Making connections: Age UK partnership helps digitally excluded

AbilityNet volunteer Mick has unlocked the potential of a tablet for a military veteran with dyslexia through a local partnership with Age UK, Wiltshire. 

Peter, 67, from Trowbridge, found his dyslexia made it hard to use his tablet. He didn’t know how the apps worked, and he struggled with what to do next. 

During the pandemic, Wiltshire Age UK launched Click & Connect following a survey that revealed a high demand for technical support from older local people. 

AbilityNet is working in partnership with Click & Connect. 

Connecting to the digital worldAn old man sitting and holding a tablet in his hands. Smiling at the camera.

Peter, who was in the Wiltshire Regiment, wanted to use his tablet to shop on eBay and was also keen to relocate to Chippenham to be closer to his family. 

Age UK Click & Connect put him in touch with AbilityNet volunteer Mick. Mick took the tablet away and returned it with a book of understandable instructions. 

Peter’s now doing things he previously found impossible. He’s ordering from eBay and has the tablet now has a speaking app that helps him achieve his goals. Age UK Wiltshire is working with Peter to help him find a suitable property in Chippenham, and with his new skills, he has been able to register on HomeSwapper.

Peter says, “The help has been incredible. I am learning gradually and know that I can always ask for help when I need it. I am very happy!”

FREE support from a volunteer or call our helpline on 0300 180 0028

 

Please note: calls to our helpline number cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number and count towards any inclusive minutes in the same way as 01 and 02 calls, and AbilityNet does not receive any money from these calls

Related information

•    Read our factsheet on dyslexia and technology 
•    Top tips for dyslexia and technology 
•    Note-taking hacks for students with dyslexia
•    Read how we supported people with learning difficulties or differences during Covid-19 
 

How AbilityNet can help

•    Call the AbilityNet helpline on 0300 180 0028
•    Help for you, or a friend or relative
•    Download FREE factsheets 
•    Information on FREE webinars and to watch recordings
•    My Computer My Way: make your computer, phone or tablet easier to use

AbilityNet’s Head of Digital Inclusion receives honorary doctorate from the University of Suffolk

On Friday 22nd of October 2021, AbilityNet’s Head of Digital Inclusion, Robin Christopherson MBE, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Computer Science department of the University of Suffolk. The award was given in recognition of his work in the field of assistive technology and digital accessibility over the past 25 years.

Image of Robin Christopherson in red regalia
Presented by Chancellor of the University, Dr Helen Pankhurst, Robin said “I feel hugely honoured and unworthy - all I have done is ‘played’ with technology for 25 years, admittedly in an area which is incredibly empowering for people with disabilities. Technology is so amazing in levelling the playing field and enabling people to reach their full potential.”

Chancellor of the University, Dr Helen Pankhurst awarding Robin Christopherson at the ceremony. Beside Robin stands his guide dog, Hugo.
With his guide dog Hugo also in suitable regalia, Robin received his honorary doctorate in front of students graduating in courses such as Computer Games Design, Mobile and Web Engineering and Network Engineering.

Robin had this message for the students: “The key message I would like them to take away is that inclusive design makes better products for everybody. If you can make them in such a way that they are useable for people with more extreme needs, then they are going to be extremely usable for every user. Accessibility just makes for better products - and who doesn’t want to make the best products possible?”

Robin's dog Hugo in red regalia and graduation cap
More about Robin Christopherson MBE

After studying engineering at Cambridge University, Robin Christopherson worked as an IT instructor for the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) before becoming a founding member of UK tech charity, AbilityNet. The charity specialises in advising individuals on technology to help them at home, in education and in the workplace, and helping companies design attractive websites, software and apps that are easy to use by all.

Robin has been a leading expert on accessibility and digital inclusion for over two decades and a regular speaker raising awareness of the power and potential of technology to transform people's lives.
Being blind himself, Robin is passionate about all areas of technology and his work was recognised with the award of an MBE in the 2017 Queen's New Year’s Honours list for services to digital inclusion.

Robin is also a member of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Disability (APPGD) and Assistive Technology (APPGAT) and was included in the 'Power 100' list of the UK’s most influential people with disabilities last year, as well as the UN's ‘World's top 100 most influential people in digital government’ list the year before - voted by more than 500 organisations including governments and global NGOs.

Further resources

How AbilityNet can help

AbilityNet provides a range of free services to help disabled people and older people.

