This “Federal-A11y” page offers an ongoing collection of articles primarily related to digital accessibility and the future of work as it relates to the Federal Government. Please bookmark this page to keep up to date on Federal Industry developments in making digital environments accessible for people with disabilities.
Accessibility and Transforming the Citizen Experience
OPM Issues Call for Comments on Improving Customer Experience
As a signal of what’s next in Federal efforts around the President’s Management Agenda, a notice for public comment posted this week, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sets out how federal designers and staff can work across agencies on “key life experiences of citizens that span agencies to collect data, which in turn can be used to improve service delivery”.
Deadline for comments is March 15th.
GSA Moves to Provide Help With CX | FedScoop
Rather than requiring 80% trust in government across all services, five-minute call wait times across the board or uniform account updates across all government sites — all long-term goals — the EO simply asks agencies to identify their customers, services and whether they’re working.
Customer Experience Center of Excellence
CX Design and Accessibility (Digital.gov)
White House Releases Executive Order Transforming Federal Customer Experience | White House Briefing Room
The executive order furthers the president’s management agenda, which the White House released last month. The purpose is “to put people at the center of everything the government does,” said a fact sheet from the White House. The order has 36 customer experience commitments across 17 federal agencies.
December 2021
Federal Government Tech Trends to Watch in 2022 | FedTech Magazine
FedTech Magazine editor Phil Goldstein shares steps by the Biden Administration that signal technology focus for the year ahead. Among the trends to watch: zero trust architectures for cybersecurity, network modernization, supporting a hybrid workforce, and leveraging predictive analytics and AI.
Biden’s FDA Pick to Prioritize Workforce Retention, Trust | GovExec.com
Dr. Robert Califf, President Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, testified on Tuesday that, if confirmed, he will prioritize workforce retention and rebuilding trust in the agency.
White House Releases Executive Order Transforming Federal Customer Experience | White House Briefing Room
The executive order furthers the president’s management agenda, which the White House released last month. The purpose is “to put people at the center of everything the government does,” said a fact sheet from the White House. The order has 36 customer experience commitments across 17 federal agencies.
Government Websites Can’t Rely on the Claims of Accessibility Overlays | GovLoop.com
If you’re a government employee striving to make your agency’s website more accessible for people with disabilities, good for you! If you are also thinking about how to do it the most convenient way possible, that’s understandable.
November 2021
Biden’s DEIA strategy seeks to better understand federal employees’ challenges | Federal News Network
“Ensuring DEIA implementation and assessment is the responsibility of the entire workforce, not the job of one person or office,” – Strategic Plan to Advance DEIA in the Federal Workforce
To better understand the challenges experienced by federal employees and those looking to join the federal workforce, each agency implementation team will publish its own Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) strategic plans by March 23, 2022.
DOJ to Companies with Inaccessible Websites: “We’re back” | Medium.com
It doesn’t matter that Section 508 uses the almost-decade older WCAG 2.0. The Whitehouse and DOJ have adopted 2.1. Ignore this fact contained in clause 13(a) of the Rite Aid settlement agreement at your peril.
Federal CIO calls for “Apollo Program-like” approach to innovation to improve user experience | FedScoop
Speaking at the ACT-IAC 2021 Imagine Nation conference, Federal CIO Clare Martorana
“I am asking everyone here today to be unwilling to postpone what is possible. We need to accommodate each person’s needs and…give them the exceptional customer experience that is on par with their favorite consumer brands,” Clare Martorana, Federal CIO
ITPC Updates Metadata Standards To Help the Blind “See” Photos Online | Petapixel.com
The IPTC says that web accessibility is extremely important in the current digital age, and as the number of images added online increases daily, the gap widens for people who use assistive technologies to access information, especially those that are blind.
Telework appears to enable inclusion, human centered designs for veterans | FedScoop
Barbara Morton, VA deputy chief experience officer, said that although it will take at least another year to fully understand the impacts of teleworking on project research, it seems so far to have enabled the inclusion of a wider range of views from veterans.
SBA Human Capital Chief Shares Telework Successes, Updates Policies | GovExec.com
The Small Business Administration is updating its telework and remote work policies following the success it had during the pandemic, shared Elias Hernandez, Chief Human Capital Officer.
Accessibility at the CIA helps its mission of protecting country | Richmond-Times Dispatch
Etched into the white marble walls in the CIA lobby reads the verse from John 8:32: “And Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Make You Free.” Almost a decade after first joining the agency as an undergraduate intern, I still try to make time to walk through the lobby and take in its solemn beauty, reflecting on how honored I am to play some small part in what we do at CIA.
Why Microassist for Government?
- Award-winning provider of accessible training, website, and digital content technologies.
- Proven solutions provider for government agencies since 1992.
- Section 508 / WCAG 2.0 accessibility audit and remediation expertise.
- VPAT/ACR creation, new release updating, and evaluation training
- Full array of end-to-end training services.
- Minority-owned, small business.
- Microsoft Partner
Microassist is a minority-owned, small business providing custom curriculum development and delivery that is compliant with Section 508, WCAG 2.0, and other recognized standards. Our robust application development group provides in-depth accessibility analysis and remediation of websites, mobile applications, documents, and other media files and platforms. We are a trusted subcontractor to Federal contractors requiring Section 508 application and document remediation support. We provide government solutions through two GSA contracts, a Professional Services Schedule for web-based marketing and training services, and a Schedule 70 contract for Information Technology Professional Services. Our Federal Contract Vehicles
Contact us
Need help with any of our GSA contracts or have a question about contracted services? Call Microassist at (443) 255-5262 or contact our Federal sales team.
George Spohn is the Director for Federal Solutions Business Development at Microassist, a digital accessibility, learning development and custom training firm with offices in Austin, Texas and Washington D.C. He has over 30 years of business development experience in the Federal and accessibility arena. In addition, George has played key executive roles for both domestic and international information technology organizations. George can be reached at [email protected].
Related resources
- POTUS Signs Executive Order To Increase Diversity, Accessibility, and Inclusion In Federal Workforce
- Microassist Announces Partnership with UsableNet
- Section 508 Compliant PDF Remediation Services
- More Federal A11y Resources
Subscribe to Accessibility in the News
Stay informed! Get your weekly update on digital accessibility standards, private and public sector trends, litigation, events, and more.