About this project

The goal of this project is to make the process of creating standards more accessible to people with disabilities and Deaf people. The idea is that if more people with disabilities and Deaf people get involved in this process, more of the goods and services we use in our daily lives will be accessible. We’re focusing on how this is done within Standards Development Organizations (SDO’s). Our vision is for people with disabilities to be able to participate in mainstream standards development processes with no accessibility barriers.

What are standards?

We use many goods and services in our daily lives, but how can we make sure that they are working the best they can? Standards are requirements or guidelines to not only ensure this, but also make them consistent with other goods or services out there. For example, TV manufacturers are required by standards to include features such as inputs and resolution that are of a certain quality.

In short, standards allow goods and services to work smoothly, and allow people to trust that things are made well. 

Learn more about what standards are. 

How are standards made?

Who does it involve?

A Standard Development Organization (SDO) brings together experts to create standards. These experts are from various backgrounds such as industry, academia, and government. 

What do they do?

They work together to share their experiences and come to an agreement on what the standards should be. These standards are written down and published by SDO’s so that they can be used by the public, governments, and industry. Standards are also regularly checked and improved, to make sure they are up to date as the world changes. 

Working globally

Sometimes, SDO’s can work internationally with other groups to make sure standards are similar across the world.

Read more about it on the Standards Council of Canada website.

Why is it important for the standards process to be inclusive?

Standards define how everyday things are made. If we include concerns about accessibility when creating these standards, more of the things we use daily will be easier for everyone to use. It's especially important to involve people with disabilities and Deaf people in creating these standards. Their experiences can help make sure that the standards are more accessible for everyone.

Project goals

Our project goals are to:

• Identify barriers for people with disabilities and disability organizations to take part in the standards processes through co-design and secondary research (literature review, jurisdictional scan)

• Create guidance on how to make the standards development process more inclusive to people with disabilities and Deaf people, and pilot them with mainstream SDOs.

• Create capacity building resources to equip disability organizations and people with disabilities to take part in the standards development process.

Project partners

This list will be updated as the project progresses.

Funder

Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization (Accessibility Standards Canada)

Project phases

Year 1 (2024)

Year 2 (2025)

Year 3 (2026)

Project documents

Working documents

Documents being worked on actively and are works in progress. More will be added as the project goes on.

Secondary research

Notion database for secondary research

Approaches and guidelines

Co-design

Research plan

Project branding

Branding explorations

IDRC Project Team

Design

• Sepideh Shahi

• Cheryl Li

• Uttara Ghodke

• Lisa Liskovoi

Development

• Ned Zimmerman

• Daniel Cho

• Joseph Scheuhammer

Project management

• Michelle D’Souza

OT Students

• Yiwen Li

• Farah Bacchus-Misir