The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative announces the Research Questions Task Force (RQTF), part of the Accessible Platform Architectures (APA) Working Group. The purpose of the RQTF is to engage the research community in addressing knowledge gaps uncovered while enhancing support for accessibility in the technologies that will shape the future of the Web.

How to Participate

The RQTF seeks participation from researchers in accessibility and related fields who are keen to contribute their knowledge, ideas and experience to the development of Web technologies. Participants are sought from diverse research organizations, including those in academia, industry, government and the non-profit sector.

Participation will provide a forum to share research interests, publish ongoing work, and stimulate new research ideas. By participating in the RQTF, you will help ensure that future web technologies live up to the promise of creating a Web that is accessible and inclusive of people with disabilities.

You can join the RQTF as follows:

1. Contact the RQTF facilitator, , to indicate your interest and explore your role.
2. Join the APA Working Group, following the procedures on the Working Group's participation page.
3. Once you are a participant in APA, ask the staff contact to add you to the task force.

About the RQTF

The APA Working Group reviews all draft W3C technical specifications to improve accessibility to people with disabilities. The RQTF will assist in this mission by:

• Identifying short-term and long-term research questions for investigation;
• Working to gain insight into these questions by identifying and synthesizing relevant research, identifying relevant researchers, and informing the community of unexplored research opportunities;
• Disseminating its findings.

A more comprehensive description of the activities and deliverables of the Task Force is provided in the RQTF Work Statement.

Scope of Work

Examples of topics that may be investigated by the RQTF in the coming year include, but are not restricted to:

• Authentication: How to enable users to authenticate their identities accessibly and securely on the Web;
• CAPTCHA: Accessible approaches to distinguish humans from software agents;
• Personalization: How web technologies should support the adaptation of user interfaces to each person's individual access needs;
• Navigation: Explore how users of keyboard and assistive technology on desktop and mobile devices can best navigate complex web applications and structured graphics.