Published in CivicActions·PinnedWhiteHouse.gov: Beginning an accessibility journeyPraise and recommendations for the accessibility statement published by the new administration — With the inauguration on January 20, the WhiteHouse.gov team released a new website. …Accessibility6 min read
Published in CivicActions·Oct 5, 20204 ways to improve government accessibility through open sourceHow agencies can adopt an open source strategy to make their services more usable by people of all abilities — Government agencies, of all organizations, have perhaps the greatest obligation to plan for the accessibility of their websites and digital services. …Accessibility6 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Apr 15, 2020COVID-19, Digital Transformation & AccessibilityWe can all agree that COVID-19 is accelerating digital transformation in many organizations, knocking through long-standing resistance and silos. Government is just one player as remote-work is something every sector of the economy is struggling to do overnight. Many organizations are rapidly adopting new tools like Zoom. When looking at…Covid 193 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Mar 15, 2020Writing Impactful Accessibility ReportsI’ve seen a few accessibility statements generated by people in the field, but do not consider myself an expert report writer. There are lots of ways to go about writing them, but I find that often when they are delivered they tend to overwhelm the non-technical people and frustrate the…Accessibility8 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Jan 13, 2020Would you publish without spellchecking?I have been promoting use of automated accessibility tools for years. There has been a lot of controversy around them because publishers want them to be more than they are. …Accessibility4 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Sep 20, 2019Innovation, Procurement and SustainabilityToday is the first day of the Global Climate Strike which Greta Thunberg has inspired. Our society is being faced by the threat of environmental peril. Whether it is reduced biodiversity, persistent plastic waste, or our climate crisis, there are more reasons than ever for us to be concerned. …Climate Change5 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Sep 19, 2019Micro Procurement and Incremental InnovationsGovernments in Canada can drive steady innovation by leveraging and contributing back to open source tools that they are already using. Around the world governments have successfully used this approach to address technological challenges that they are faced with. …Government5 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Aug 12, 2019Proprietary Procurement is Stopping Open Innovation in CanadaThe internet has fostered a huge growth in innovation. It was built open and fostered the exponential growth of open source software communities around the globe. Communities were built to allow people to build our modern digital world. …Open Source5 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Aug 12, 2019Government Procurement is Stagnating Canadian InnovationWhat are we striving for? As Canadians, we all want to see our country as one that is helping to shape the future. We value innovation, and do actually have lots of programs investing in it. As Justin Trudeau said at the World Economic Forum in 2016, “Diversity fosters new ideas. New ideas generate the…Government6 min read
Published in OpenConcept Stories·Jun 17, 2019Personalization and a Panel at DrupalNorthDrupalNorth was held in Montreal this year. This event rotates between Canadian cities (so far only Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal). The goal is to bring together Drupal events across Canada and have one big one that can attract bigger presenters. I was lucky to present twice. Personalization My first presentation was…Accessibility3 min read
