with any disability or impairment to use technology to achieve their goals at home, at work and in education.”
- 4. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Overview • Focus on how you can ensure you procure accessible solutions for your needs from external suppliers. • Share Leeds Trinity University’s approach to ensuring accessible websites, documents and services • Provide information on the latest news, new resources and approaches to digital accessibility within the public sector • Question and answer session, particularly focused on procuring accessible products and services
- 5. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • @Mark Poll 1. What’s your main reason for attending today's webinar?
- 6. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Accessibility and Leeds Trinity University Website Redevelopment Programme (September 2018 to February 2020) Claire Gibbons, Project Manager
- 7. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Website Redevelopment Programme • Ambitious programme of work over 18 months • Tender and procurement of new web CMS • Tender and procurement of new web search solution • Recruitment of new Web Developer • Tender and procurement of Digital Design Agency • Co-creation of Digital Pattern Library • New website: go live was Thursday 20th February 2020 (20/02/2020!) • Development and publication of Website Service Manual • Launch of internal Web Community of Practice
- 8. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Embedding accessibility • Procurement • Web Content Management System (CMS) • Search solution • Design agency (Digital Pattern Library) • People • Recruitment of Web Developer • Project, Board Team and Champions • Processes • Website Service Manual • Training • Web Community of Practice People ProcessesProcurement
- 9. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • @Mark Poll 2. Do your existing procurement guidelines mention accessibility at all?
- 10. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Procurement (CMS) • Specific criteria; first section in requirements
- 11. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • Joint effort to make an accessible Digital Pattern Library • Not a rebrand – evolution not revolution! • Specific criteria • Demonstrate how you have used existing brand guidelines (e.g. for print/campaigns) and translated or evolved them into a usable and accessible colour palette suitable for a range of digital components and patterns for use across a range of digital channels. • Suppliers should give a detailed overview of how they would carry out ongoing testing, and what this would include – e.g. browser testing, device testing, accessibility, proof reading • Specific criteria • Demonstrate how accessibility (and in particular The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and ISO 30071-1) is embedded within your working practices, referencing any higher education sites for which this has been a priority • Demonstrate how existing content has been reviewed, and new content developed as part of similar projects, in terms of resourcing, the overall process, governance, accessibility and with consideration to SEO Procurement (Design Agency)
- 12. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 People (Recruitment of new Web Developer) • Specific criteria • Develop and deploy bespoke code e.g. HTML/HTML5, CSS/SASS, PHP, JQuery, JSON, JavaScript, for the creation and management of reliable, high-performing, SEO-optimised, user-oriented, secure, accessible, website designs, functionality and features. • Interview question • “Can you tell us what you understand by the term User Interface and give some examples of how you have designed accessible and usable User Interfaces for websites or apps”
- 13. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 People (Project Board, Team and Champions) • Open sessions for all staff and students • Monthly Project Board meetings • Monthly Project Team meetings – themed • Action-learning approach • Introduction to Digital Accessibility • Introduction to Web Accessibility video from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative • Bit of an eye-opener to some! • Project Team and Champions newsletter
- 14. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • Website Service Manual • Website principles • 1. Understand users and their needs • 2. Accessible to all • Policies, procedures, guidelines, standards • Training • Writing for the web • CMS End-User • Web Community of Practice • Peer learning and review • Best-practice from the central team • Knowledge-sharing Processes
- 15. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • Embed accessibility from the start and in everything • Can’t be an ‘add-on’ • It’s not a project – ongoing business as usual • Communications and engagement – top down, and bottom up • Learn and share with others inside and outside your organisation • HE-Digital Slack workspace • Mailing lists • Events, webinars etc Key themes
- 16. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Get in touch • Claire Gibbons: c.gibbons@leedstrinity.ac.uk • Twitter: @PlanetClaire • HE Digital Slack community: https://slackpass.io/he-digital
- 17. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Suppliers & Public sector: balancing responsibilities Abi James, Principal Accessibility and Usability consultant
- 18. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Who’s responsible? Public sector: “You’re legally responsible for your website meeting accessibility requirements, even if you’ve outsourced your website to a supplier.” Gov.uk Supplier: “must meet WCAG 2.1 level AA”
- 19. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • @Mark Poll 3. Does your procurement or sales team have any accessibility expertise?
