Online Information on Employment and Training Opportunities for Disabled People Project Reference Group Meetings

Minutes from the Meeting 8th June 1999

St Thomas’s Centre, Ardwick Green North, Manchester

1. Present

Ruth Gould - Full Circle Arts
Eve Davidson - Isaware
Nicola Teece - MCIN
Colin Floyd - Manchester Youth Service
John Clark - Project Evaluator
Erica Stross - Workable
Alex McDonald - Toucan
Dave Ellis - Toucan

Apologies

Mary Moss - WEA
Jenny Craven - REVEIL project, CERLIM
Tish Dockerty - MTMC
Rowan Purdy - MIND in Manchester
Bob Lee - Tameside College
Tony Martin - Tameside College

2. Minutes of the last Meeting

Agreed, matters arising will be covered through the agenda items.

3. Report on Progress of the UK programme

(a) Web Site/Information Service

We now have a new web designer in Toucan who is currently checking through the On-Line site.

They are currently looking at the navigational structure, assessing the access and looking at improving the speed at which the site loads etc. This work will also introduce better accessible navigation paths not only visually but also in the order in which links etc., are shown by different web browsers.

At the same time new links will be placed and existing links checked, as well as continuing the development of the information and material contained on the site.

The structure of the web site is also being examined with particular regard as to who is the target audience.

Presently the home page profiles the project and its development, with direct access to the sections within the site. The Information Service should be of higher profile since it is the 'front end' in terms of the web based project activity. At present drafts of a 'new' home page are being produced which will still introduce the project but give a higher profile to the Information Service, whilst still allowing access to the project details and transnational work.

There are also considerations as to show changes on the site to that demonstrate that it is more pro-active than simply passive information.

(b) Training Programme

(a) Currently the project is running two training sessions in Oldham in for the Oldham Disability Alliance and NewVale House (a resource/day centre). The participants are all disabled users of the above organisations who initially attended a 'taster' session on the use of the Internet etc., organised by the project. They are undertaking the NVQ 'Certificate in Telematics' Level 1 with the course being delivered by Tameside College at the Business Centre computer facilities in Oldham.

(b) Sessions are also underway with Ethnic Disabled Group Emerging (EDGE) for members of their management group and volunteer workers. Initially four sessions have been programmed with the expectation that further training will be provided.

(c) Other sessions are currently being planned with the Newbridge Centre in Stockport for workers and user groups, Bury and District Disability Access Centre (BADDAC) for workers, Manchester Deaf Centre, and Venture Arts in Hulme for workers and users.

(d) We are also exploring the possibility of training being provided in Chester to the Access Group, further training with MIND in Manchester, and a number of groups in Tameside.

(e) The Level 2 NVQ training is aimed to start at the end of July/start of August, at the moment details have been sent out and we are waiting for establish the best start date for the trainees/organisations involved.

(c) Accessibility

At the last meeting the idea of spreading awareness of the issues around access etc., and attempting to get other organisations/projects to take them on was highlighted as a crucial area of work.

(a) We have initial agreements with the WEA/GMB College to support this but at present it appears little progress has been made. People generally agree to the principle but the a ctual change seems harder to achieve.
This point will be raised on the agenda to see if there can be some form of strategy or approach can be used to ensure wider change.

(b) There have been positive developments in the widening of awareness such as the work in Oldham. Following the provision of training through the project the Library Service has met with some of our trainees to ask their advice over what changes need to be made in order to improve access to the library provision of Internet/computer access.
The feedback, in a basic form, will form the basis of a Library bid to improve the access to computers within the Library service. We will be developing our links to see if further work can be undertaken as well as examining the possibility of using these developments as an example of good practice.

(c) Similar work, in terms of the issue, is being undertaken in Tameside with the Telematics Group who have been made aware of the accessible web site issues, and the use of Bobby etc. The issue still needs to be pushed within the group to ensure that it does not get 'left off' during development work.

(d) The NW Disability Technology Forum is attempting to promote the issues but is struggling to male an impact because of a lack of access to the people who have the 'power' to make changes and/or agree to take on board the issues.
We are looking to at least have a presence to promote the issues (part of the idea is to have a web page, which will probably be hosted within the Project Site or Toucan).

(e) The information from the sessions with Blind users, organised earlier this year, in conjunction with the REVEIL project of the British Library has now been passed into the formal report, which is to be published shortly.
The work carried out through the project has been included, as well as a direct reference to the project.

(f) The European Office for Programme Support (EUROPS) has developed a new web site for projects under the main strands of ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT to describe their activities. The project will take this opportunity to highlight the lack of access and push for acceptance of the access guidelines.

4. Access Dissemination

As previously noted the project has been promoting the issues around web site design and accessible computing facilities. Other organisations have been taking the issues on board and raising the profile of the issues, what we need to move on is getting more agreements at a policy level especially with the developments of the National Grid for Learning etc.

It is important that there is explicit mention of the need to ensure access, although it has to be recognised that the issues does not simply stop at the use of the Internet and computers. There is a wider need to address issues of lack of awareness, attitudes and the general issues of access as a whole.

