Procurement
About
The GSA Section 508 program provides information and guidance on procuring accessible information technology. See Guidance on Acquisition for Accessible EIT
A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) provides information on how a product or service claims to conform to the Section 508 Access Board Accessibility Standards for Electronic and Information Technology (EIT). It is a company’s own assessment of how their product conforms to U.S. Federal Accessibility Standards using the VPAT template.
Principles
The VPAT, housed by the Information Technology Industry Council, was developed as a tool to assist federal contracting officials and other buyers in making preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial “Electronic and Information Technology” products and services with features that support accessibility. As more and more companies complete VPATs for their products, the VPAT can be used to help evaluate a single product or several products for a side-by-side comparison.
Resources
Buy Accessible Section 508 Blog
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) Directory
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) Form
US Department of State IRM Program for Accessible Computer/Communication Technology (IMPACT)
Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) Accessibility