Re: Call for Consensus (CfC): Publish Maturity Model Note

Following my +1 endorsement for publishing the Accessibility Maturity Model as a W3C Note, I would like to provide evidence of its practical application and value. We understand questions have been raised regarding the model's usability, and our experience demonstrates that it is a highly effective and actionable framework.

Since learning about the model at the 2022 TPAC, Benetech has been deeply engaged with its development and application.


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Internal Adoption: We successfully implemented the W3C's model to evaluate and improve the accessibility maturity of every department within Benetech. This was a company-wide Objective and Key Result (OKR) last year, demonstrating our confidence in the framework.


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External Pilot Program: Over the last year, we used the W3C model to guide a pilot program with several educational institutions, including two K-12 districts, a community college, and a private college. The goal was to help them prepare for upcoming regulatory changes (Title II) and build more inclusive environments.

The feedback from these institutions was overwhelmingly positive, affirming that the model provides a clear and valuable path toward improvement. Below are a few anonymous quotes from pilot participants.

Feedback from Pilot Participants:

"Benetech’s accessibility roadmap guides our campus-wide planning. This roadmap helps us assess where we currently stand in terms of accessibility maturity, looking across areas like procurement, digital content, training, and policy, and then sets clear goals and benchmarks for where we want to go. That has really been helpful for a school who actually had a really good start, but needed some guidance."

"The range and breadth of areas covered by the maturity model was the most valuable and insightful aspect for our institution, making the case that the responsibility for ensuring accessibility is not limited to a few specific groups on campus but extends throughout the institution and is imperative for all departments and personnel to be aware and engaged. The scale and 'proof points' were also valuable constructs."

"We have many areas for improvement, and it did help us see that there are several 'easy' things we can do to improve - i.e. documenting processes."

"I think the holistic approach and view were the most valuable as it gave us a broader look at our institution (besides just the website and LMS), which is what we had focused on previously."

This feedback demonstrates that the model is not just theoretical but is a practical tool that organizations can use to produce actionable roadmaps for improvement. We strongly support its publication as a W3C Note.



Thanks

Charles

EOM

Charles LaPierre

Principal, Accessibility and Content Quality Architect

Benetech