Comparison of selected Arab and international policies and identification of best practices

Comparing and contrasting national e-accessibility policies is a useful way to identify the components that have the most impact. The implementing agency plays a key role in ensuring the success of any e-accessibility policy by monitoring its implementation, including through purpose-built templates. In some cases, national policy is implemented by a range of entities, each of which is responsible for directly implementing the policy or applying the relevant e-accessibility legislation. Usually, an implementing agency deals with a specific set of departments; for example, one department may be responsible for monitoring governmental institutions, while others cover banking, health, education, and services. This approach guarantees effective implementation across each different sector and ensures that each department is well aware of the requirements of the sector under their remit. The potential role of NGOs must also be taken into account. In certain countries, depending on their institutional structure, national e-accessibility policy can be implemented by an independent or public specialized agency.

Monitoring the implementation of national e-accessibility policies is crucial, since the impact and success of a policy will depend on whether or not it contains mandatory requirements for the private sector.

Monitoring and evaluation also play an integral role in ensuring that e-accessibility policies benefit as many persons with disabilities and special needs as possible, for as long as possible. The agencies responsible for comprehensive monitoring and reporting must be provided with the necessary mechanisms and authority to allow them to interact with the service providers to which the e-accessibility standards apply. This will, of course, vary depending on whether the relevant standards apply only to governmental institutions, or also to NGOs and the private sector.

Based on an analysis of national e-accessibility policy implementation in the Arab region and worldwide, the main lessons learned are summarized below, including a range of possible components for inclusion in the ESCWA national e-accessibility policy template.

The conclusions of the comparative analysis of best practices in e-accessibility policy design and implementation are summarized as follows:

Early adoption > Establishment of partnerships with stakeholders for policy design > Focus on sources of financing and potential returns of the policy > Flexible policy design > Creation of a realistic and step-wise action plan > Adoption of international standards