  • Call our free Helpline. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will discuss any kind of computer problem and do their best to come up with a solution. We're open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm on 0800 048 7642
  • We have a range of factsheets that talk in detail about technology that might help you, which you can download for free. You may find our factsheets about voice recognition and keyboard alternatives useful.
  • My Computer My Way. A free interactive guide to all the accessibility features built into current desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

AbilityNet accessibility services

Support AbilityNet

If you're able to help us help others please donate to AbilityNet

TechShare Pro is back for 2021

AbilityNet TechShare Pro is Europe’s biggest event for accessibility and inclusive design and is back for a fifth year - taking place online on 16, 17 and 18 November 2021. It brings together digital accessibility and inclusion specialists from Europe and beyond, with three days of inspirational talks and insights from global industry leaders, covering themes such as business advantage, policy, culture change and leadership.

AbilityNet TechShare Pro 2021 including illustration of cloud and computers

Mark Walker, Head of Marketing at AbilityNet, is delighted to announce this year’s event: “TechShare Pro 2020 attracted over 900 delegates from over 300 organisations, and this year we’re expecting the conference to be even bigger. Our vision is that we want to build ‘a digital world accessible to all’ so TechShare Pro is our way to bring people together to connect, learn, and broaden their experience in the digital accessibility arena.” 

Blog: Closing the digital divide: TechShare Pro 2020

Who will be speaking at TechShare Pro 2021?

The programme includes a range of sessions, including keynotes and panel sessions with key industry players, roundtable conversations and interactive sessions, and a chance to connect sponsors and partners such as Microsoft, Barclays, Facebook, Google, Intuit, Sony, Valuable 500, Business Disability Forum and many more. 

Topics covered including the business advantage of accessibility and inclusion, legislation and accessibility, inclusive workplaces, how to meet European and UK public sector accessibility regulations, accessibility leadership and changing culture, hands on accessibility skills and much more - there’s something for everyone from every industry. There will also be lots of opportunities for networking with the accessibility and inclusion tech community from around the world. 

Blog: 14 tips to build an accessibility champions' network

Hector Minto is ‎Global Lead Accessibility Evangelism at Microsoft who are the Gold Sponsors for this year’s event.  

“We’re delighted to be involved in this years’ TechShare Pro as lead sponsors,” he said. ”This event is a great way to highlight the need for further digital inclusion and accessibility awareness across all industries. Microsoft prides itself on digital accessibility and we’re excited to share insights and support delegates on their digital accessibility journey.” 

Blog: How Microsoft is putting accessibility first

AbilityNet is also working with IT Pro as this year's media partner. Maggie Holland is global editorial director and head of content at IT Pro which is a comprehensive news & reviews hub for IT professionals. 

“IT Pro is thrilled to be joining forces with AbilityNet as the media partner for TechShare Pro.’ She said. “IT Pro provides real-world insight and advice to guide business and technology decision-makers, and that includes raising awareness and discussing key accessibility topics, so it completely aligns with our expertise and values.” 

Get your tickets

New TechShare Pro 365

Accessibility is a year-round topic so we have also created TechShare Pro 365 – a series of articles, interviews and a regular newsletter with accessibility and inclusion content and learning resources.

Find out more about TechShare Pro 365.

Previous TechShare Pro highlights

Further resources

Facts and stats about digital exclusion: Get Online Week

Although we focus on digital inclusion all year round, Get Online Week has a special place in AbilityNet’s heart, as it is dedicated to spreading the word about making technology accessible to everyone.

Get Online Week is a digital inclusion campaign organised by Good Things Foundation. This year it runs from October 18th to 24th 2021. 

To celebrate Get Online Week, we’re spotlighting fast facts about digital exclusion and exploring how AbilityNet is helping to create a digital world accessible to all.

Fact 1: 75-year-olds and over are using the internet more 

AbilityNet offers FREE supports to older and disabled people, and we’ve seen more of them getting online during Covid-19. Internet usage among those 75 years old and over has increased to 47%, according to the Office for National Statistice (ONS). 

Earlier this year, AbilityNet volunteers helped over 55s get online by supporting a tablet roll-out into communities through Aspire Creating Communities in West Yorkshire. 

Fact 1: 75+ year olds are using the internet more "Almost half the UK population of people at 75 and over (47%) are recent internet users." - ONS figures Read our blog: abilitynet.org.uk/fact1

Fact 2: More than 300,000 patients use digital forms of therapy

Raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilising efforts in support of mental health has never been more important. 

At the end of 2019, the NHS announced that more than 300,000 patients in the UK now use digital forms of therapy.

