As a public body, ALONE aligns with the mandatory requirement to include accessibility in the procurement of products and services offered to people. The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD), established by the National Disability Authority (NDA), supports the development of standards, guidelines and toolkits for the implementation of Universal Design in a wide range of services and technologies. This is a guidance document describing how ALONE addresses the mandatory requirement of including accessibility in service provision. The document reports the case example of applying two European Standards documents (CEN – CENELEC Guide 6 / ISO/IEC Guide 71 and EN 301 549) in identifying the functional performance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products. ALONE’s Sláintecare project aims to provide technology and other services to support older people to manage their own health and wellbeing. It also aims to improve the local community’s capacity to meet the growing needs of older people. The CEUD engaged with ALONE in January 2020 as part of the ALONE Sláintecare project to provide guidance on the use of standards when identifying the user needs and evaluating the accessibility of technology products. The CEUD provided two workshops to ALONE staff including applied exercises to actual services and technology offered by ALONE. The first exercise allowed ALONE staff to identify and describe older people’s abilities and characteristics in relation to their use of technology. The second exercise focused on describing the functional performance of the technology being used. This demonstrates how both European standards can be in the evaluation, selection and procurement of technology products offered by ALONE to support older people. It also provides general guidance on considering accessibility during all stages of a procurement process.
