Advancing Accessibility Standards Research Program: Call for Expressions of Interest

You can submit your expression of interest by email or online.

Online

Complete the online form. Submit your form before 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on August 15, 2025. Note that this secure online form is hosted by Canadian Digital Services, which is part of the Government of Canada.

The online form is available in sign language - find it here!

If you cannot answer all the questions at once, do not worry. You can download your form at any time to save your progress. Simply click the “Save to device” button at the bottom of the screen. This will allow you to save your form and your answers as an HTML file.

When you are ready to continue answering the questions, simply:

• go back to the link to the online form
• scroll to the start of the form
• click the “Load your answers” button at the bottom of the screen
• select the HTML file you previously saved.

This will populate the answers you completed before. You can now continue to complete the form.

Once you submit the form, you will be directed to a web page confirming your submission. You will receive a copy of your expression of interest. Within 5 business days, we will also send an email confirmation to the contact person listed in your expression of interest. Check your spam folder if you have not received this email within 5 business days.

By email

Download and complete the expression of interest form:

• Microsoft Word (docx) format

Send the completed form to Recherche.NAC-Research.ASC@asc-nac.gc.ca. The sent date of your email must be no later than 3:00 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on August 15, 2025.

You will receive an automated confirmation by email that your expression of interest has been received. If you have not received this within 24 hours of sending your expression of interest, please check your spam folder.

Your expression of interest must include an estimate of how much funding your project will require per fiscal year. If you are invited to the next stage of the application process, you will be asked to provide a more detailed budget.

The following is a list of eligible expense categories. Use these to help estimate your project costs. Note that all costs must be directly related to project activities.

• Operating costs. This includes costs for administrative services and functions provided by your organization to support project activities. For example, this may include general supplies; mailing; bank charges and utilities; salaries, fees and benefits for employees or third parties who provide administrative support for the project. The operating costs you are requesting cannot exceed 15% of the total funding requested.
• Professional fees and services. This includes fees for consultants, partners, researchers, third-party IT support, technical expertise, facilitation, performance evaluation and reporting, and auditing. Any administration services/fees that third parties charge have to be included and identified in the operating costs.
  • Projects that receive more than $300,000 in total funding must submit audited financial statements at the end of the project. This audit must be done by a third party. Auditing-related costs are an eligible expense and must be included in the budget.
• Salaries, benefits, honoraria, and wages for employees, research assistants, and casual workers.
  • Incuded are salary replacement allowances. This is the cost to replace an employee temporarily so they can work on your project. The maximum amount is 50% of the replaced employee’s salary for each year of the project.
• Staff training and professional development costs related to project work.
• Participant costs (for example, accessibility accommodation costs to engage people with disabilities in research activities and participant honoraria).
• Costs of materials, equipment, and supplies.
• Printing and communication costs.
  • A research report and executive summary must be submitted for all projects. Both must be submitted in French and English, and the executive summary must also be written in plain language. Related costs, including translation and plain language editing, are eligible expenses. These costs must be included in your budget estimate.
• Travel costs (spending on international travel requires prior approval).

Ineligible project expenses

Costs that do not directly contribute to project deliverables are not eligible expenses. Examples of such costs are listed below.

• Costs related to:
  • supporting the core operations of your organization
  • improving your organization’s activities, tools, processes, or guidelines.
• Pay and benefits for employees not contributing to project deliverables.
• Costs for activities not contributing to project deliverables.
• Professional fees such as union dues, annual memberships, and certification fees.
• Money spent on alcoholic beverages or cannabis.
• Costs for land and/or buildings.
• Salaries of those holding an academic position at a post-secondary institution. These individuals are also not eligible for a salary replacement allowance.

Accessibility

Accessibility means barrier-free access. This is access that gives every person an equal opportunity to participate in society—regardless of disability.

Accessibility standard

A standard guides organizations so their activities are consistent across sectors. It means that people can expect the same level of service or the same quality of products. Accessibility standards are intended to remove barriers. They ensure that people with disabilities can fully and equitably participate in society.

Barrier

A barrier is anything that makes it harder for someone with a disability or functional limitation to fully and equitably participate in society. Barriers come in many forms. They may be physical, architectural, technological, or attitudinal. They may relate to information or communication. They may also be a result of a policy or practice.

Disability

The Accessible Canada Act defines disability as “any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication, or sensory impairment—or a functional limitation—whether permanent, temporary, or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.”

National disability organization

These are organizations that help people with disabilities participate in society. Under this program, they must have a national mandate and conduct activities in 4 or more provinces or territories. They may work in partnership with other organizations or have offices in different provinces or territories.

Partnership

Partnerships are collaborative arrangements between an organization that received funding and an individual or another organization. They can include both financial and in-kind contributions. Partners cannot be a member of the applicant’s organization. Partnerships can include collaborations with any of the following:

• other research organizations with complementary mandates
• organizations that specialize in certain aspects of research (for example, data collection, survey facilitation, development of specialized software, financial matters)

Annual priority research areas

Automated chat-bots and virtual assistants technology, including virtual assistants using artificial intelligence

A chatbot is a computer program that automates repetitive tasks within a defined scope. The chatbot can be used to help decrease repetitive office tasks or personalize automated client interactions. It can use conversation to help people find answers to common questions, provide information, collect data or analyze user issues.

Virtual assistant technology is a tool that can perform different tasks or services for a user. The person uses commands or questions to use the virtual assistant. The interaction can be done in writing, through a graphic interface or verbally.

This research priority refers to the accessibility of these tools.

