Public-sector digital accessibility
Digital accessibility for government, built around the people who use it.
We help public-sector organizations assess digital accessibility, navigate regulatory requirements, engage people with disabilities, prioritize improvements, and build accessibility into the way digital services are designed and governed.
Talk to our government accessibility team How we work
Why this matters now — and keeps mattering
Accessibility has become a government operating requirement, not a one-time project.
Across the United States, Europe, the UK, India and beyond, governments are facing growing legal and policy expectations for accessible digital services. The rules differ by jurisdiction, but WCAG has become a common technical reference point across many accessibility regimes. The underlying goal is the same: people should be able to use the public services they depend on. Government services are human systems, and an accessible one simply does its job for every resident. That expectation doesn't expire on a deadline — it becomes the way public services are built.
The HCD difference
Most accessibility programs check a standard. We ask whether the service works.
Accessibility is a research discipline before it is a checklist.
Services · The HCD Government Accessibility Method
Assess. Plan. Engage. Sustain.
Not fifteen services — one method in four steps, from first assessment to sustained capability. Simple enough for a city manager, sophisticated enough for a procurement officer.
Digital Accessibility Assessment
- WCAG 2.1 AA assessment
- Automated + manual testing
- Assistive-technology testing
- Website & app assessment
- Document accessibility
- Gap analysis
- Risk prioritization
Accessibility Strategy & Roadmaps
- ADA Title II readiness
- Accessibility roadmap
- Remediation planning
- Accessibility policy
- Governance
- Accessibility standards
- Procurement requirements
- Vendor evaluation
Human-Centred Accessibility
- Disability-inclusive research
- Focus groups
- Usability testing
- Stakeholder workshops
- Service-journey research
- Accessibility co-design
Accessibility Governance & Capability
- Accessibility policies
- Training
- Content governance
- Procurement guidance
- Acceptance criteria
- Monitoring
- Re-testing
- Continuous improvement
The test that matters
Accessibility isn't about pages. It's about whether a resident can complete the journey.
A page can pass a scan while the task fails. We follow the whole journey — the way a resident actually experiences it — and ask a simple question at every step: could they finish?
Application · Accessible Website Refresh Advisory
Planning a website refresh? Build accessibility in — don't check for it at the end.
Modernizing a public website is the moment to get accessibility right. We advise public agencies through the whole refresh — so the new site is accessible on launch day, not retrofitted after a complaint. We guide the work; your team or your web vendor builds it, with us setting the bar and verifying it.
Why public agencies work with HCD
The qualities that shape every engagement.
Human-centred
We involve the people who rely on public services.
Evidence-led
Findings are grounded in research, testing and WCAG criteria.
Government-aware
We understand procurement, stakeholders, governance and public accountability.
Disability-inclusive
People with disabilities aren't an afterthought in testing.
Built to last
We build internal capability — not just fix today's violations.
United States
ADA Title II Digital Accessibility
For U.S. state & local government. ADA Title II makes accessible digital services a requirement — conformance to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. We take you the whole way: assess the estate, plan the path, engage the residents who use your services, guide remediation, and build the governance to sustain it.
Experience
Selected work across delivery and accessibility.
Radiology & pathology report integration
Building accessible, inclusive systems
- Universal Access — accessibility audit & certification practice (India)
- Universal Design diploma — with MG University & IUCDS
- Global Universal Design Conference (GUDC 27)
- HCD innovation curriculum & universal-design programmes
- Human-centred design curriculum adopted by MG University
Research
State of Government Digital Accessibility
HCD Institute is building an evidence base on accessibility across public-sector digital services — assessing a sample of U.S. government websites against WCAG, by tool and by hand, across the resident journeys that matter.
We compare what automated tools find against what human testing finds, and answer the question no dashboard does: can a resident actually complete the task?
Register interest in the studyBuilt for public procurement
We work the way government buying actually works.
Work with us directly, through an existing contract vehicle, or as part of a prime contractor team. Most consulting sites pretend government procurement runs like commercial sales. It doesn't — so we're set up for cooperative purchasing vehicles, master agreements, eProcurement portals and prime partnerships.
Who delivers this
HCD Institute, with U.S. delivery capability.
HCD Institute
Accessibility methodology, disability-inclusive research and human-centred design — the framework, the testing discipline, and the standard every engagement is delivered to.
Delivery partner · Enfin
United States delivery and public-sector engineering capability, brought in for U.S. engagements. The contracting structure is set to fit each opportunity.
Insights
Plain answers to the questions governments are actually asking.
Planning a website refresh or an ADA Title II program?
Different teams, different starting points. Pick yours.
The capabilities, deliverables and evidence you need to shortlist us.
Request our capabilities →How we test real journeys, and what the sector actually looks like.
Read the research →Already have an RFP or RFQ? Send it to us →