AbilityNet has been playing its part and has worked in partnership with the NHS and others to tackle digital exclusion and support people's mental health needs.

Fact 2:  300,000+ patients use digital therapy "Over 300,000 patients in the UK now use digital forms of therapy." - National Health Service Read our blog: abilitynet.org.uk/fact2

Call our FREE Helpline on 0800 048 7642 during office hours.

Fact 3: The majority of financially vulnerable people rely on broadband connectivity to manage household finances

BT research showed that the majority (79%) of financially vulnerable people rely on broadband connectivity to manage household finances.  BT is offering at cost broadband for people on Universal Credit.

Meanwhile, AbilityNet has provided free support to many schemes pushing free laptops out into the community

Fact 3:  Reliance on broadband connectivity to manage household finances "The majority (79%) of financially vulnerable people rely on broadband connectivity to manage household finances." -  BT Internet Read our blog: abilitynet.org.uk/fact3

Help us help more communities. Find out more about Corporate Social Responsibility

Fact 4: Globally, more than 1 billion people need one or more assistive products

According to the World Health Organisation, globally, more than 1 billion people need one or more assistive technologies.

Our 300+ volunteers help people make adjustments to people’s technology so that it is easier to use. Our support includes helping those who have a learning disability or difficulty. 

Fact 4:  1 billion+ people need 1 + assistive products "Globally, more than 1 billion people need 1 or more assistive technologies." -  World Health Organisation Read how we can help: abilitynet.org.uk/fact4

Fact 5: Organisations that embrace technology inclusion have higher reports of employee retention

Technology is an integral part of our lives, in particular it plays an important role in all kinds of workplaces. 

Deloitte Insights showed that organisations that lead in diversity and inclusion also report higher rates of employee retention.

Find out more about our workplace services.

Fact 5:  Inclusion = better employee retention "Organisations who lead in diversity and inclusion also report higher rates of employee retention." -  Deloitte Insights Read how we can help: abilitynet.org.uk/fact5

How AbilityNet can help

AbilityNet provides a range of free services to help disabled people and older people.

  • Call our free Helpline. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will discuss any kind of computer problem and do their best to come up with a solution. We're open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm on 0800 048 7642
  • We have a range of factsheets that talk in detail about technology that might help you, which you can download for free. You may find our factsheets about voice recognition and keyboard alternatives useful.
  • My Computer My Way. A free interactive guide to all the accessibility features built into current desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

AbilityNet accessibility services

Support AbilityNet

If you're able to help us help others please donate to AbilityNet

Free webinar: Accessibility Insights with disability rights campaigner and CEO

Jonathan Mosen (pictured below, right, alongside Robin Christopherson, left) is a veteran disability rights campaigner and CEO of Workbridge, New Zealand's largest disability employment agency.

Robin christopherson and Jonathan Mosen

Jonathan also has lived experience of disability, being totally blind and hard of hearing. He hosts the 

weekly Mosen At Large podcast, which brings a global community together for a live radio show and podcast discussing tech, living with blindness and more.

In this latest webinar in AbilityNet's Accessibility Insights monthly series, join AbilityNet's Head of Digital Inclusion, Robin Christopherson as he chats to Jonathan on Tuesday 12 October at 1pm BST.

Jonathan and Robin will discuss a range of topics including:

  • Disabled people in education and the workplace
  • Changes to disability rights and cutting edge technology
  • The role assistive technology plays in the world today
  • Leadership, values and the needs of a diverse workforce

 

Register for the webinar 

 

(If you find that you can’t attend, please don’t worry. All of our webinars are recorded and you can find them on our website. We encourage you to register for the webinar even if you're unable to attend live, as both attendees and absentees will receive automated emails linking to the recording and supporting materials.)

More about Jonathan

A Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) and winner of the Impact Award for his contribution to the disability community, Jonathan’s advocacy has led to significant legislative change in New Zealand, including the passage of New Zealand’s world-leading copyright legislation which ultimately led to the Marrakesh Treaty. Additionally, Jonathan has held senior leadership positions at global assistive technology companies HumanWare, Freedom Scientific and AIRA.

Further resources

Supporting people with learning differences and disabilities during Covid-19: Digital Lifeline Impact Report

Being part of emergency response for people with learning disabilities during Covid-19 has been a learning experience for participants and us.

AbilityNet was proud to be a part of the emergency response Digital Lifeline set up to provide devices, data and digital skills to digitally excluded people with learning disabilities.

