We need to ask for more VPATs

Here is another post from Accessibility Forum 2.0 blog by Terry Weaver.

The biggest problem with buying accessible electronic and information technology in the Federal government isn’t bad VPATs (or other 508 conformance documentation); it is the fact that we don’t even ask most of the time! As part of GSA’s sampling of Fed Biz Opps solicitations, we check to see if agencies request a VPAT from vendors when they are trying to procure EIT. In our sampling, we found that only 6% of the time do agencies ask for a VPAT.

The fix? Use BuyAccessible.gov and get the right language for your solicitation, and you can require your offerors to fill out and submit the Government Product/Services Accessibility Template (GPAT).

To learn more about the difference between a VPAT and GPAT read this past post.