Fueled’s Post

Last month, I co-authored a white paper with my colleague Brian Bourn, shaped by nearly seven years of work with multiple State of California agencies and several notable federal projects. 📘 Grounded in real-world case studies, the paper offers a pragmatic framework for achieving and sustaining accessibility at scale. In our experience, maintaining accessibility after a launch or "clean up" is where things most often break down. We explore how smart CMS architecture, automation, and integrations can reduce reliance on manual effort, which tends to be time-consuming, resource-intensive, and especially prone to human error. What sets this white paper apart is its focus on the *efficiency* case for accessibility in government. We’ve seen it firsthand: one of the most effective ways to reduce spending without cutting services is to shift labor-intensive, in-person support to self-service digital workflows. That’s not a new idea, but in practice, it can't be said enough that the same populations who need accessible digital services are also those often most in need of government support. When online services fall short for those populations, the cost, both human and financial, is high. 💸 In my view, the accessibility conversation is too often framed solely around morality (“you should do this because it’s right”) or legal risk (“you should do this so you don’t get sued”). Both are valid. But especially in the context of constrained budgets and hard choices, it’s critical to make the case that accessibility is good government, not just ethically, but operationally. We've uploaded the paper in PDF and ePub formats. I'd love any feedback or input! https://xmrrwallet.com/cmx.plnkd.in/gjaARh39 #Accessibility #DigitalGovernment #GovTech #InclusiveDesign