- 20. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • e.g. e-book or booking platform Off-shelf tool, no customisation • e.g. VLE or CMS platform Tool that allows customisation • e.g. agency developing new websiteBespoke tool Third party solutions: who is responsible for accessibility?
- 21. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • Supplier Off-shelf tool, no customisation • Supplier & customer Tool that allows customisation • Supplier & customerBespoke tool Third party solutions: who influences accessibility?
- 22. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Using third party content/ systems increases accessibility risk • EDUCAUSE identified 18 digital accessibility risk statements for universities where legal action has been taken in the US Risk Statement: Failure to ensure IT obtained, provided or developed by third parties is accessible. Risk Statement: Failure to implement a procedure, which ensures procured EIT is accessible, such as including accessibility requirements in RFPs and contractual language.
- 23. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Accessibility is addressed at different stages of a project Design • Colours & focus indicator • Icons & layout • Templates Development • Forms • Keyboard access • Responsive design Content • Images • Multimedia • Language
- 24. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Accessibility by project lead Design Development Content Purchase new CMS platform Buy in e- book content Create new CRS templates
- 25. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Example: tool where some options create inaccessible activities “Yes. You can create courses that support WCAG.” 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) Partially Supports Use only keyboard-accessible features in your course. Most features are keyboard-accessible, except: • Drag-and-drop interactions • Videos in interactive exercises Provide keyboard-accessible alternatives if you use the features listed above. Drag and drop the polygons
- 26. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Example: design requirements specify background hero video “Yes. We can develop sites that support WCAG.” A Background video is a great way to grab attention, giving audio-less continuous motion to the background of a particular section of content. Background videos cause accessibility issues: • Text overlays can be difficult to read – need good contrast • Excessive movement can cause problems – need a pause buttonCustomising the video component to add a pause button will cost more.
- 27. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 IAAP Vendor Responsibilities (based on State of Minnesota requirements) • Know exactly how your products and services support – and don’t support – accessibility. Develop and share your accessibility roadmap. • Be honest – we will score those who identify flaws & plans for improvement above those who claim conformance with no evidence. • Create a policy – show your staff & your customers that you care about accessibility • Develop processes and procedures to support that policy. • Hire people with disabilities – a diverse workforce will improve offering
- 28. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 How can suppliers demonstrate accessibility compliance? • Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) - EU version • High level summary of accessibility compliance • Accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Website Accessibility Regulations • Need to be clear on how customisation will impact accessibility • External audit on tool or example content • Accessibility policies and roadmap
- 29. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Advice to suppliers • Understand digital accessibility regulations and accessibility statement requirements • Ensure that clients communicate accessibility requirements and priorities clearly. E.g. • Who is liable if the client wants to include inaccessible requirements? • Who is responsible for testing (and additional costs)? • Communicate your skills & expertise by measuring your accessibility maturity.
