Procurement Tips

It is the responsibility of employees and purchasing agents of Texas A&M University to find the most accessible business solutions possible when procuring digital resources. Make sure you allow adequate time to secure information necessary to aid you in your procurement decision. 

Steps to ensure accessibility

Do your homework by researching the accessibility of a given product or service before taking steps to purchase it.

• Obtain a vendor-completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Template® (VPAT®). When completed, it is known as an Accessibility Conformance Report, or ACR. The report will allow you to assess the accessibility of digital resources.  
  • Search for the ACR on the vendor's website. It may be referred to as a VPAT.
  • If not available online, request an ACR from the vendor.
  • If the vendor does not have an ACR readily available, refer them to the blank VPAT® with instructions so company representatives may complete it. The current VPAT® template, WCAG version, can be found on the ITI website in the "Resources" section of the VPAT® page.
• Compare the ACRs of the different products you are considering, and choose the most accessible digital resource that best meets the business needs of the University.
• Get your procurement and contract offices involved. They often have accessibility language ready to insert into procurement documents and can work with specific vendors to ensure compliance.
• For additional information, contact the Technology Services accessibility team.

VPAT® usage and limitations

The VPAT® and the resulting ACR are merely tools to be utilized by those procuring digital resources. Albeit valuable, ACRs based on the VPAT® should never be taken at face value. Conversations with vendors about accessibility are a vital part of the procurement process. 

Just because a vendor notes "supports" within its ACR, it does not necessarily mean it's a good option. Some things to look for:

• If a vendor has never heard of the terms VPAT® or ACR, chances are the digital resource in question is not accessible. You may need to do some independent research and/or testing.
• An ACR which indicates "supports" for all criteria without much explanation about the digital resource should raise a red flag regarding its validity.
• More is not always better. Just because an ACR for a given digital resource contains more supported criteria than another, does not make it the more accessible choice. Careful consideration should be taken to analyze how the product or service will be used and how each of the criteria affect that usage.

Depending on scope or utilization of the digital resource, additional accessibility testing may be warranted. For example, if a particular software will be utilized for a large group on the Texas A&M campus, testing would be necessary. It can be performed at the unit level or by the Technology Services accessibility team. Either way, proper documentation of accessibility testing is necessary to proceed with procurement of digital resources.

Additional requirements and documentation

Whether a digital resource is purchased to fulfill a business need, or services are procured for development of digital resources, ALL procurement documents should include a statement about digital resource accessibility standards. These may include, but are not limited to, Requests for Qualifications, Requests for Proposals, and Contracts. For additional assistance, contact your procurement/contracts office.