Next steps for Open eGovernment services related to disability

2. Open eGovernment in Disability

---

Open Governmentis a government with high levels of transparency and with an emphasis on government accountability. The concept of open government suggests that the public should have access to government-held information and that it is informed of government proceedings. It includes expectations for increased participation and collaboration of citizens, businesses, employees and other entities in government proceedings, through the use of modern, open technologies. The term Open in this context means that data has not only to be accessible but also to be understandable in order for citizens to know how the data can be relevant to them. At the same time, eGovernment refers to the use of computers and other devices to provide information and services to the public. In turn, eGovernance extends the scope of eGovernment to include citizen engagement and participation in governance.

This document focuses on open eGovernment services that are aimed for people with disabilities. This group is varied and ranges from people with physical disabilities e.g. visual or hearing loss or mobility impairment, to people with developmental disorders where many types of impairments are included like Intellectual Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), communication disorders, attention-deficit, among others. Eurostat reports that in the EU there are 44 million people aged between 15 and 64 in the category of people with disabilities2. The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 states that social and economic participation of people with disabilities is vital.

Open eGovernment for people with disabilities is related to the design of services that are inclusive by default and cater to the needs of people with disabilities. Additionally, it is important to offer open eGovernment services for the families of people with disabilities and for the staff that belong to the different support organisations for this sector of the population.

Having accessible open eGovernment services would contribute to the support of people with disabilities and their integration into society. In addition, it should be stressed that services that are universally accessible will be usable by all citizens, not only those with disabilities, so there is no need to develop specific websites and tools for people with disabilities, but services that are universally accessible and that may have “extensions” that cater to specific types of impairments. This should be accompanied by appropriate accessibility specifications in tenders for open eGovernment services.

3. Some available and emerging solutions

This section discusses some of the emergent solutions that we have come across while doing desk research on existing eGovernment services in this sector. We have focused on those that are leading the way or show a high level of innovation, and provide examples for some implementations.

• Specialized websites with information on important care and social security provisions for people with disabilities, chronic illnesses and the elderly. These are catered to the requirements of people with disabilities, their families and support staff.

  Examples: one-stop website in the Netherlands that provides information on important care and social security provisions for people with disabilities, chronic illnesses and the elderly. Website on disability services in different regions in Spain. Gov.uk, one-stop eGovernment website in the UK that presents information about disability services in one place, e.g. legal documents, links to advisory services.

• Accessible eGovernment websites that follow standard recommendations for making web content more accessible.

  Examples: Zaragoza council eGovernment website which complies with WCAG 2.0 norms. It is certified officially by the Spanish Agency for Normalization and Certification (AENOR); many other city council websites comply with these norms. Brazil website for people with disabilities.

• Websites for people with disabilities developed by third parties that follow standard recommendations for making Web content more accessible.

  Examples: Discapnet is a website for people with disabilities in Spain that follows WCAG accessibility guidelines. In its design, the emphasis has been put on universal accessibility. Discapnet was built by the Foundation ONCE and an ICT company. While it is non-governmental, it has been developed in collaboration with government agencies. The website publishes employment boards and employment policies that aim to support the insertion of people with disabilities in the job market.

• Apps for mobility of people with disability.

  Example: Simon Mobile is a navigation application designed for impaired users. In Madrid, Parma and Lisbon, it provides access to important accessibility information such as the location of disabled parking spots or the location of elevators and ramps to access subway stations. With Simon Mobile, you can compute walking, driving and transit routes and use step-by-step navigation during your trip.

• Disability helpline for any claim relating to disability benefits.

  Examples: UK disability benefits helpline.

4. Some available and emerging business and data models

This section presents business and data models that may contribute to the development and uptake of open eGovernment in the disability sector, as well as models that open eGovernment may foster.

• Government and people with disabilities, families and support staff initiate, design, or implement programs, projects, or activities together; it is especially important to have a validation stage in these projects with participation of people with disabilities. This implies the provision of co-creation spaces and of the job positions required for this.
• Public and private organisations that provide spaces for people with disability, families and support staff to foster interaction and collaborative work.
• Public employees and organisations that assist stakeholders in the access and use of open eGovernment services. This assistance includes in-person attention and call centres.
• Personnel that support local government services in eGovernment websites, by doing tasks such as live chat, forum moderation, email communication, and community management in general.
• Public employees and organisations that assist stakeholders regarding compliance with laws, directives, regulations, etc. regarding disability.

5. Gaps: Policy, technology and data

This section presents a list of policy, technology and data gaps that hinder the provision and take-up of open eGovernment applications in the disability sector.

Policy Gaps

• Despite the existence of numerous legislative imperatives and societal obligations to promote inclusion and full citizenship of people with disabilities, there is no real attitudinal change or action-based work to promote access to ICTs, including the Internet, for people with disabilities. The European Accessibility Act, currently under discussion by the EU is expected to make sure that both public and private sector do really follow accessibility standards when designing their products and services.
• Universal design is not apparent in the majority of eGovernment websites and although legal penalties are aimed to promote compliance, implementation of such penalties is lacking.
• Developing and implementing policies where the interaction between the public and the private sectors is clearly established can be of great help in the provision and take-up of open eGovernment services in the disability sector: how can they contribute together, what are the responsibilities of each partner, how private practices can benefit the public sector and vice-versa.

