Welcome to Procure Access! Launched in July 2022, Procure Access is a business-to-business initiative facilitated by Disability:IN and a new component of the Disability:IN Digital Accessibility Program. It brings together companies that recognize the importance of buying and selling technology that is accessible to people with disabilities.
Procure Access companies believe that accessible procurement is essential to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts and is part of the foundation of a disability-inclusive workforce and customer base. The initiative develops and shares best practices for both buyers and sellers in a global cross-industry effort to grow the number of companies with accessible procurement programs. This group is currently invite-only.
We invite you to explore our current offerings and join Disability:IN and the companies that have signed the Procure Access Statement in our efforts to make accessibility and disability-inclusion essential components of today’s procurement processes.
Quick Links
Procure Access Statement
The Procure Access Statement describes the pressing need to expand the number of businesses of all sizes that prioritize accessible procurement. The Statement identifies obstacles facing both buyers and sellers committed to technology products and services that disabled employees and customers can use. And it establishes shared goals of the companies who have signed the Statement, such as “Encourage the sharing of transparent, current, and accurate information about technology product and service accessibility.”
Webinar: Building Successful Accessible Procurement Programs: A Conversation with Procure Access Companies
Today’s businesses recognize the importance of purchasing, selling, and licensing technology and services that can be used by all stakeholders, including applicants, employees, and customers with disabilities. Knowing where to start or what to do can be a challenge. This webinar will review eight essential building blocks, designed to assist both buyers and sellers on their digital accessibility journey. After a review of the building blocks, a moderated exchange will occur, learning from members of the Procure Access Advisory Group on their accessible procurement journeys.
Panel Participants:
- Larry Goldberg, Accessible Media and Technology Consultant
- Ronda Hendricks, Director of Accessibility, Procurement at Fidelity Investments and Co-Chair of the Procure Access Advisory Group
- Kyla Hovda, Senior Accessibility Program Manager, Procurement, at Microsoft
- Gloria Lewis, VP – Compliance & Accessibility at AT&T Services, Inc. and Co-Chair of the Procure Access Advisory Group
- Abid Virani, Co-Founder at Fable
- Jeff Wissel, Chief Accessibility Officer at Disability:IN
Building Blocks of Accessible Procurement
Accessible procurement is multi-faceted and requires the work, commitment, and attention of many people and business units of an organization. There is lots to do and at times it can feel overwhelming.
The Procure Access Building Blocks simplify things. Think of the blocks as a quick start guide for your accessible procurement journey. They are the foundation of a successful program.
Establish Business Case, Develop Policies, Update Procurement Documents, Prioritize Remediation, Define Requirements, Ask Good Questions, Test Products, and Ensure Accountability.
Building Blocks Zoom Series
- The Business Case for Accessible Procurement Overview – Jeff Wissel, Chief Accessibility Officer at Disability:IN (Zoom Recording)
- The Business Case for Accessible Procurement Fireside Chat – Jeff Wissel and Ronda Hendricks, Director of Procurement Accessibility at Fidelity (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Develop Accessible Procurement Policies Overview – Gloria Lewis, VP Compliance & Accessibility at AT&T (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Developing Accessibility Procurement Policies Fireside Chat – Gloria Lewis and Steve Framil, Head of Global Accessibility at Merck (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Ask Good Questions Overview – Derek Shields, Inclusion Works Consultant at Disability:IN (Zoom Recording)
- Ask Good Questions Fireside Chat – Derek Shields and Kyla Hovda, Senior Accessibility Compliance Manager at Microsoft (Zoom Recording)
- Ensure Organizational Accountability Overview – Ronda Hendricks, Director of Procurement Accessibility at Fidelity (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Ensure Organizational Accountability Fireside Chat – Ronda Hendricks and Viola Williams, Director, Digital Engineering Accessibility at CVS Health Digital (Zoom Recording)
- Prioritize Remediation Overview – Kara Zirkle, Product Manager, Education and Consulting at Dell (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Prioritize Remediation Fireside Chat – Kara Zirkle and Stephen Dekat, Senior Accessibility Solutions Architect at T-Mobile (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Test for Accessibility Overview – Gurpreet Kaur, Head of Product Accessibility at MasterCard (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Test for Accessibility Fireside Chat – Gurpreet Kaur and Ben Ngobi, Global Supplier Inclusion & Sustainability Lead at Accenture (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Update Supplier Code of Conduct Overview – Mike McCabe, Employee Accessibility Program Manager at JP Morgan Chase (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Update Supplier Code of Conduct Fireside Chat – Mike McCabe and Kristian Burch, Director of Accessibility at Salesforce (Recording | Transcript)
- Define Requirements for New and Renewed Purchases and Licenses Overview – Monica Ackerman, Head of Accessibility and Digital Product Equity at Scotiabank (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
- Define Requirements for New and Renewed Purchases and Licenses Fireside Chat – Monica Ackerman and Gautam Rao, Global Digital Accessibility Leader at EY (Zoom Recording | Transcript)
Accessible Procurement Toolkit
Once you’ve reviewed the Building Blocks, the Disability:IN Accessible Procurement Toolkit is your comprehensive resource for all aspects of an accessible procurement program. One way to dive into the toolkit is through its table of contents, which includes items such as Before You Buy: Investigate Accessibility and Focus on Accessibility Post-Purchase.
You can also access content through the Quick Reference for Common Questions section, which includes issues such as I need an Accessible Procurement Policy or I want to involve my Employee Resource Group and disabled employees in the procurement process.
And, most importantly, you can learn from your peers by visiting the Toolkit sections with sample procurement documents from Disability:IN partners.
Accessible Procurement Questions
Transparent, current, focused, and accurate information about accessibility is essential for the purchase and sale of technology products and services that people with disabilities can use. The Accessible Procurement Questions are designed for buyers and sellers in the private sector to obtain and share critical information about product and service accessibility.
Procure Access Advisory Group
The Procure Access Advisory Group is a diverse group of cross-industry business leaders and invited policy experts who help guide the work of Procure Access. The Advisory Group works closely with Disability:IN’s Accessibility Leadership Committee and the organization’s Procurement Council to expand the reach of Procure Access and to build relationships between corporate leaders in the procurement and accessibility sectors. Visit the Disability:IN Committees page to learn more.
Accessible Procurement Resources
A central goal of the Procure Access Initiative is to develop and share best practices to help companies embed accessibility in all processes involved in the purchase and sale of technology products and services. In addition to resources mentioned above, the Disability:IN public facing library includes webinars and written resources to help companies on their accessible procurement journey. There, for example, you can find the 2022 Disability:IN webinar titled Accessible Procurement: An Essential Element of Disability Inclusion on GAAD and Every Day.
Accessible Procurement Ecosystem
As a global business-to-business initiative, Procure Access is part of a broader ecosystem of government and non-profit organizations and projects committed to advancing accessible procurement across sectors. Resources from some of these organizations can be found in the final section of our Accessible Procurement Toolkit. Procure Access looks forward to learning from and sharing best practices with accessible procurement leaders in other sectors, including higher education and government, both in the United States and globally.
The Procure Access Name
In choosing the name “Procure Access” for this initiative, we join a community of “Access” projects committed to growing and solidifying the inclusion of disabled people in the digital world now and in the future.
Teach Access is an active collaboration among educators, industry, and disability advocacy organizations to bring the teaching of accessible design and development to higher education. XR Access is a community committed to making virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (XR) accessible to people with disabilities
Disability:IN thanks these organizations for their work. Procure Access is excited to bring global corporate leadership, best practices, and collaboration to the critical area of accessible procurement.