Work has been ongoing to make the issues more explicit in terms of the profile of the access issues. What is needed is support from other organisations and a joint approach at raising the issues involved at a 'policy' level as well as with 'grass roots' organisations.

It was thought that the issue of disability equality training had to be addressed within this area. It is important that trainers are aware of the issues involved but not only with the use of computers. Without a basic understanding of the issues and reasons it may prove problematic in getting acceptance of web design etc., and the need to ensure access.

1. The project should proceed and hold sessions on accessibility for IT trainers, use of accessible software etc., but also develop 'good practice training'. This to highlight the effects of attitudes upon the delivery of training courses, there would be no use on providing a session on accessible page design if the whole session was delivered in a patronising way for disabled people.
2. This range of sessions can be organised for local groups, such as MCIN, VAM, ISaware etc. From this they can also be used to access other policy makers to highlight the issues mentioned.
3. Check through the 10 local authority sites to establish their policy on information via electronic formats and check the accessibility. This is a relatively new area for many councils who are only just providing internet based services but are keen on pushing this a the way of people to access services.
4. Contact Peter Fell and get a more explicit agreement/profile under the issue of Social Inclusion. There are number of regional initiatives around the use of ICT and they should place a greater profile upon the needs of easy access and design for all.

5. External Project Evaluation

Following on for the last meeting the draft Interim Report has been accepted, the important area is what action is taken in certain areas highlighted within the report.

Proceedure of Evaluation

The project will be running until the end of June 2000 and it is intended that a revised report will be made at the end of November. Following discussions with people involved in the project it will be finalised in the middle of next year and sent to the national co-ordinating body ECOTEC.

The evaluation has been carried throughout the project's activities, which is an improvement compared to other projects where the evaluation has been tacked on at the end. This does place greater pressure on the project in that feedback is acted upon during implementation.

John Clark will be contacting members of the group in the future to gather feedback possibly a questionnaire or phone call, this will not be some intense exercise but the process is very useful.

The use of the Evaluation Report will help to identify areas and determine the appropriate end results.

Involvement of Disabled People

The question of the involvement of disabled people many not be an issue, the first meeting of the group there was only one disabled organisation present, but now there is more representation which brings a different view to the project and its activities.

Disabled people are the target group for the project and its is intend to provide support to them. From this there are areas raised in the report:

1. Assessment of the outcomes of this support work
2. Perhaps more identification of the hierarchy of disabilities/identification of disabilities in terms of access and provision of training facilities.
3. Collation of needs and the spectrum of access, for example the use and availability of language symbols.
4. Do disabled people want an integrated information service? Also what are the access issues not in terms of the service design but where people are accessing ie., home, libraries.

In response to the access issues research carried out by Full Circle Arts has found that 60% of disabled people had a computer, with 90% of these having Internet access. There is a need for integrated information the problem in the past has been that information has been lead by non-disabled companies. There is a lack of information for disabled people and any increase in the availability should be seen as an improvement.

1. Priority should be given to getting information from local/user groups.
2. Need to link into more local sites such as the local authority sites that should have some disability-related links.

6. Transnational Partnership

The partnership met last March in Manchester, with our new partner from Gran Canaria present.

Training courses in Spain and Sardinia have completed or nearly completed, and the respective projects are now moving to establish co-operatives and work contracts for translations and teleworking.

The Gran Canaria project is in the process of setting up their training programme in the rural highlands, and working to identify the people they will be working with.

Information is being sent through around Social Enterprises and Telematics & Disabilities. This will be placed on the TAD web site as a series of links organised along country lines.

The next meeting is being held in Sardinia at the end of July where work on the joint document on Good Practice on Telework and Disabilities will continue.

7. Events, Conferences and Networks

(a) Toucan was present at the Global Applied Disability Research and Information Network on Employment and Training (GLADNET) Annual Conference May 27th & 28th 1999.
The meeting was primarily aimed at how GLADNET could improve its dissemination work and further the opportunities for disabled people, and how it can better feed information into the International Labour Organisation's activities, including access issues.
The network is growing but needs to be more proactive in its activities etc. More information is available at the web site www.gladnet.com , including the report of the meeting.

(b) HUISTA conference end of August
This conference is primarily aimed at he social services sector that are looking to increase the usage of ICT within their work and especially as a means to provide information.
The project is presenting a paper about the need to ensure that access issues are central to any developments rather than seen as some form of specialist section.

(c) Disability Technology Forum
We will be attempting to get the Forum working again, especially in light of the work around dissemination and contacting policy level people.

(d) Association of Disability Advice and Information Providers (ADAIP) National Conference, November '99
The project has been asked to lead two workshops at their national conference in Birmingham around the use of computers, access issues and development of the usage of ICT.

(e) Toucan Conference Manchester Dec 2nd'99
We are holding a conference at the St Thomas Centre, as last year, but more aimed at the groups that have been involved within EMPLOYMENT projects. The aim is to share experience of the project activities, good practice etc., and what the next steps should be in continuing further work in the respective project areas.

8. Any other Business

None

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