Comprehensive Digital Accessibility Audit for a Large Ontario Municipality
Residents do not see a website and fourteen separate vendor applications. They see their municipality. We audited the whole picture.
Project Overview
A large Ontario municipality engaged Accessibility Partners to audit its entire public-facing digital presence: the main municipal website, a sports and recreation portal, 14 third-party applications, and all 10 social media channels. The goal was a complete conformance picture across every digital surface a resident might encounter.
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The Digital Ecosystem & Vendor Conformance Challenge
Modern municipal digital infrastructure is not a single website. Residents pay parking fines through one vendor platform, book recreation programs through another, register pets through a third. Social media is often the first place a resident looks for service information. The municipality was responsible for the accessibility of all of it, but conformance data existed for almost none of it.
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Our Multi-Platform Audit Approach
We audited each component separately, using the appropriate methodology for each type of platform. City-owned properties received deep manual and automated testing. For the 14 third-party applications, we produced conformance scores that could be used directly in vendor management conversations giving procurement staff the data they needed to hold vendors accountable. For social media, we evaluated 200 posts across all 10 channels, assessing alt text, captions, colour contrast, and video captioning.
Project Snapshot
- Industry
- Municipal Government
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
- Compliance Standard
- AODA
- Key Result
- 14 vendors + 10 social channels
AODA Conformance Audit Results
| Platform | Conformance |
|---|---|
| Score City website | 38.10% Sports |
| Recreation portal | 56.76% |
| Third-party applications (14) | 31.1% – 81.25% |
| Social media (10 channels, 200 posts) | 55.17% |
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Vendor conformance scores delivered for all 14 third-party applications
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Social media assessment across 200 posts and 10 channels
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Full digital ecosystem conformance picture delivered in a single engagement
Services Used
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Application Testing
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Social Media Accessibility Audit
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Vendor Conformance Reporting
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for the accessibility of third-party vendor applications a municipality uses?
Municipalities are still responsible for ensuring residents can access services provided through vendor platforms.
How do you audit social media accessibility across multiple channels?
We review captions, alt text, colour contrast, video accessibility, and posting practices across all channels.
How can municipalities use vendor conformance scores in procurement conversations?
Conformance scores help municipalities identify accessibility risks and hold vendors accountable for improvements.
What does a full municipal digital ecosystem accessibility audit cover?
It can include websites, portals, third-party applications, and social media platforms used by the public.
