Why the Kadaster is the “University of Digital Accessibility”

When kadaster.nl was redesigned about eight years ago, it became clear that the organisation had to comply with accessibility legislation. Kees was asked to look into this. “That had a lot of consequences for us. You need a lot of people to do this, because it's not just about making content accessible, but also about technology and design. Accessibility affects almost everyone. That's why you have to have a lot of discussions and make policy,” says Kees.

Policy as the first step towards accessibility

To arrive at that policy, Kees and his colleagues started with the first actions and looked at what they encountered. "If, for example, it turned out that we had inaccessible software, that meant that a procurement policy had to be put in place. An escalation procedure was also needed for when decisions had to be made about accessibility. Sometimes the interests of the Kadaster are (temporarily) more important than accessibility. In consultation with a number of departments, we have now determined who we can approach for a decision."

Debby was called in by the Kadaster to implement the changes. It was my job to ensure that people were aware of the agreements and to raise awareness about digital accessibility. We started by setting up an internal accessibility desk. The Kadaster develops many applications, among other things. That made the desk important for centralising everything related to accessibility and gaining more oversight and control," says Debby.

Internal desk for accessibility and knowledge transfer

Centralisation gave Kees and Debby an overview of everything that is published by the organisation. Kees: “We have told our colleagues that they are responsible for the accessibility of what they publish on our websites. But we have made sure that we have an overview of everything that is already public or is being published. The desk notifies people when it is their product's turn for an accessibility audit.”

In addition to streamlining processes related to accessibility audits and accountability in accessibility statements, building knowledge was also a priority for the desk. Debby: “Every colleague needs to know and learn what their role is in improving digital accessibility. To that end, we engaged in dialogue with as many colleagues as possible. The desk was also a matter of just getting started and seeing what came in. This has led to many positive developments, such as ambassadors within the organisation who proactively contribute ideas for effective solutions in terms of both content and technology.”

A source of information where people can go

Other functions of the desk include arranging training courses and answering questions. Kees: “The desk is a clear place where colleagues can go. In my opinion, this is often lacking in other organisations. When Debby announced the desk on the intranet, we immediately received a lot of questions in our inbox. People finally had somewhere to turn to. That doesn't mean we're always the ones who help, but we do know where to go. We work with an external agency for this, because we don't do some things ourselves. We believe it's important that the audits are carried out independently. Training is provided on request and covers a wide range of topics, so that's also done through the agency.”

Accessibility continues to be a matter of pioneering

The Kadaster has laid down performance agreements for the agency's accessibility services in a service level agreement (SLA). This ensures that the lines of communication and expectations are clear.

Kees: “For us and for the agency, it was the first time we had laid down agreements on accessibility. We have taken a year for the SLA to see if it works. This is all uncharted territory for accessibility. We have everything well organised now, but accessibility remains a bit of a pioneering endeavour. We continue to think about our training offerings. We haven't figured out some things yet, and we are transparent about that.”

You can't do it alone

Debby sees accessibility as something that really requires collaboration. “You can't do it alone, but if you find the right colleagues, you can make progress. Accessibility is rarely purely a technical issue. It requires collaboration between policy, design, technology and content. I see my role as the connector that brings these worlds together. We have made great progress at the Kadaster. It helps to use tooling not only to maintain an overview, but also to monitor and report regularly.”

Challenging accessibility issues

The Kadaster uses many applications, some of which it has developed itself. This creates unique challenges. Debby: “The teams are often keen to contribute ideas on accessibility. Because it is very challenging, we thoroughly search for the right knowledge to take the right steps in terms of content.”

“Our applications, for example, focus on how to make a lot of information visually accessible at the same time. And should navigation on a map be accessible? Or should we offer an alternative? All of this requires customised solutions. It is with good reason that I say to new colleagues: welcome to the “University of Accessibility”. We deal with pretty much the entire spectrum of accessibility issues. On the one hand, that's great, because it's never boring. On the other hand, you sometimes find yourself in unfamiliar territory. For example, if a colleague has something great, it can be frustrating if adjustments are needed to make it accessible,” adds Kees.

Different accessibility rules for different situations

The Kadaster works extensively with maps to carry out its tasks. These are difficult to make accessible. The Kadaster therefore looks as much as possible at the purpose of the map in order to arrive at an accessible solution. Kees: "A digital map is rarely really a map. It is actually a visual background layer for a piece of data that you want to display. Sometimes this is part of an ordering process, for example, and sometimes the map is the end product. Different rules apply to all these different situations, depending on the function of the map. This is exactly where an accessibility advisor is very valuable, because he or she knows these differences and can also explain them. We try to collect various components of applications in a design system so that our developers can reuse all that knowledge in other places.”

Ambitions for the future

The Kadaster is tackling the process of accessibility step by step. For this year, the organisation has set itself the goal of examining half of its 100 websites. Kees: “We are going to achieve that goal. The other half will follow next year. This will also give us more control over the range of education and training courses on offer, including those for new colleagues. We will then be able to better support colleagues who create things that need to be accessible. For example, colleagues who produce documents, developers and product managers. They need knowledge to ensure that they take accessibility into account right from the start. In combination with policy frameworks, we are thus increasingly improving accessibility.”

“The internal desk is now firmly established within the organisation. What's more, we now have several colleagues who are responsible for accessibility. This ensures that accessibility is a continuous process within the Kadaster,” says Debby.

Not only has Debby answered many questions from colleagues, she has also mapped out the processes thoroughly. “We didn't just make agreements, we set a movement in motion. Accessibility not a one-off project, but must become part of our daily work.”

Accessibility tip from Kees

Accessibility is an organisational issue and therefore requires a lot of customisation. “My tip for other organisations is therefore: set it up in a way that works for you. You need to carefully consider how your accessibility policy fits within your existing structures. And don't expect your structures or culture to change immediately just because you've written a policy. That will only happen once you've actively applied the policy for a few years, people understand it and people have been trained. So instead of opting for change, implement something that adds to the existing situation,” says Kees.

Debby's tips for accessibility

Debby: “Accessibility affects virtually all parts of an organisation. That's why it's important to involve everyone. Make accessibility concrete and tangible for your colleagues. Don't just tell people what accessibility is, but let them experience for themselves what it means in their daily work. At the Kadaster, we did this with an experience plaza during an internal event with almost 1,700 colleagues. There, they could experience what it is like to use a digital product with a disability. This made an immediate impression and generated enthusiasm to do better. Accessibility is not something that just concerns us as specialists, but rather the entire organisation.”