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NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology
Company typeNon-Profit
IndustryAdvocacy
Consultancy
Education
Research
FoundedDublin, Ireland (January 2005)
Headquarters
Drumcondra, Dublin
,
Ireland
Area served
Ireland
Key people
Mark Magennis, Director
ParentNational Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI)
Websitewww.cfit.ie

The NCBI Centre for Inclusive Technology (CFIT) (pronounced “see-fit”) is a non-profit initiative established by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) to advocate, educate and provide technical assistance in Inclusive Design and digital accessibility. Its aim is to improve the quality of life of all persons living with disabilities by promoting research that results in real life changes and activities that help reduce the impact of disability.[1]

Background

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In 2005 the NCBI founded CFIT in response to the massive growth in the importance of digital technologies in all areas of living. Technologies such as personal computers, the Internet, mobile phones, digital TV, bank cash machines (ATMs), electronic ticket machines, smartcard readers and consumer electronics now play a fundamental role in everyday life. At work, at home, in school and in the high street, it is now essential to be able to use the digital tools of communication and transaction. Unfortunately, technologies are not always designed to take account of the diversity of abilities amongst the people who need to use them. Problems caused by inaccessible websites, small keypads, poor quality displays, touchscreens or the lack of capacity for speech output can all render essential technologies and services useless for people with vision impairments and other disabilities. The result is social and economic exclusion on an increasing scale. [2]

Activities

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CFIT promotes Information Communication Technology (ICT) accessibility and the correct use of appropriate technologies. This includes advocacy and campaigning to ensure the accessibility of specific products or services and the adoption of appropriate standards through legislation and public policy. The Centre provides practical help to organizations wishing to develop or implement accessible solutions. It also carries out education and research activities. [3]

Consultancy

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The Centre assesses the accessibility of website, including compliance with WCAG 2.0 guidelines, through an accessibility audit or user tests. As designers begin to understand how to incorporate accessibility into their design process, they can consult with CFIT experts regarding questions, concerns, new techniques and overall feedback.

Education

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The Centre offers training on web accessibility through user testing and mentoring. It runs two-day training courses in Dublin on web accessibility for webmasters, developers and project managers. These courses provide guidance on how to create websites and content that meet accessibility guidelines as well as legislation and public policy requirements. [4]

Research

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The Centre collaborates with various partners on research addressing inclusive technology issues, such as incompatibilities between the assistive technologies that disabled people use and Web 2.0 applications. One current project is the “Inclusive Future Internet Web Services” (I2Web), which began in November 2010 to investigate the accessibility of Web 2.0 applications for disabled and older people. Lead by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology FIT in Germany, a consortium of researchers and user organizations from across Europe are creating new tools to help developers produce applications that are more accessible to these groups. [5] Through an inclusive design approach to accessibility, the I2Web project is based on the positive strategies that people use and building applications that adapt to the user, instead of the traditional approach of trying to eliminate the problems that people encounter. [6]

Clients and Partners

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Government departments

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Local government

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State and semi-state bodies

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Not for profit organizations

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  • ACE Project
  • Enable Ireland
  • Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind
  • Kanchi
  • Not for Profit Business Association

Private companies

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Consultants

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  • Arekibo
  • Elucidate
  • Frontend
  • iQ Content
  • Ivertec
  • Strata3
  • The Paciello Group
  • Webfactory
  • XML Workshop


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See Also

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References

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  1. ^ http://http://www.cfit.ie/about
  2. ^ http://www.ncbi.ie/services/services-for-organisations/making-websites-and-other-technologies-accessible-cfit
  3. ^ http://www.universaldesign.ie/exploreampdiscover/udorganisations
  4. ^ http://www.cfit.ie/training
  5. ^ http://www.cfit.ie/news-and-commentary-archive/589-i2webpressrelease
  6. ^ http://idrc.ocad.ca/index.php/about-the-idrc/49-resources/online-resources/articles-and-papers/443
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