Asia-Pacific Regional Program on Mainstreaming ICT Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities August 2009 Bangkok, Thailand Overview of Public Procurement in Promoting ICT Accessibility Cynthia Waddell, Executive Director International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities

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

Procurement Legislation Australia Japan United States Hungary Lithuania

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

Best Practices-Accessible Procurement Toolkits Canada Ireland United States

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

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

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

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