Find out more in our impact report

We’ve released an impact report detailing our progress to date

The government’s Department set up the initiative for Culture Media and Sport in response to Covid-19.

Good Things Foundation delivered the scheme in partnership with AbilityNet and Digital Unite.

The project is also supported by Learning Disability England, the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, self-advocates and other disability and digital inclusion organisations. 

    Making a difference to people and community partners

    AbilityNet was proud to deliver the specialist support element of the emergency response.

    Specifically, we’ve supported individuals and community partners that applied for tablets on behalf of those with learning disabilities.

    To date, we’ve supported 971 beneficiaries who received a tablet and 121 Community Partners by providing assessments, recommendations, training, and support with the free tablets they received.

    What have we learned from Digital Lifeline?

    It’s been a rewarding and informative experience for everyone involved at AbilityNet.

    We’ve seen a real impact on beneficiaries. Some of the headlines are that 92% are better able to use technology, 92% feel more confident, and 76% feel more connected to family and friends.

    That last statistic is heart-warming as we know people with disabilities – particularly with learning disabilities – were disproportionately affected by Covid-19.

    Some of the support we provided included adding Action Blocks – an Android app that creates specific shortcuts – to the home screen of the FREE tablets.

    These can make it easier to access, for example, videoconferencing.

    We also found the addition of a keyboard and a more robust case built confidence.


    Learning from partners involved in Digital Lifeline

    Equally, we’ve supported community partners who applied to get FREE tablets for people they’re helping who have learning disabilities.

    Of the 121 we’ve supported:

    • 100% better able to support learners
    • 92% knowledgeable and confident about tech
    • 95% able to work in a more disability-inclusive way
    • 100% better able to engage with learners

    It’s been fantastic to work alongside the charity partners, too.

    Keeping learning with Digital Lifeline

    While we’re delighted with our impact to date, we’ve also learned about some key areas where people with Learning Disabilities need ongoing support.

    Notably, there was low take-up around managing finances.

    This was an emergency response, and future similar initiatives would benefit from a longer time frame. There’s also a need for more learning and support.

    We’ll continue to support people with learning disabilities and community partners.

    How AbilityNet can Help

    How AbilityNet has already supported individuals during the pandemic

    Free webinar: Top tips for dyslexia and technology

    What website edits or technology can help dyslexic people online?

    To help mark Dyslexia Week (4 - 10 October 2021) AbilityNet's Head of Accessibility, Dafydd Henke-Reed, will share his valuable expert advice in our free webinar on Tuesday 5 October: Top tips for dyslexia and technology.

    Dafydd Henke-Reed

    Dafydd (pictured, above) will champion the ways technology has helped with his dyslexia. He will examine the digital barriers to avoid, and explain good practice for enabling dyslexic users online.

    Join us on Tuesday 5 October at 1pm BST to learn from Dafydd about a range of topics including:

    • Challenges with communication including written text and verbal communication
    • Tech and tools available to help with dyslexia, including emojis, voice chat, and multimedia messaging
    • Speech to text software: Dragon Naturally Speaking, Siri / Alexa, Office Dictate, Mac OS / iOS Dictation
    • Text to speech software: Read&Write, ClaroRead, Office Speak, Mac OS / iOS Speech

    Woman looking at laptop

    Who will benefit from this webinar?

    If you're dyslexic and are looking for advice about how technology can help you, learn from Dafydd about how technology has revolutionised his experience of dyslexia. 

    For digital professionals, the free session will share what you can do to make your websites more accessible for people with dyslexia and other cognitive issues.

     

    Register for the webinar 

     

    Further resources

    AbilityNet Digital Lifeline Impact Report 2021

    Guest blog: How National Trust embraces inclusion

    Guest blogger:

    Heather Smith is Equality Specialist at National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and also is the UK Government Disability and Access Ambassador for Countryside and Heritage

    Heather also spoke on our free webinar on Tuesday 28 September: How to create an inclusive workplace, with National Trust, Vercida and AbilityNet.

    Heather Smith, smiling

    Working for the National Trust comes in various shapes and sizes, from office-based work, conservation roles, care and management of accommodation, visitor welcome, working with landscape and livestock, and so much more. That variety can come through paid employment or volunteering.

    This multitude of opportunity to be part of the National Trust is one of the main attractions of the organisation but only if the tools and support are in place to enable people to have a great experience. This is particularly important for disabled people. 

    Listening to the opinions and perspectives of their workforce (a term used here to cover both staff and volunteers) should be at the forefront of any organisation’s decision-making to create any change required to provide those tools and support, and to make sure the change is sustainable. 

