Policymaking 2.0—Using New Technologies to Inform Disability PolicyMichael Reardon, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Dept. of Labor

Hope Adler, Concepts, Inc.

Katia Albanese, Concepts, Inc.

Lee Crank, Devis

March 21, 2014

ODEP’s policymaking efforts don’t take place in a vacuum

Constantly engaging partners and stakeholders from other federal agencies, nonprofits and NGOs to address barriers to the employment of people with disabilities – including inaccessible technology

New approaches to employment & accessible technology: Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT) ePolicyWorks Initiative Social Media Accessibility Working Group Online National Dialogues

ODEP & Its Partners in Policy

Changing the Way We Do Business The New Federal Government: Open, Transparent and

Participatory

Expanding Beyond Information Sharing to Policy Development

Information Sharing– Ensuring public better access to agency information– Providing opportunities to provide general input

Policy Development– Ensuring meaningful citizen engagement and input from critical

stakeholders– Providing opportunities for stakeholder and interagency

collaboration

Public Engagement

How Do We Define ‘Public’? Everyone in the US?

- 310 million Americans?

Our constituencies?- 38.5 million SSI recipients?

- 26 million employers?

Our stakeholders?- 200-300 national issue ‘players’?

BORPSATBunch Of the Right People Sitting Around the Table

BORPSAVTBunch Of the Right People Sitting Around the Virtual Table

The Virtual Table is:

– Much bigger

– Less reliant on logistics

– More accessible

– Much cheaper

– Available all day

B O R P S A V T

Adopting New Technologies

Open, Transparent, Participatory…

…and Inclusive

Inaccessible technology can exclude large segments of our constituency

Educate technology providers about developing accessible products

Encourage policymakers to demand and use accessible products

Virtual Tools for Policymakers

Important to ODEP to aim for the most accessible and usable experience for everyone

Be upfront and honest

Test continuously and always continue to improve

Provide ongoing support and training

Listen to our users and provide open communication

Learn from others and share what we know

Work with vendors

Stay ahead of the curve; don’t be afraid to try

Approach to Accessibility & Usability

A new, collaborative approach to federal policymaking that leverages Web-based technology, stakeholder involvement and real-time information sharing

Empowers national experts to shape policy and address specific barriers to employment faced by people with disabilities

Establishes a model for future national policy-building efforts

Serves to support the federal government’s pledge to modernize government, heighten transparency and maximize efficiency

Access to productivity and crowdsourcing tools, including online workspaces and dialogues

What is ePolicyWorks?

Coined by journalist Jeff Howe in the 2006 Wired article, “The Rise of Crowdsourcing”

Crowdsourcing is the practice of soliciting ideas or contributions from stakeholders to solve problems, make decisions, etc. using online tools

Commonly referred to as “online dialogues” or “virtual town halls”

Connects agencies to stakeholders/constituents

Provides cost benefits and efficiencies

Serves as an outreach and awareness tool

What is Crowdsourcing?

Overcome organizational challenges - access to files and conversation streams anywhere, any time

Enhance communication - tailored discussion forums, social networking features and collaboration tools

Increase productivity - manage document sharing, tracking, storage and versioning

Save money - online vs. in-person; re-usability of outreach processes

Increase inclusiveness of outreach - national dialogues and online discussions for engagement with federal partners and stakeholders

Benefits of Using Online Tools

Some of the Challenges

Concern about adopting new technology- Training- Accessibility and usability issues - System compatibility

Resistance to changing business practices- Lack of participation from the entire group (adoption model)- Inconsistent usage- Need for leadership involvement across partner agencies- Lack of control

Requires leadership- Need for management support- Need for specific outcomes and accountability

A New Policy Development Model

Microsoft SharePoint Collaborative Workspaces:

Set “More Accessible” mode as the defaultImproved site navigation and added help features Added descriptive labels Revised table formatsAdded alt tags and removed non-tagable tool tips Removed unreadable check boxesDisabled pop up boxesRemoved disabled ribbon featuresSimplified forms and limited mandatory fields

Examples of Accessibility “Fixes”

Integrated crowdsourcing tool to conduct online national dialogues, involving thousands of participants and generating hundreds of ideas, which are vetted and used to inform policymaking efforts

Available for use by ePolicyWorks member groups and ODEP Successfully worked with IdeaScale to develop an accessible and usable

template Also collaborating with DOT

- To share best practices, technical solutions/ improvements and other helpful ideas for successful dialogues

- To offer online dialogues to VTCLI grantees for use at the local level Plan to share accessible template with GSA for cross-agency availability

Integrating IdeaScale into ePolicyWorks

Decide on the issue and present the challenge for ideas to stakeholders through targeted outreach

Set up a participatory, self-moderated community within IdeaScale and decide on the window of time for participation

Interact directly with the community that is formed around the ideas

Upon registering with usernames and passwords, visitors to the dialogue submit ideas

Visitors also vote, post comments and communicate the status of an idea through email, Twitter or Facebook

The best ideas bubble up

How IdeaScale Works

IdeaScale Crowdsourcing Platform:

Increased font sizes and color contrastUsed CSS to hide unnecessary functionality within the template that hindered usability for those using assistive technology Improved the read order of the voting features Corrected keyboard focus when clicking “Forgot Password” Removed unnecessary graphics Added alt text to "Close Window" throughout the template Improved dropdown menu behavior throughout the templateRequired numbers for all numeric form fieldsInserted a success message to alert participants that their actions were performed successfullyCustomized automated emails and notifications to provide instructions and to improve ease of use

Examples of Accessibility “Fixes”

FPT Online Dialogue May 13 to May 27, 2013 Question:

­What legislative and regulatory changes need to happen to effectively implement employment, education, health and human and social security services for youth and young adults with disabilities under public law?

Campaigns/Categories: ­ Employment­ Education­ Health and Human Services­ Social Security

FPT Online Dialogue Results

3,387 total registrants

­ 5% federal

­ 11% state/local

­ 18% nonprofit

­ 24% other

­ 42% did not report

355 total ideas

1,618 comments

9,887 votes

December 9 to December 20, 2013 Questions:

How can websites be improved to make it easier to apply for jobs or do work for your job?

What ideas do you have for making online job-related tools easier to use for everyone?

Topics/Categories: Looking for Jobs Applying for Jobs Finding Information (on the web) Doing Your Job Networking & Using Social Media

ASAN-PEAT Online Dialogue

ASAN-PEAT Dialogue Results 333 total registrants

19% Self-Advocate 17% Employment Professional 22% Disability Advocate 10% Government 26% Other

42 total ideas 132 comments 343 votes

NCD-ODEP Social Media Accessibility

March 17 to April 4, 2014 Questions

What are some creative solutions you've used to make social media more accessible for you?

What are your recommendations to social media companies on how to create more accessible features and services?

Topics/Categories: Socializing Solutions News & Information Education Employment

NCD-ODEP Dialogue Registration Are you a person with a disability?

Yes No Do not want to disclose

How important is social media in your daily life? Very important Somewhat important Not at all important

Please let us know how you use social media (e.g., for your job, to connect with friends, etc. )

What do social media companies need to know about users with disabilities and their experiences?

http://ncd-odep.socialmedia.epolicyworks.org

What’s Next? Turning Input into Action

Dialogue

Results/Data

Analysis

Action

Subscribe to our newsletters & updates about online dialogues at www.ePolicyWorks.org

Follow us & engage with us on Twitter (@ePolicyWorks)

Contact us at epolicyworks@dol.gov

Connect with ePolicyWorks

Thank you!!!