Roundtable on Discussion on Digital Accessibility in Procurement

Date: January 28, 2021

Location: Online, Sweden

Overview:

During the pandemic, digital information and communication have become crucial for contacts with authorities and for simply making everyday life work. For many years, accessibility requirements have been included in the Public Procurement Act. Sweden also received a special recommendation from the UN as early as 2014 to systematically set requirements for availability in all agreements on public procurement. The national procurement strategy emphasizes universal design  and  accessibility, but many organizations still have difficulty finding routines for setting accessibility requirements in procurement, not just in individual ones. One question is also how disability law organizations and persons with disabilities can be involved in the procurement of digital products and services in the best way. The roundtable discussion focused on what is needed for accessibility in digital purchasing to become the rule and not the exception, and how the forthcoming Accessibility Directive will affect public procurement.

Participants:

• Mia Ahlgren, Functional Law Sweden
• James Thurston, G3ict (International trends and good examples of digital accessibility and procurement)
• Stina Biärsjö, Microsoft (Business benefit with digital accessibility)
• Ima Placencia Porrero, European Commission (Accessibility Directive and Public Procurement)
• Josefine Monfors and Ellionor Triay Strömvall, Digital availability in procurement in Sweden

Roundtable resources:

• Availability and universal design in procurement January 2021.word
• View a compilation of questions and answers from the round table discussion
• Watch the discussion recording on YouTube
• View the presentations from Funktionsrätt Sverige on Digital accessibility in Procurement and the Procurement Authority