Digital Accessibility specialist group: About the group
Awareness and understanding of the issues among IT professionals is key to ensuring that everyone, regardless of physical or mental disabilities, can access the IT services that are becoming central to an individual's life.
The DA specialist group will:
- Provide a forum for all interested BCS members to develop an awareness of DA issues.
- Champion the need for DA within the BCS by emphasising the exemplar role that the BCS should play in providing digitally accessible systems and processes for its members.
- Champion the need for DA to be a cornerstone of all digital solutions.
- Provide tools and techniques to inform IT professionals on DA best practice.
This will be achieved through the following work streams:
- Maintenance of a Digital Accessibility Policy (DAP) for the BCS.
- Promotion of the need for DA within the BCS and delivery of an annual status report on BCS DA.
- Engagement with other specialist groups within the BCS where there is a clear synergy of interest.
- Monitoring of the IT profession's awareness and understanding of DA issues through surveys and other mechanisms.
- Provision of appropriate resources to inform the IT profession of DA issues.
- Provision of tools and techniques to help individual IT professionals address DA issues in the normal course of their work.
- Representation of the BCS on DA issues through membership and engagement with appropriate external organisations.
- Engagement with the ICDL Foundation, SFIA+ and Professional Certification programmes to ensure that DA best practice is embedded throughout these areas.