Overview of Public Procurement in Promoting ICT Accessibility

1. Overview of Public Procurement in Promoting ICT Accessibility Cynthia Waddell, Executive Director International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet

2. Session 11 Workshop Highlights • Introduction to Public Procurement of Accessible ICTs • Accessible ICT Mandates • Procurement Policies • Roadmap for Procurement Legislation • Accessible Procurement Toolkits • Resources

3. Introduction to Public Procurement of Accessible ICTs • Public Procurement is the process used by public agencies to acquire goods, services, works and other supplies • The procurement of accessible ICTs, as a social justice vehicle, is a modern development in government contract agreements

4. Introduction to Public Procurement of Accessible ICTs • Governments use public procurement policies to achieve socio-economic goals in at least five ways: • 1) To stimulate national economic activity • 2) To protect against foreign competition • 3) To improve competition in certain economic sectors

5. Introduction to Public Procurement of Accessible ICTs • Governments use public procurement policies to achieve socio-economic goals in at least five ways: (cont’d) • 4) To remedy regional disparities, and • 5) To achieve specific social policy goals

6. Introduction to Public Procurement of Accessible ICTs • Three pre-requisites for Accessible ICTs • Accessible Design- Accessibility has to be built into mainstream products and services, preferably at inception • Availability- Accessible products and services must be offered to users • Affordability- Price for access to products and services cannot be prohibitive

7. Four Steps in Procurement Process of Accessible ICTs • Step 1: Request for Tenders • Example of Tender Language for Accessible ICTs • Step 2: Assessment of Vendors & Tenders • Tools for Evaluating Vendors & their Accessibility Solution

8. Four Steps in Procurement Process of Accessible ICTs • Step 3: Product Development or Customization, Implementation and Evaluation • Example of User Testing Requirement • Step 4: Ongoing Maintenance & Product upgrades for Accessibility • Example of Contract Language

9. Accessible ICT Mandates • World Summit on Information Society • Geneva Plan of Action (2003) • Tunis Agenda (2005) • UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities • Definitions and Articles 4, 9, 31, 32, & 35 • National Laws & Policies

10. UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

11. National Procurement Policies • Even if a State does not have procurement legislation for accessible ICTs, there are at least 10 public policy mechanisms that can be utilized: • Examples from Request for Tenders Process and Conditions for Delivery • Industry Accessible ICT Design Standards

12. Procurement Legislation • Australia • Japan • United States • Hungary • Lithuania

13. Roadmap for Procurement Legislation • If you have no procurement policies or legislation, we will look at 15 steps in the Roadmap for Procurement Legislation • Steps can be adjusted due to the unique legal, governmental and institutional structures in your State

14. Best Practices-Accessible Procurement Toolkits • Canada • Ireland • United States

15. Best Practices- Accessible Procurement Toolkits Procurers of Accessible ICT Benefit from the Use of Procurement Toolkits • Toolkits help procurers to understand accessibility and write effective Requests for Tenders

16. Best Practices- Accessible Procurement Toolkits Procurers of Accessible ICT Benefit from the Use of Procurement Toolkits (cont’d) • Toolkits assist in meeting legislation and/or public policy requirements and • Toolkits help procurers to set accessibility requirements for products and services

17. Resources • Workshop Bibliography includes • ITU/G3ict Policy Maker Toolkit on eAccessibility & Service Needs for Persons with Disabilities • Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Convention Free online at www.un.org/disabilities

18. Contact Cynthia Waddell, Juris Doctor Executive Director and Law, Policy and Technology Subject Matter Expert, International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet Senior Consultant to ITU on Accessibility E-mail: Cynthia.Waddell@icdri.org 18