Strategic Plan background
Providing accessible and equitable digital experiences is a shared responsibility. This plan defines the mission, vision, goals, and strategies to advance digital accessibility and equity within executive department agencies. It will also serve as a template for secretariats to create their own implementation plans.
Purpose
The Digital Accessibility and Equity Strategic Plan is designed to:
- Provide the Commonwealth executive department with an actionable 3-year plan toward increasing digital accessibility maturity.
- All secretariats to create an accessibility implementation plan to serve as a roadmap for their organizations.
- Include initiatives, measurable goals, benchmarks, and metrics for program development and maturity.
- Serve as a high-level playbook to inform the public and guide internal state agencies involving accessibility initiatives.
Definitions of digital accessibility and equity
Digital accessibility is the practice of designing, building, and procuring digital experiences free from barriers that block access for people with disabilities. When digital experiences are created with accessibility in mind, the experience is more usable and equitable for everyone.
Digital equity is a state in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy, and economy. Digital equity includes several elements, such as access to affordable broadband internet, which are being advanced in Massachusetts by other organizations and initiatives. The scope of this strategic plan focuses on the equity and inclusiveness of the digital technologies that support state service delivery.
Commonwealth priorities
In 2023, on the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Governor Healey issued Executive Order 614, which established the Digital Accessibility and Equity Governance Board and required Accessibility Officers in each Executive Office. The Executive Order also tasked the Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (TSS), under the leadership of the Chief IT Accessibility Officer and the Board, with developing a statewide digital accessibility strategy.
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) set technical standards for state and local governments. A technical standard defines what criteria or rules must be followed for accessibility. The standards set by the DOJ are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1 Level AA (external link), published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Plan development
From June to August of 2024, the Commonwealth researched the state of digital accessibility across its Executive Offices. This involved interviews with leaders, staff, and people with disabilities who use these services, in addition to website testing and discussions with other state governments about their programs.
Mission and vision
Mission
To provide internal and external constituencies with accessible, equitable, inclusive, and usable digital programs, services, and activities to the greatest extent possible.
Vision
The Commonwealth will create a culture of accessibility and inclusiveness where persons of all abilities and needs can effectively and equitably participate in and benefit from the digital services, programs, and activities offered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Goals and strategy overview
The following goals and strategies will advance the Commonwealth in reaching its vision for digital accessibility and equity.
| Goals | Associated Strategies |
|---|---|
| Goal 1: Organize and fund the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program | Strategy 1: Define the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program structure Strategy 2: Secure sufficient funding for the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program |
| Goal 2: Establish a governance, risk, and compliance framework | Strategy 3: Construct a Digital accessibility program governance framework |
| Goal 3: Foster an informed and engaged network of stakeholders | Strategy 4: Develop a program communications plan and engagement model Strategy 5: Advance engagement with people with disabilities and those from all communities Strategy 6: Engage with multistate governments and organizations |
| Goal 4: Procure accessible and equitable IT products and services | Strategy 7: Incorporate digital accessibility and equity requirements into IT procurement processes |
| Goal 5: Empower Commonwealth employees to advance digital accessibility and equity | Strategy 8: Develop, deliver, and track general and role-specific digital accessibility and equity trainings |
| Goal 6: Design, build, and maintain accessible and equitable digital services, programs, and activities | Strategy 9: Understand people’s needs and experiences with our digital services Strategy 10: Embed digital accessibility and equity requirements into the software development lifecycle Strategy 11: Remediate existing software to meet technical standards Strategy 12: Create and maintain accessible and equitable digital content (e.g., electronic documents, multimedia, social media, and digital communications) Strategy 13: Develop and implement an action plan for remediating existing digital content |
Goal 1: Organize and fund the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program
A critical first step is to set a program structure, staff, and resources. This will help to embed digital accessibility and equity in the organization. Year-over-year funding is needed to support the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program. It will fund staffing, tools, contracted services, and other resources.
Strategy 1: Define the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program structure
Massachusetts is building a hub-and-spoke program structure. With this structure, a centralized team will define and drive the program. Additionally, each agency across the Commonwealth will embed accessibility experts.
Strategy 2: Secure ongoing funding for the Digital Accessibility and Equity Program
Each secretariat and agency will assess its funding needs. These will vary based on their specific priorities.
Goal 2: Establish an up-to-date governance, risk, and compliance framework
A governance framework facilitates effective oversight and accountability. This framework is intended to create awareness of risk and inform agency decision-making. Some of this framework is already in place, established by state law and executive order. It is important to build upon this to further improve digital accessibility and equity at the Commonwealth.
Strategy 3: Construct a digital accessibility and equity program governance framework
The Commonwealth will need to formalize job expectations for staff roles across areas such as procurement, communications, etc. This will enable the Commonwealth to evaluate program performance and make improvements.
Goal 3: Foster an informed and engaged network of stakeholders
Effective communication with partners and stakeholders strengthens relationships and facilitates active participation in the practice of digital accessibility and equity.
Strategy 4: Develop a program communications plan and engagement model
The Commonwealth will develop a communications plan to share progress updates and resources in collaboration with the secretariats.
Strategy 5: Advance engagement with people with disabilities and from all communities
The Commonwealth will promote diverse, accessible channels for people with disabilities and other communities to engage with the Program. It will also seek to understand their circumstances and needs proactively.
Strategy 6: Engage with multistate governments and organizations
The Commonwealth will cultivate a support network with other states to share information, learn from other programs, and contribute to industry best practices.
Goal 4: Procure accessible and equitable IT products and services
Vendors provide IT products and services involved in delivering Commonwealth programs and services. Procuring accessible and equitable digital products is essential to a successful digital accessibility practice.
Strategy 7: Incorporate digital accessibility and equity requirements into IT procurement processes
The Commonwealth will provide guidance for procurement staff and information on active contracts related to digital accessibility and equity. This will improve our ability to monitor vendors for compliance with accessibility requirements.
Goal 5: Empower Commonwealth employees to advance digital accessibility and equity
Commonwealth employees are our most powerful asset. They deliver services and products that meet our community's needs. Training is essential to provide basic and specialized training for state employees.
Strategy 8: Develop, deliver, and track general and role-specific digital accessibility and equity trainings
An effective training program is role-specific and multimodal. Well-defined base knowledge and skills, incentives, and completion tracking will strengthen the training effort further.
Goal 6: Design, build, and maintain accessible and equitable digital services, programs, and activities
Accessibility and equity start with planning and design. Digital services Commonwealth staff will work to embed accessibility and equity requirements into all stages of the software development lifecycle. This ensures digital apps meet technical standards and work with assistive technology.
Strategy 9: Understand people’s needs and experiences with our digital services
The Commonwealth will evaluate its digital content and applications to deliver services to people with disabilities and other communities effectively. This evaluation can use user experience research, usability testing, and accessibility testing, among other methods.
Strategy 10: Embed digital accessibility and equity requirements into the software development lifecycle
The Commonwealth will pursue a combination of automated and manual testing, role-based operating procedures, enabling software for key roles, and user testing to integrate accessibility and equity requirements into the software development lifecycle.
Strategy 11: Remediate existing software to meet technical standards
Executive offices will establish auditing and remediation processes for digital applications.
Strategy 12: Create and maintain accessible and equitable digital content (e.g., electronic documents, multimedia, social media, and digital communications)
Digital content other than software requires separate procedures, checklists, and support materials to address digital accessibility and equity.
Strategy 13: Develop and implement an action plan for remediating existing digital content
Executive offices will audit and remediate existing content to meet current accessibility standards. They will do this based on user impact and traffic.