- 30. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 Advice to purchasers • Consider including the EN 301 549 functional statements in any RFP or Tender as well as technical compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA • Make sure staff making purchasing decisions understand basic accessibility requirements & are able to access expert advice • Ensure all key functionality is evaluated • Establish a robust scoring process for measuring accessibility risk during procurement. 30
- 31. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • @Mark Q&A Please use the Q&A window (not the chat window) You’ll be directed to a feedback form at the end of the broadcast Slides, transcripts and a recording of this webinar will be made available
- 32. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 AbilityNet Services • Advice: factsheets, blogs, Helpline – 0800 269 545 • Workplace Assessments, Accessibility Testing • NEW! Document remediation service: we check existing documents and make adjustments to meet accessibility standards. (Includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe PDF, ePub, DAISY, photo and video media.) abilitynet.org.uk/products-and-services
- 33. Procurement: checking external products are accessible, 27 February 2020 • @Mark • AbilityNet enewsletter: abilitynet.org.uk/newsletter • Accessibility training: Embed accessibility and upskill your team with training delivered by our experts. Online, group and face-to-face options available: abilitynet.org.uk/Training – Discount code: Procurement10 • Next webinar: Technology Help for Stroke Survivors and their Carers Tuesday 31 March, 11am abilitynet.org.uk/webinars Thank you
Editor's Notes
- Summarise the webinar in one sentence and then detail any housekeeping for the webinar and accessibility details – see some examples below
- We do this by providing specialist advice services, free information resources and by helping to build a more accessible digital world
- Hi Everyone. I’m Claire Gibbons and I have been working with Leeds Trinity University for the last 18 months on a website redevelopment programme of work. I’ve got around 20 minutes to walk you through the different strands of the project and how we embedded accessibility in each strand, starting with the procurement of two separate systems. There has been a lot of learning along the way, and I, like many web and digital teams in Higher Education are still learning, but hopefully our experience will show you how you can procure accessible systems with a good plan and a considered approach to accessibility from the outset.
- So the work to be done was originally classes as a website redevelopment project but it was so much more than that so I used the term Programme of work throughout the communications to staff, students and external stakeholders. The old website was developed in SharePoint and so part of the work was to procure a new publishing platform and evolve the publishing processes across the University, as well as update the search solution to one that actually worked! So we had tender and procurement processes, which some of you will know are time consuming and somewhat gruelling, and I’ll talk about more those in a minute. We also needed to evolve the skillset of the central digital team through the recruitment of a new Web Developer. From the start we wanted to co-create a Digital Pattern Library with an external agency and so there was another tender and procurement process there, as well as months of working together to design and built the different building blocks of the new website. And then we are ensuring that the quality of the new site remains, and further improves through the development and publication of an online service manual and Web Community of Practice for those colleagues across the University who are involved with creating and publishing content for the new website. So there was a lot to be done, starting off with the procurement process which we kicked-off back in November 2018.
- Going back to the full programme of work I have themed the activities together as Procurement, People and Processes. I’m a big believer in sound digital governance and processes and that’s a whole other webinar in itself, but I wanted to make sure that things were done well, and to a high standard and that accessibility was embedded at every stage. As you can see its almost an equal weighting in terms of the activities and the themes which feels like a well-balanced programme of work.
- So, as I mentioned we started off with the Invitation To Tender for a web content management system. This is a process I had been through before at a previous institution and so understood how important it was to get the criteria right from the very start. Tip number one is to not underestimate how long this will take. If you get it wrong at the requirements stage you will not end up with a system that is fit for purpose, within your budget and accessible. We looked at other recent higher education tenders and spoke to other universities who gad gone through a similar process. Whilst teams, skills, budgets and objectives may differ there is always something to learn from others so thank you to Dundee, Worcerster, York St John, the University of the Highlands and Islands and anyone else we spoke to during that time! Our requirements document had around 155 different requirements grouped together into 21 categories, and accessibility was first in the list. We had four specific criteria that needed to be addressed and we felt that this was really setting out stall both in terms of requiring a system that was accessible for all to use, as well as generating accessible content to be published. The criteria and weighting really helped us separate out tenders as they came in and were scored and we really feel we’ve procured the best system for Leeds Trinity. A similar exercise was undertaken for our search solution so I won’t go into any further detail on that one.
