Theme:Economic Impact
Contents |
Intro
Since the Access Board has to do a Regulatory Assessment (RA), we are well advised to provide some content for it if we can. Last time the RA said very little about benefits. There is quantitative research on the overall costs of disability, so we might be able to estimate benefits by estimating some reduction in the number of individuals experiencing unemployment or exclusion from federal ICT, attributable to improved accessibility. We need to clarify if economic impact methods are to be used to differentiate among particular options for a Standard. That is, are we supposed to look at 3 draft versions of a Standard and estimate their costs and benefits as a criterion for what the Committee recommends?
Costs
Costs take two forms. The first is easier to understand and account for: the actual, technological cost of making a product more accessible, such as an additional physical component, more software development, etc. The second category is "process" costs, which are substantial. These include staff training, overall management of accessibility, staff and other resources required to analyze products through the filter of the Standard, and then to communicate about accessibility internally and externally. For example, take the work of the Committee itself. Although not one product has been directly affected, certainly millions of dollars have been expended to support our dialogue.
We believe that we have made progress in addressing the issue of costs, in the context of generally improving the Standard and increasing its overall positive impact on the accessibility of E&IT. Our recommended changes to the Standard will both add and subtract specific kinds of costs to the ICT market, both to ICT vendors and to federal and other ICT customers.
Cost increases will come from:
- More provisions
- Provisions that cover previously uncovered products
- Provisions that are more expensive to process
- Provisions that are technologically more expensive to implement
Cost decreases will come from:
- Provisions that release some products from coverage
- Provisions that are easier to implement (including those that are easier to understand)
- Provisions that are technologically less expensive to implement
- Provisions that are better harmonized with other requirements such as WCAG and ISO 9241
Benefits
Categories of beneficiaries
There are three classes of beneficiaries for which a quantitative analysis should be conducted:
- Federal employees with disabilities
- Members of the public with disabilities, when they use federal ICT
- Members of the public with disabilities
The third category is intended to benefit from 508 via "leverage" of the federal ICT dollar. That is, vendors are motivated to make their products accessible in order to sell to the federal government. Vendors will not create another, inaccessible version of the product, so the the general product will be able to purchase an accessible product. The third category also includes any application of the work of the Committee to Section 255, because that Section addresses the total telecommunications marketplace, not just federal ICT.
Categories of benefit
- Increased employment opportunities
- Increased educational opportunities
- Increased market participation opportunities
- Increased household management and self-care opportunities
- Increased social participation opportunities
- Increased opportunities for social participation
