Civic Tech Field Guide
Sharing knowledge and productively growing the fieldAdjacent Fields > Foundational layers > Assistive and Accessible Tech - (53)
The web and other technologies should be accessible to all people. The ability to use technology regardless of disability or status is a fundamental precursor to that technology serving civic goals.
Suggested resources:
Showing 53 Results
Disability Data Standard
Boston, MAWe want to develop a standard approach to collecting data about disability from constituents and City employees to improve accessibility and inclusion in Boston.
ACR Editor
United States of America (the)This web editor helps evaluators build Accessibility Conformance Reports in the US OpenACR format
KIKI, Virtual Human Interpreter
Japan (Nihon or Nippon)The world's first text-to-sign interpreter for emergency alerts
Lookout uses computer vision to assist people with low vision or blindness get things done faster and more easily.
Look to Speak is an Android app from Google which enables you to use your eyes to select a menu of phrases and pictures and have them spoken aloud.
Powered by artificial intelligence, Eye Tracking gives users a built-in option for navigating iPad and iPhone with just their eyes.
Project Gameface helps gamers control their mouse cursor using their head movement and facial gestures.
a11ybuddy
Germany (Deutschland)A11yBuddy is the software behind an innovative web portal that empowers everyone to report and track digital accessibility issues.
Por un Entorno Digital Accesible (PUEDA)
ArgentinaLa iniciativa tiene como principal objetivo difundir conceptos clave y buenas prácticas de la accesibilidad digital en el Estado, la sociedad civil, la academia y los sectores privado y técnico, actores críticos a la hora de alcanzar entornos digitales accesibles.
Accessibility Lab (a11y Lab)
Mexico (Estados Unidos Mexicanos)We are a company that seeks to ensure the inclusion of people with disabilities through accessibility in the digital world.
Barrier-Free Communication Bratislava
BratislavaThe Barrier-Free Communication service allows citizens with specific needs to communicate with the city in a form that is comprehensible to them.
It's a tool that brings attention and understanding to how color contrast can affect different people with visual impairments.
21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act
Washington, DCThe bill’s sponsor, Representative Ro Khanna, summed it up by saying, “Government exists to serve citizens, and this bill ensures government leverages available technology to provide cohesive, user-friendly online service that people around this country expect and deserve.”
The first object interaction app for the visually impaired. iOS only.
Fingerspelling.xyz is a browser-based app that uses a webcam and machine learning to analyze your hand shapes so you can learn to sign the ASL alphabet correctly.
This standard explains what you need to do to make your web content and services accessible. We need to design and build services and content that everyone can access and understand.
The gaming giant is making its accessibility-related patents royalty-free
OpenSidewalks
Seattle, WA, United States of AmericaOpenly mapping for the pedestrian experience.
AccessMap
Seattle, WA, United States of AmericaA map of Seattle and areas with accessibility in mind, including hill steepness and sidewalk curb barriers
Accessibility ABCs
Tunisia (Tunis)A practical toolkit for the global civic tech community
A candid and practical handbook for designers. by Sheri Byrne-Haber
The Closing The Gap Conference is an annual assistive technology conference that presents an opportunity to deepen your assistive technology (AT) knowledge and strengthen your implementation strategies.
Access Lab
PortugalAccess Lab é uma empresa que trabalha o acesso de pessoas com deficiência e S/surdas à cultura e ao entretenimento enquanto direito humano fundamental.
El acceso a los servicios de la información y la comunicación y las personas con discapacidad - Un estudio exploratorio realizado en la región del Cono Sur
YAI Center for Innovation and Engagement
New York City, NY, USAYAI’s Center for Innovation and Engagement understands how technology can help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities better participate in their community.
Solve accessibility issues before they reach your customers.
Accessibility Personas
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)The GDS Accessibility team has created 7 different accessibility personas. Each persona has different access needs.
Microsoft Adaptive Accessories
Redmond, WAAdaptable buttons and mice for everyone
Snap Lenses teach users American Sign Language
Los Angeles, CASnap has new Lenses that show users how to fingerspell in American Sign Language
City of NY Virtual Meeting Accessibility Guide
New York CityThis guide is meant to provide information on how you can make your virtual meetings accessible to people with disabilities.
Disability Futures Fellows at Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation Building, East 43rd Street, New York, NY, USACreated by, for and with disabled practitioners, Disability Futures is an initiative—developed in partnership with The Andrew W
Tools and practices for making products and services accessible to everyone.
This Ford Foundation toolkit includes introductory disability definitions and language guidelines, in addition to guidance on creating accessible in-person and virtual events, social media, and disability inclusive employment practices from recruitment to retention.
This site loads one of a series of prompts to help the user empathize with people experiencing various conditions, from Multiple Sclerosis to near-sightedness.
Alt Text as Poetry
New York CityAn artistic project to bring poetic composition to accessible alt text on the web
Aira
4225 Executive Square, La Jolla, CA 92037, USAAira connects people who are blind or low vision to a trained professional agent who is dedicated to further enhancing their everyday experience – completely hands-free assistance at the touch of a button.
Access Guide is a friendly introduction to digital accessibility based on WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).
Just enter the website URL into the tool and it will let you know the accessibility issues it finds.
The purpose of this guide is to standardise accessibility features and ensure accessibility compliance across Code for Africa’s projects. Please feel free to copy and adapt it for your organisation.
US Digital Service Accessibility for Teams guide
United States of America (the)A guide to digital accessibility created by US Digital Services
Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading.
Centre for Internet and Society
194, 2nd C Cross Rd, Stage 2, Domlur, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560071The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is an Indian, non-profit organization that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives -- including hundreds of articles on Accessibility.
The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act
United States CapitolThe 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act (IDEA) requires all government-produced digital products, including websites and applications, to be consistent, modern, and mobile-friendly.
Seeing AI
Redmond, WAA free app that narrates the world around you. Designed for the low vision community, this research project harnesses the power of AI to describe people, text and objects
Wayfindr with TfL
52-58 Arcola Street, London E8 2DJ, UKWe have developed the world's first internationally-approved standard for accessible audio navigation.
Secure Usability and Accessibility Lab at Open Tech Fund
2025 M Street Northwest, Downtown, Washington, DC 20036, USAOTF’s Secure Usability and Accessibility Lab offers secure usability and user-interface assistance to Internet freedom and digital security tools to help them recognise and solve usability challenges that hampered the adoption of those tools in repressive contexts.
The Smart City Digital Inclusion Maturity Model is a tool to help cities worldwide assess and benchmark their level of digital inclusion and ICT accessibility.
Get email updates
Helpful Links
Reach Out
A project of
With support from
National Endowment for Democracy
Founding Organization
Civic Hall
Technology partner
Civic Tech Field Guide