Technology and Data Gaps

• Low accessibility to most open eGovernment services in general:
  • Accessibility options are often few and difficult to locate on government service websites.
  • eGovernment websites are not compliant with accessibility norms so text-to-speech tools become useless.
  • There are no alternative access mechanisms such as biometric identification, for users with disabilities.
  • The most recommended standard, WCAG 2.0 (and its equivalents), do not cater to all kinds of disabilities.
• Lack of one-stop-shop websites for disability-related services. For instance, financial services (e.g. benefits) are accessed through the national government websites, while care, transport and accessibility assistance is provided through local government websites.
• Low technology skills for people with disabilities, their family and support staff. Training is needed, on the one hand, to understand the advantages and disadvantages of using ICTs and, on the other hand, to develop the capabilities needed to address the constant evolution of services and applications. Besides, service providers should be instructed on accessibility so that they know how to develop services that can be used by as many people as possible.
• Lack of mobile applications and responsive websites, especially important for people with disabilities that have mobility difficulties.

6. Social considerations

• Many services and processes are explained with and use an ‘administrative’ and technical language that many people cannot understand. This problem is accentuated when the user has an intellectual disability or a neuro-developmental disorder.
• Education on disability-related issues is important so that people become aware of what people with disabilities face on a daily basis, and demand open eGovernment services that are universally accessible.
• Open eGovernment services should be accessible by people with disabilities, so as to not contribute to social inequality.
• The changes in the labor force due to open eGovermnent services should not increase unemployment for people with disabilities.

7. Recommendations

This section presents the list of recommendations for the provision and take-up of open eGovernment applications to enhance accountability, transparency and trust in the disability sector.

• User-centered design

  In order to create valuable and useful open eGovernment services for the disability sector, developers should attend the needs and expectations of all stakeholders, e.g. users with disabilities, families and support staff. These services should be developed around how users can, want to, or need to use those services, rather than forcing people to use a service that does not meet their expectations.

  It is important to note that user-centred-design processes that include people with disabilities will enable open eGovernment applications that not only cater to people in this sector, but also to the average population.

• Universal accessibility of services

  Universal accessibility is a fundamental requirement for the success of any open eGovernment. In contrast to the private sector, which can be excluding by reaching only target market segments, public administrations should design open eGovernment services that are inclusive by default and cater to the needs of everyone.

  Although people with disabilities need some specific services, what they really need is that all of the open eGovernment services meet minimum universal accessibility requirements, with “extensions” that cater to particular types of impairments when required.

• Ubiquitous services (mobiles, tablets and other devices)

  As mobiles are fast becoming the main device through which people access the internet, it is imperative that more services are provided through mobile friendly websites or apps that would open access to a greater number of citizens and businesses.

  Moreover, public administrations should be up to date on new developments of devices and eGovernment services should be responsive.

• Meeting the once-only principle

  The once-only principle states that a user should not have to supply the same information more than once to public administrations. Open eGovernment services should offer this option to users whenever possible. However, people should not be forced to apply it.

• Service personalisation

  Personalisation is a way to improve user satisfaction by tailoring a service to specific individuals or segments of individuals’ needs. Open eGovernment services should be customisable and adapt to the user or group of users’ profile. Besides, services should be proactive, and notify or prompt a person to use them according to circumstances like type of disability.

• Services in multiple languages

  Language support should include not only the translation of website content but should also include the translation of forms and documents. This is under-developed and it is hindering access to services by non-native speakers. If people with disabilities have trouble accessing services in their native language, this can be much more difficult when another language is involved.

• Cross-border services

  Cross-border provision of services is based on the freedom of movement of services, so that nationals of a EU Member State are able to pursue their activities as citizens or businesses in another EU Member State.

  In services for people with disabilities, it is especially important to implement the electronic interchange of social security information and health information in general.

• People’s access to their own data

  Allowing people with disabilities, their families and support staff to “own”, use and amend their data could go a long way to make them more invested in the services they use and more trusting of government.

  This recommendation is especially relevant for the once-only principle. Control on one’s own data should go beyond all or nothing; people should be able to decide what data can be shared and with whom.

• Openness of data and services

  Data and algorithms transparency is essential for digital trust and appropriation of emerging technologies. An important shift deals with control of the data used and the intelligibility of algorithms.

  Openness of data implies the use of standards for data management, digital services and metadata, as well as shared concepts and terms (when available). Openness of services implies the use of open source software where there is no risk of vendor lock-in and code may be reviewed and maintained by the parties involved in the development of solutions.

  Public administrators and other stakeholders have to be especially careful when dealing with data of people with disabilities, the use and processing of these data have to be clearly stated, consent has to be specifically asked for and data have to be anonymised when provided to others.

• eDemocracy services

  eDemocracy enhances citizen and businesses engagement and participation in government decision making processes such as policy making, budgeting and service delivery. It is fundamental for user adoption and for building trust towards the public sector.

  In general, eDemocracy and eParticipation are not offered as services on eGovernment websites in the EU. eGovernment websites need to be transformed in order to support increasing engagement and participation of citizens and businesses, providing features such as web forums, discussion spaces and social media interaction. Specifically, there is a lack of technological solutions that aim to boost inclusiveness and civic participation by people with disabilities.