Advancing Accessibility Standards Research
Call for Expressions of Interest: Closed
Accessibility Standards Canada is not accepting submissions at this time. Check back in the spring! Or better yet, register to our newsletter to know when the next call will open.
Contact us
Questions about our program? Contact us at Recherche.NAC-Research.ASC@asc-nac.gc.ca
Purpose of the program
Accessibility Standards Canada’s funding program supports diverse research projects that aim to inform the development of next-generation model accessibility standards. These standards must fall within federal areas of responsibility. The research projects must align with this purpose and help identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessibility.
Objectives of the program
The main objective is to work with a lot of different people and organizations across Canada to move forward accessibility standards research. This will support a national network of accessibility expertise. The other objectives of the program are:
- Involving people with disabilities, other experts, and organizations in every aspect of the research; and
- Identifying and sharing research, information, best practices, and tools about accessibility barriers and standards.
What does “federal areas of responsibility” mean?
It means a topic that affects organizations governed by the Canada Labour Code (Code). Federal law governs these rules. The rules apply to the Government of Canada and some industries. Here is a full list of industries and workplaces under federal rule.
Here are also examples of federal areas of responsibility:
- Government of Canada programs, services, and activities
- federal buildings and national parks
- certain private sector organizations in areas such as:
- banking
- broadcasting and telecommunications
- road transportation services that cross provincial or international borders
- any other sector where the federal government has an interest in advancing accessibility
Priority areas for funding
Core priority areas
The 7 priority areas set out in the Accessible Canada Act (the Act) are the core of our funding program.
These 7 priority areas will always be considered for funding:
- Built environment
- Communication, other than information and communication technologies
- Design and delivery of programs and services
- Employment
- Information and communication technologies
- Procurement of goods, services, and facilities
- Transportation
Eligible organizations are encouraged to submit an Expression of Interest supporting any of these core priority areas during the call for Expressions of Interest. This usually takes place in the spring.
Accessibility Standards Canada also reserves the right to solicit proposals from eligible organizations in any of these 7 priority areas, at any time.
Annual priority areas
Every year, Accessibility Standards Canada assesses emerging needs and may add annual priority areas to complement our core priorities. This helps ensure that our program addresses both the 7 core priority areas set out in the Act and additional priorities that could help address evolving accessibility barriers.
Here are some examples of annual priority areas we have added in the past:
- accessibility within northern communities, including cultural and climate considerations
- Canada’s election process, including voting and running for office
- retrofit of existing facilities, including non-traditional work environments and home office environments
Annual priority areas are announced at the beginning of each call for Expressions of Interest.
Eligible organizations are encouraged to submit a research proposal supporting any of the core and annual priority areas during the call for Expressions of Interest. This usually takes place in the spring.
Who can apply
All Canadian organizations that are legal entities in Canada can apply for funding. However, organizations must fit into 1 or more of the following categories:
- research or educational institution (such as a university)
- not-for-profit organization
- Indigenous organization, including a band or tribal council or other self-governing entity
- provincial or territorial organization (excluding provincial or territorial governments)
How to apply
We usually launch a call for Expressions of Interest every spring.
Register for Accessibility Standards Canada’s newsletter to be kept in the loop on any future open calls for funding.
A call for funding is a two-step process:
Step 1: Eligible organizations can submit Expressions of interest. An Expression of interest is a summary of a research project. In it, you indicate what you intend to accomplish with your project and how your project will meet the purpose and objectives of the program.
Step 2: We select Expressions of interest that best match the program’s purpose and we invite the applicants to submit a more detailed project proposal and a detailed budget. Accessibility Standards Canada uses the information submitted in the application to assess each proposal and make our funding decisions.
Centre of Expertise
To learn more about funded research projects, visit our Centre of Expertise. The Centre of Expertise centralizes and facilitate access to:
- research that has received funding through our grants and contributions program, and
- standards, including those we co-develop and those under development.
All standards and research found in our Centre of Expertise support and are organized according to the Accessible Canada Act’s 7 priority areas.
More information about our program
Did you receive funding for a project? Learn how to acknowledge financial support from Accessibility Standards Canada.
Want to know more about the delivery of our funding program? Learn about our Service standards for the Advancing Accessibility Standards Research program.
Submitting a research report? Consult our Guidelines on how to create accessible documents.
Find projects funded in previous calls on open government.