Service delivery for people with temporary or episodic disabilities, including mental health-related disabilities and invisible disabilities

This relates to the need for organizations to consider accessibility when planning, creating, implementing, and delivering programs and services, specifically for people with temporary or episodic disabilities, including mental health-related disabilities and invisible disabilities. An important aspect of this priority is involving people with disabilities in the design and delivery process of services.

Temporary disabilities are understood as a disability that only affects a person for a limited period of time and can be expected to recover to some extent with treatment or time.

Episodic disabilities are understood as disabilities that can change over time, sometimes unpredictably.

Mental health is a state of well-being. It includes our emotions, feelings of connection to others, our thoughts and feelings, and being able to manage life’s highs and lows. Mental health-related disabilities can be understood as the reduced ability for a person to function effectively over a prolonged period of time due to a condition of mental impairment or a mental disorder.

Invisible disabilities can be understood as disabilities that may not be noticeable. This means you likely can’t tell a person has a disability by looking at them or communicating with them.

Addressing attitudinal barriers and ableism

This research priority refers to the need for organizations to consider attitudinal barriers and ableism and identify ways to remove them.

Attitudinal barriers are the ways people think and feel about people with different disabilities, which results in limiting the potential of people with disabilities. These barriers usually stem from misconceptions and assumptions about living with a disability. Examples include stereotypes, bias, discrimination, and prejudice.

Ableism is conscious or unconscious thoughts, beliefs, actions, and practices that discriminate against people with disabilities. It can limit the opportunities of people with disabilities and reduce their inclusion in their communities. Ableism can be individual or systemic (barriers that are integrated within policies, laws, regulations, and practices). Ableist assumptions can result in harmful stereotypes, misconceptions and generalizations of people with disabilities and their experiences.

Environmental sensitivities

Environmental sensitivities are negative health effects that come from being exposed to environmental factors such as chemicals, scents, biological agents and radiation in the air, water, food, homes and buildings where we live and work. These factors can include contaminants such as smoke, molds, dust, perfumes, vehicle exhaust, fluorescent lighting and more. People who have allergies or a sensitivity to certain products may have a bad reaction to a much lower level of chemicals, perfumes or environmental triggers than the average person. Their reaction is a medical condition. It is a recognized disability. People with allergies or environmental sensitivities are entitled to protection. People who experience environmental sensitivities can encounter barriers to full participation when environmental factors that trigger a negative health reaction are present.

This research priority refers to the need to remove or reduce triggers in the environment that cause negative health effects.

Priority areas identified in the Accessible Canada Act

Built environment

A built environment is a physical area built by people for human activity. This includes buildings and urban spaces where people live, work, play, or visit. 
The built environment research priority refers to the need to make this environment accessible. For example, an accessible design is one that removes barriers to accessibility for individuals who: 

• use mobility devices. For example, designs that include elevators, ramps, and automatic doors and that ensure adequate space.
• have sensory or cognitive needs. For example, designs that remove barriers by:
  • using lighting, sounds, or textures
  • limiting or removing scents or causes of sensory overload
  • providing visual, auditory, or tactile cues
• require wayfinding assistance. For example:
  • visual signage and cues such as symbols, large print, and contrasting colours
  • audible or visual signage and cues, using Braille, tactile and other textures

Communication, other than information and communication technologies (includes accessible communication using sign language)

Communication is a two-way process. It happens when people give and receive information in face-to-face interactions. It also includes:

• reading and understanding written information (such as on websites and social media)
• completing and signing forms and documents

This research priority refers to ensuring that people with disabilities have access to communication tools that enable the giving and receiving of information. It does not include the development of the tools themselves. For example, providing access to: 

• options for different ways of communicating (such as in person, on the phone, in writing, online, or via video)
• alternative types of documentation (such as accessible websites, print, Braille, plain language texts), and processes such as an electronic signature option
• sign language interpretation (American Sign Language, Langue des signes québécoise, Indigenous Sign Language)
• means of communications used by people who are Deafblind

Design and delivery of programs and services, including inclusive and accessible service delivery

This relates to the need for organizations to consider accessibility when planning, creating, implementing, and delivering programs and services. An important aspect of this is involving people with disabilities in the design and delivery process.

Employment

Employment is when someone receives money in exchange for work for an employer. This research priority refers to accessibility in the context of employment. For example:

• having accessibility features in the workplace (such as offering flexible schedules and providing access to accessible technology)
• eliminating barriers related to attitudes in the workplace (due to, for example, discrimination, lack of knowledge, or lack of awareness training)
• making recruitment, retention, and promotion more accessible by, for example:
  • including accessibility features in the hiring process
  • correcting situations where few or no people with disabilities have been hired or serve in management roles
• providing accessible employment for youth with disabilities transitioning from school to work.

Information and communication technologies

This refers to any communication device that enables people to access, store, transmit, understand, or use information. These technologies include:

• radio, television, cell phones, and satellite systems
• computer and network hardware
• services such as video conferencing and distance learning
• analogue technology, such as paper communication
• any form of technology that transmits information.

This research priority refers to projects that address technology-related barriers that affect the accessibility of a technology that facilitates communication. It does not include projects aimed at developing such technologies. 

This research priority relates to the need for organizations to consider accessibility and barriers when buying goods, services, or facilities that will be used by people with disabilities.

Procurement of goods, services and facilities

Buying goods, services, and facilities by and for the federal government, for the use of the federal government and Canadians.

Transportation

This refers to the action of transporting someone or something from one destination to another, or the process of being transported.

This research priority relates to the accessibility of transportation policies and programs. It also refers to providing access to, and the accessibility of, transportation modes that are federally regulated. 

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