Celebrating Sector Achievements - Kent Connects and the University of Kent

The Kent Digital Inclusion Initiative is a cross-sector collaboration between Kent County Council and the University of Kent to deliver accessible and inclusive services across Kent Public Sector and to support organisations in meeting their requirements under the new Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations.

The new regulations require public sector organisations to deliver fully accessible digital services so any citizen can interact with them without limit. All existing websites need to be made accessible by September 2020.

The Initiative has been successful in creating mass changes across Kent to provide more accessible services through libraries, local authorities, NHS organisations, universities, parish and town councils and more. Kent has also become highly involved with the Government Digital Service (GDS) in directing the uptake of the new regulations nationally.

One of the key achievements of the collaboration has been the creation of a toolkit which includes many resources, including: articles on improving digital accessibility, templates created for the auditing processes, procurement, engagement with suppliers, remedial action plans, staff guidance and more.

The toolkit has been sent out by Universities UK as guidance to all university Vice Chancellors across the country. The GDS has said the toolkit fills a specific gap in guidance available and is the kind of cross-sector “pulling-together” needed as part of a proactive take up of digital inclusion and accessibility. The only cost associated with the toolkit has been staff time for its set up and creation - the content was developed for the collaboration's own journey towards better services.

The partnership has been continuously working with the GDS to provide further guidance to the sectors. For example, the GDS is using the research done by the collaboration to help inform take up of accessibility statements - a requirement for organisations under the regulations. The training and awareness raising work has improved the skills of more than 150 staff across Kent. The cost savings of delivering this training inhouse rather than using a third party reaches hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The project has meant that accessibility within Kent County Council and the University of Kent are now being considered at the beginning of projects rather than as an afterthought. Now, for example, all future services procured have to have an accessibility check before they can be purchased and accessibility compliance is written into all contracts. Another example is that any digital content - documents, videos and html - is checked by a web team and must be accessible before it can be published.

"We have already seen positive reputational outcomes locally from this and expect the sectors as a whole to be viewed more positively as a result of the Initiative catalysing a national push for more accessible services," said Ben Watson, Accessible Information Adviser, University of Kent. "We have only received positive feedback demonstrating appreciation of our consideration and clear advice and support. We believe this will only continue as more citizens find their needs are catered for and that they can have a more positive experience with their local public sector organisations."

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