Involvement of Consumer Organizations in the INCITS Study
Group on Accessibility
From:
James Thurston, Judy Brewer and Gregg Vanderheiden; as revised
by Judy Brewer
Community notification
Circulatable message: including a clear explanation of purpose of
the group; intent to include consumer representatives; means for doing so;
where to find more information (helpful to have a URL to point people back
to for more info, not just an attached file).
Channels: circulate message over at least a handful of relevant mailing
lists.
Focus: helpful to continue pursuing some focused invitation. Just
because individuals and organizations have not shown up yet, doesn't mean
they will not; they may be watching to see what the group's activity is initially.
Follow-up: utilize community briefings. Essentially, this is a "reporting-out"
function, but coupled with requests for input. Note that this should not replace
continuing to invite direct participation as well.
Availability of materials
Formats: it is helpful to have materials in HTML as well as Word
or PDF.
Site: ensure that the site is accessible.
Easily findable information: The new area on the INCITS site now
facilitates access to materials. Might be helpful to provide some hints about
which are the key documents; e.g. highlight the link to the Study Group's
Charter.
Orientation to support effective participation
Orientation to process: make sure that new people get process pointers,
and a mentor to help explain where needed.
Training: investigate training resources (explore suggestions on
training resources from Jean Baronas).
Mitigation of cost of participation
Alternatives to face-to-face meetings: use mailing lists and teleconferences.
An option for participation by teleconference in face to face meetings can
be helpful, where feasible.
Fee waiver: provide a more prominent explanation of the availability
of the fee waiver. Requests for fee waiver will be reviewed according to the
process described in RD2 Section 5.6.
Participation support: in a few cases, individuals may need support
for participation costs (explore suggestions on possible resources from Ron
Silletti).
Push review
Updates: send updates to community distribution lists periodically,
advising community of progress and of opportunity for input on documents.