Working with Vendors

Requirements

Any contract, license, or arrangement with another entity, including third-party vendors and contractors, to provide digital products and/or services for Martin County must ensure that those services comply with Title II and meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA technical standards.

Scope

This applies to all procurement processes, including purchase orders, contracts, and p-card purchases, and encompasses various digital products and services, such as websites, web and mobile apps, software as a service (SaaS) platforms, cloud-based solutions, digital content, e-commerce and payment portals, interactive tools, and more.

Evaluating Accessibility in Acquisitions

All decision-makers involved in acquiring technology solutions at Martin County must prioritize and consider accessibility early and throughout the process as one of the criteria for acquisition. This is especially critical for enterprise-level systems or technologies that affect a large number of users.

Before purchasing any digital product or service, Martin County staff should follow these steps:

  1. Vendors must be asked to provide a VPAT and information about the accessibility of their product.
  2. The information provided by vendors must be valid, measured using a method that is reliable and objective.
  3. Accessibility assurances should be included in contracts. Those making procurement decisions must be able to objectively evaluate the accessibility of products, and to scrutinize the information provided by vendors.

Requesting Accessibility Information From Vendors

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

Martin County relies on the guidance provided by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) for a detailed report of the accessibility of a product or service. Vendors should provide an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) in the most current VPAT® format to demonstrate their accessibility support. The VPAT® template must be fully completed and include testing methodology, conformance level, and remarks for any partially supported or non-supported level per the success criteria of WCAG 2.1 AA.

Suggested Questions for Vendors

In addition to obtaining a VPAT, those responsible for making procurement decisions should ask vendors specific questions about the product or service to determine a product’s overall suitability, such as:

  1. Does the product conform to the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards?
  2. Has the product been tested by disability users? If so, what disability groups?
  3. Who will maintain the product for compliance?
  4. What is the system used to report and address accessibility problems to the company? What is the company’s timeframe to review these reports and make changes to fix the reported accessibility problem?
  5. Is the product compatible with commonly used assistive technology products (e.g., JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, ZoomText, MAGic, Dragon Naturally Speaking)? Describe the process used to evaluate such compatibility, including any manual testing that is done with assistive technology devices.
  6. Can the product be used using only a keyboard? In other words, are there any functions of the product that require use of a mouse to operate? When using a keyboard to operate the product, is there always a visual indication to know what control is being focused by the keyboard?
  7. Are there other companies/agencies who have procured this same product, and can they be used as a reference?

Product Accessibility Road Map

For any WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria which the product or service either only partially meets, or does not meet, the vendor should provide a road map documenting the expected timeframe and release cycle that will resolve each accessibility issue. Departments should follow up with the vendor to ensure the product meets the goals of their accessibility road map.

Product Demonstration

At its discretion, Martin County may request a product demonstration of the accessibility support features of a given IT product or service. The vendor should be prepared to create a test account and provide a tour of the accessibility features (demonstrating both keyboard support and screen reader support) of their product via a web conference or in-person meeting.

Language for RFP / Contracts / Statements of Work

Recommended language to include in Requests for Proposal (RFP) and vendor contracts for software with a user interface, including websites, web applications, mobile or desktop applications, as well as the acquisition or creation of web-based content and electronic documents.

“Please confirm in your proposal that your product/service conforms to the guidelines for accessibility as set forth in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (minimum Level AA conformance), or more recent version, and describe how this compliance has been verified. In addition, if applicable, provide an Accessibility Conformance Report, using the latest version of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®) published by the Information Technology Industry Council, documenting compliance with the WCAG guidelines. The document should include a written description of the compatibility of the product/service with commonly used assistive technology products (e.g., JAWS, NVDA, ZoomText, MAGic, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) and a description of the process used to evaluate such compatibility."

Submit Your Purchase Request to ITS

  1. Access the Project Request Intake (PRI) Form via the link in the RFS. Once completed, attach the completed PRI Form, the VPAT, and any other relevant accessibility documentation to your RFS – IT New Project Request.
  2. ITS will notify you if your request is approved or denied, and advise on next steps.

Please contact Martin County ITS Help Desk (ext. 4800) with any questions.