Accessibility
American Sign Language (ASL) video
ASL version of the general and executive summary sections, not including references to the specific administration of tri-agency programs found in the Agency’s mandate.
Transcript
(Sign language interpreter against grey background signing the text of the general and executive summary sections)
General
The purpose of this progress report is to share our advancements in implementing our Accessibility Plan. As we published our inaugural Accessibility Plan in December 2022, we highlighted our commitment to becoming an organization that builds accessibility in the way we do business. As we look back over the past eighteen months, measuring the progress we achieved and noting where we did not accomplish as much progress as we hoped, we can only reaffirm this commitment. We have been able to deepen our understanding of barriers that persons with disabilities face and can better appreciate their resilience and creativity as they navigate a world that was not designed with them in mind. This has been made possible through the various activities we embarked upon, such as developing our internal accessibility implementation plan; further engaging with members of staff and of our research community who have a disability; re-entering our new headquarters; and advancing some of the initiatives listed in our Accessibility Plan.
Mindful of the fact that each priority area is part of a system that ultimately supports our mandate to promote and assist research in the natural sciences and engineering, we adopted a comprehensive approach to accessibility such that internal and external efforts build on one another. This interconnectedness means that by removing barriers in one priority area, we improve accessibility across our agency, to everyone’s benefit.
Executive summary
This Accessibility Progress Report describes achievements the agency has made in the first year of implementing its Accessibility Plan. More specifically, it presents activities completed in the following priority areas: organizational culture; employment; built environment; information and communication technologies; communications; procurement; design and delivery of programs and services; and transportation. It also highlights how persons with disabilities were consulted in preparing this progress report and presents feedback received since publishing the agency’s Accessibility Plan.
