Expertise based on personal experience

Users are often the first to notice what works or doesn’t work on the web. Their experience is worth its weight in gold for website owners who want to make their websites accessible. In a new project led by Funktionsrätt Åland, we will train experts on accessibility based on people’s own experience as users.

People with disabilities have extensive experience with what works or doesn’t work in digital services. Together with their knowledge of their own needs, these experiences constitute a unique form of informal expertise on accessibility.

At the same time, municipalities and public authorities have difficulties finding the right expertise to assess whether their websites are accessible. The need for expertise in accessibility has increased with the stricter legislation both in Sweden and in other Nordic and EU countries.

There is a large, hitherto untapped potential for public authorities to tap into users’ knowledge and experience in order to make their websites and apps accessible.

In the newly launched project Expertise through Experience, the Funka Foundation, together with Funktionsrätt Åland, will develop training in accessibility knowledge for people with disabilities. Through the training, the participants will gain expertise in how they can guide authorities and give advice on accessibility on a consulting basis. The starting point is the users’ own needs and experience when it comes to web accessibility.

The project is a unique Swedish-Alandic cooperation, funded by Interreg Central Baltic. The participants in the course come from the archipelago regions of Stockholm and Åland. Participants trained as experts will be able to use their newly gained knowledge to apply for jobs as expert advisers in both regions.

During the spring, we will develop the programme together with Funktionsrätt Åland and with input from both users and public authorities. The training will be carried out online in the autumn of 2024 and will also include a practical audit component involving public authorities from the Stockholm archipelago and Åland.

Expertise from Experience – EFE
Objective: Train at least 15 people with disabilities from Åland and the Stockholm region to become experience experts on accessibility.

The project is financed by Interreg

Project leader: Funktionsrätt Åland
Partner: Funka Foundation
Time period: November 2023 – April 2025