    Everyone Welcome inclusion initiative

    Just before the pandemic, at National Trust we began our ‘Everyone Welcome’ commitment to long-term organisation-wide change to become more inclusive and welcoming for all.

    This covers how we work, our culture, values, and behaviours, making our places more accessible and welcoming, and becoming more relevant and appealing to more people. Welcome and relevance are particularly important for us to attract and retain disabled people. 

    During the pandemic, with 80% of our staff on furlough and no volunteers at our properties, many people had to cover new and different responsibilities. Even closed properties need caring for and all our business systems needed to remain operable.

    People who remained in work were often away from their usual environment and also had challenges to face as we, like many other organisations, pivoted towards technology as our work delivery and ‘keeping in touch’ solution. The accessibility of this technology was not always easy and finding an appropriate work area away from a usual base was not always straightforward. 

    As we move through the pandemic period, many of us are coming back to a very different way of undertaking our work, still partly working from home, for example, or not returning to the same work base as we were before. Personal circumstances might have changed too, leading to challenges regarding how we feel about returning to our usual working pattern, the support we might need, and around mental health.

    National Trust logo with oak leaf emblem

    This has been a time of reflection for many and disabled people have told us clearly about the challenges they have had during this time and before. Our ‘Everyone Welcome’ commitment remains, but we are having to think of different ways to deliver it, given the changes in staff levels, financial situation, and opportunities for change in the immediate term. The key thing that remains is listening, and, crucially, acting on what is said. 

    WorkAbility disability network

    We continued with plans to set up a disability network, ‘WorkAbility’. We launched this in June 2020 because we were hearing that disabled people wanted to come together to take this time to challenge the organisation to ’recover’ better, to explain how difficult things had been before the pandemic and how challenging things are now.

    As a consequence, we already have a much more effective reasonable adjustments process, a developing programme of training, and, crucially, direct dialogue with our Executive Team.

    The importance of conversation, transparency, and learning about how we need to change from our own people has been transformational for us in terms of the changes made in the last year and the list of things we still have to do! 

    Do you need help to ensure disabled people thrive in the workplace? AbilityNet can support you in building a workplace that is inclusive by design and uses technology to enable all employees to perform at their best.


    Get advice from AbilityNet
     


    Further resources

    AbilityNet provides a range of free services to help disabled people and older people. If you can afford it, please donate to help us support older and disabled people through technology

    14 tips to build an accessibility champions' network

    An accessibility champions’ network is a great way to engender cultural change across an organisation. Here are some top tips from technology insiders on creating, managing, and motivating a team of like-minded people. Here are 14 top tips for creating, maintaining and motivating your accessibility champions’ network.

    These tips are based on in-depth interviews with senior leaders from the BBC, Google, Intuit, Microsoft and Ubisoft. 

    1. What is the best model for a champions’ network

    Core to all champions’ networks is the desire to create a community or network of like-minded champions. But variety is the spice of life, and different companies deploy a range of models.

    For example, Ubisoft describes its model as ‘informal’. A core team of 4 trained champions spreads best practices through the organisation using internal sharing platforms.

    Accessibility guidelines are part of the corporation’s policy at the BBC, but the network spreads awareness of these within their teams. Likewise, Google’s network has a formal structure based around a belt system borrowed from Jujitsu.

    2. Celebrate the successes of your accessibility champions…

    Sharing success is a great motivator. The BBC’s Charlie Turrell, for example, speaks as to how sharing success breeds new ideas, techniques, practices, and specific features. A key sign of success when looking at champions is that it spreads and becomes embedded into all corners of your organisation.

    3. ...and talk openly about your failures and what you have learned

    It’s true we learn from our mistakes. A good network is open to discussing those failures. As the BBC’s Charlie Turrell said: “Nobody says, well, this is a failure…we don’t want to talk about it. They’re more, ‘let’s have a discussion and see if it helps somebody else down the line’.”

    4. Secure buy-in from senior leadership

    It is important senior leaders understand why you’re doing things, including building a champions’ network. Champions need to understand the big picture to make the case to prioritise accessibility in the context of the broader picture – or to prioritise a specific feature within a product or service.

    Hector Minto argues that executive sponsorship is the key to a network’s success.

    “Don’t go into any champions programme without securing meaningful executive sponsorship,” he says. “A senior leader who says ‘Yeah, I will open doors for you through the organisation, I will support this, and I will stand up and talk about the progress we’re making and report on it.” “Any leaders reading this, put your hands up and offer to support your digital inclusion agenda,” Minto adds.