- Later on in the programme of work it was time to get a digital design agency on board who we could work with to evolve the existing online look and feel based on the user research we had done earlier in the process. Again, a lot of time was spent figuring out what we really needed an external agency to work with us on and how we wanted them to work with us throughout the process. We did a pre-tender exercise where we invited a lot of agencies to chat to us in more detail about their work in this area and this was incredibly time consuming but also incredibly beneficial in that we learnt a lot from them, it helped us define our criteria in more detail, and it also helped us to get a feel for the sorts of agencies that are out there and the work that they have done. Throughout the pre-tender exercise we engaged with 39 agencies altogether either by email, phone or face to face. When the formal tender was announced we received 11 formal tenders and invited 6 to present on campus. Again, the work we put in at the start, chatting to agencies, understanding the market, developing strict and specific criteria was worth it to get down to a smaller number of presentation and on-campus visits where we could really find the best-fit agency for us. As you can see from the slide, there were four criteria which mentioned accessibility and tis was out of a set of 12, so 30%, again showing the importance of accessibility and the need to get it right from the outset.
- Following on from procurement we needed a new person in the shape of a new Web Developer. As anyone who has ever recruited a new member of staff knows, the recruitment process starts with the job description and person spec and getting this right is, again, time consuming but incredibly important. Whilst technical skills and experience are fundamental to this type of role so is aptitude and attitude and a sound understanding of user needs and the requirements to make our online services accessible to all. It comes as no surprise to find out that specific criteria was included in the person specification and a question around accessibility was asked at interview. This was key in helping us separate out those who had heard of accessibility and could quite the latest legislation and those who lived and breathed it and baked it into their work from the start.
- Whilst not strictly to do with procurement, our project people have been key in terms of engaging with as many internal stakeholders as possible but also spreading the word about accessibility more widely across the university, especially to those who hadn’t really had to think about it before. From the start, the Project Board were engaged with all of the different procurement and recruitment processes and therefore aware of the importance of accessibility at every stage of the programme of work. I ran open sessions for staff and students at key points throughout the 18 months, again reinforcing the principle of accessibility as part of these. I ran monthly Project Team meetings and these were made up of key reps from across the University whose input we would need further down the line and as part of ongoing business as usual later. Each Project Team meeting was themed, and about halfway through I ran one which I called an Introduction to Digital Accessibility. The idea was to show colleagues how differently people can use websites and the importance of designing for all from the start. I showed a Web Accessibility Intro video from the Web Accessibility Initiative and demonstrated some simulators and for most staff this was the first time they had ever seen anyone use a website in a different way to them – so it was quite an easy and quick way to get a powerful message across.
- I mentioned earlier about my love of all things governance so we have developed, and are developing, processes, standards, guidelines and training as we go as well as starting up a Web Community of Practice to embed digital governance across everyone and everything associated with creating content or publishing to the new website. WE have a set of website principles which embed usability and accessibility in everything that we do and an evolving suite of training courses which will enable our new CMS users to create and write accessible and appropriate content for all.
- So here’s a few key takeaways to sum up. Accessibility can’t be an add on – it needs to be embedded from the start and that includes working with your procurement teams to develop the best criteria you can for any procurement process. Its time-consuming but worth it. Work with your colleagues to embed the idea of accessibility where you can. We’re very much on the start of the accessibility journey institutionally but we are learning together and supporting each other as we go. And, as we are doing today, learn from others outside of your organisation. The HE-Digital Slack workspace is an online community for web and digital teams in Higher Education and we have a lively accessibility channel – there’s info on the next slide how to sign up for that. JISC has various email lists which you can sign up for, again we share those in the follow-up email, and look out for events, webinars and so on and share these with others.
- And that’s it. Feel free to get in touch if you would like to know any more about what we have done at Leeds Trinity. Thanks!
- Accessibility is addressed at different stages of a project Design colours & focus indicator Icons & layout Templates Development Forms Keyboard access Responsive design Content Images Multimedia Language
- Accessibility is addressed at different stages of a project Purchase new platform – Across all stages Buy in content – back through the stages Create new VLE template – Beginning with Design phase
- Vendor provides accessibility information that states that their system is accessible with the default settings On further investigation, it was found that some functionality can not be used if all content is to remain accessible As functional and accessible requirements were not cross-referenced during procurement, this risk was not identified and scored within the procurement process
- The resources we have available