Hi WSG,
Ive just been informed of a BBC article referencing the UK Government and
accessibility.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4478702.stm
The stats claimed are actually a lot sharper than I'd imagine but I can see
why this is the case. My current contract means I provide ecommerce advice
to local businesses as well as support and project manage our organisations
internet infrastructure, which is an EU and Government funded org.
From the business angle, I am promoting web standards from a commercially
beneficial point of view as it's the language they want to hear. This works
very well as it means I have sent out about 400 local businesses to local
internet service providers and they are all demanding a site with a strong
specification in terms of accessibility and usability.
From the project management angle, I am responsible for delivering a handful
of sites that offer event booking, content management, customer relationship
management and news delivery system. I sell a specification to the board,
the accountants reluctantly agree and it goes to tender. Again, this is
great. We have a Government agency with a dedicated budget and a mighty
online application they wish to deliver.
Here lies the problem, the web design agencies.
When either communicating with the board or following up with the
businesses, when I take a look at the quotes agencies have provided them
with, accessibility is an optional extra or it's the usual yeah, everything
we do is accessible. You know it isn't.
I also recently had a chat with a local University lecturer about how to
address this. Governments are getting websites they are genuinely informed
is up to scratch. They are paying for expert advice and being misinformed so
who's fault is this? Is an accountant meant to know about W3C validation?
I'm fortunate enough to be in a position to do something about it in my home
town. The team and I pulled together a web accessibility event which showed
practical use of the web with assistive technology. We called on AbilityNet
(http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/), East Sussex Disability Association
(http://www.esda.org.uk/) and a usability/accessibility consultant Nikki Rae
(http://www.webaccessforeveryone.co.uk/) to deliver information to web
designers in the town. There was even a query about it in the accessify
forum (http://www.accessifyforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=26737) and to answer
that, it was because it was subsidised for local businesses and was only
funded for Hastings and the Rother District (sorry guys).
This has had a massive impact on the town and we (Hastings) are a force in
terms of the delivery of web services. I know this is a long winded mail but
it's flagging a solution to the problem on a small scale. Create business
demand and awareness and then pull the web design industry in for a slap.
How do we address the bigger picture though? Micro-perfection of HTML tags
and solid CSS design across even the most stubborn of browsers is not
financially viable for the majority of the website market.
All comments, suggestions or recommendations welcome.
I am also about to sign up for another 2 1/2 years as a consultant for this
EU organisation and am looking at more ways to reinforce web standards to
the wider region (Sussex, UK). I know a few regional list members are around
but a heads up would be good.
Offline mails welcome to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Edward Clarke
ECommerce and Software Consultant
TN38 Consulting
http://www.tn38.net
http://blog.tn38.net
Creative Media Centre
17-19 Robertson Street
Hastings
East Sussex
TN34 1HL
United Kingdom
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