    “And to any champions groups out there reading, go and get your executive sponsor.”

    5. Keep champions motivated, and reward their work

    Keeping champions engaged is essential. Google’ ‘dojo’ system, drawing inspiration from the belts of Jujitsu.

    It means champions can see the progression. Similarly, champions at Microsoft can earn certifications and a badge which the company encourages people to share on their LinkedIn profiles.

    6. Keep people engaged through storytelling

    Good engagement means having a feedback loop. Microsoft’s accessibility evangelist, Hector Minto, says storytelling helps maintain the momentum of a champions’ network.

    7. Tailor your network for individual’s needs

    Variety is the spice of life and is vital to engage all your champions. It would help if you embraced different learning styles, whether digital channels such as slack for online meetups or small internal meetups for people who prefer those.

    8. Try not to do too much all at once

    In the early stages of setting up your network, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. The BBC’s Charlie Turrell says, “You can feel that there’s so much you don’t understand.” She suggests stopping and taking things one step at a time, picking a single topic, then learning all about it. “Don’t get too het up about the things that you don’t know,” she adds. ‘It’s OK not to know things and to ask questions.”

    Equally, don’t push your champions too hard. “Watch out for burnout in the network’ says Turrell, “pushing too much info too fast.” But she also feels discussions are always worth having. “You’ll still know something that you didn’t know before. There will always be people in the community who have a different experience.”


    Google’s Christopher Patnoe agrees pacing is essential.

    “You’ll have a lot of people excited for about a month,” he says, “and about month two or month three is when the work starts to happen; when you need to be thoughtful about how you keep people engaged.”

    “Once you find the cadence that extends for your organisation, then it’s going to get much easier’ he adds. ‘Get ready for it to be hard, but it won’t always stay that hard.’

    9. Incentivise your champions, and make it fun

    Google’s Christopher Patnoe recommends finding a budget for accessibility-related ‘swag’. “I find swag a huge boost to this kind of champions work,” he says. “If I have stickers on my laptop or I wear the Google accessibility T-shirt, they’re conversation starters.” Make accessibility and the network visible in this way, and it adds to the network’s momentum. Other employees will see it and start to take it in.

    10. Provide a training programme for accessibility champions

    The opportunity for growth is a motivating factor in any role and so offering training for champions' is a great idea. For Ted Drake, global accessibility leader for Intuit, training is a key component of delivering an accessibility champions' network.

    “Even if all I did was take the level 1 accessibility training and become a level 1 champion, I get inserted into a Slack channel and, every Monday, there’s a video. Every Wednesday there’s something. So, there’s continual education going on – passive education you could say. But that passive education becomes active at some point,” he said.

    11. Make accessibility fun, as well as functional

    Patnoe also suggests positioning accessibility less like a duty and more in terms of a “fun problem you can tackle in different ways.”

    Companies that build products to meet accessibility requirements turn it into a task. ‘When you can turn it into something interesting, that is fun, that is rewarded, it’s no longer a tax.’

    12. Be serious about accessibility champions

    Invest time and resource in your champions’ network and “Run it as a business,” says Microsoft’s Hector Minto. “That is one of the best things that we’ve learnt along the way.” Then, once you’ve measured success, you can spread the story and the steps that led to that success across the company.

    13. Embrace the wider accessibility community

    “I would challenge my community – the accessibility community – to let Diversity and Inclusion people in,” says Hector Minto. “It makes our life a ton easier, and if you find that overlap and communicate with each other, that’s where you start to find the real success.”

    Part of this is getting more representation of disabled people throughout your network and your organisation. Not only can this stop a product from going too far down the track with serious accessibility issues, but it can result in features that delight both the disabled community and the broader audience of users beyond.   

    14. Grow leadership from within

    Running a champions' network provides an opportunity for home-grown accessibility leaders of the future. Notably, Intuit has encouraged people to step up.

    For example, one employee, Josh Harrison, joined Intuit with little knowledge around accessibility, but through training, project experience and usability testing became a subject matter expert and started building his own local champions’ network. 60% of the employees in that region are now members and accessibility has become Harrison’s full-time role.

    Meanwhile, in the UK, Reuben Evans has built a network and played a crucial role in building accessibility into Intuit’s work on the Making Tax Digital initiative.

    “We were the first major company to be able to be certified by the UK government as having an accessible version,” says Intuit's Ted Drake. “That was an example of a level 2 champion being able to drive a project from start to finish."

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