Digital accessibility procurement evaluation (Free)

Last updated on May 12, 2023

Service Overview

The Digital Accessibility Program provides accessibility evaluation of vendor products being considered for procurement by the university. The Digital Accessibility Program provides RFP and RFB as well as other procurement evaluation groups with a high-level assessment of a vendor product, a report describing the accessibility barriers found in testing, and recommendations regarding accessibility impacts, accommodation planning, and communication planning involved if the product was purchased by the institution.

Access to accessibility contract language and RFP requirements (if applicable) is provided to all clients and can be found in our Procure Accessible Technology Guide.

Find more guides on accessibility considerations for your business and operational needs at the “Make It Accessible” Guides. Making your digital resources accessible helps UW–‍Madison be a more inclusive, usable place for everyone. UW–‍Madison also follows a Digital Accessibility Policy informed by federal law to provide technology and services that are accessible to all students, faculty, and staff. Accessible digital resources are usable by people with disabilities and/or who use assistive technology.

Request response turnaround time: 2-4 weeks

Response turnaround time is 2-4 weeks depending on central funding. We appreciate your patience as we support as many university offices as possible with a limited centrally funded budget.

Benefits

  • Learn how accessible a vendor product is prior to procurement.
  • Understand how to consider accessibility, accommodations, and communication regarding disability-related needs in your procurement process.
  • Get access to contract language to help advocate for accessibility with vendors following procurement.

Requirements

  • Access to an instance of the digital resource to be evaluated, and representative data to test with.
  • Access to the vendor name, product name, vendor contact information.
  • Product VPAT, link to accessibility features and product information.
  • Access to the current or perspective Service Owner (name, department, division/school/college, and contact info).
  • University use cases and task flows of how campus is or intends to use the digital resource to be evaluated.

Getting started

What to expect

Once you submit a request, we will contact you to gather additional information, arrange access to vendor content or systems, and understand your desired timeline. We will provide:

  • A high-level assessment of a vendor product
  • A report describing the accessibility barriers found in testing
  • Recommendations regarding accessibility impacts, accommodation planning, and communication planning involved if the product was purchased by the institution.

Have questions, feedback, or need additional Digital Accessibility consulting?

Submit a question, consulting request, or feedback regarding digital accessibility.

Pricing

  • Free quick evaluation and consulting (usually 2-6 hours)
  • In-depth evaluation requests are considered and available based on resources and prioritization.

Service category