Hybrid Accessibility Audit Toolkit for Public Buildings and Digital Platforms

Objective: Develop a user-friendly toolkit enabling local organizations to assess and report accessibility gaps in public buildings and websites for persons with disabilities.

Millions of Indians with disabilities, older adults, and other vulnerable groups face daily barriers accessing public spaces and essential websites, resulting in exclusion from education, healthcare, and civic participation. Despite legal mandates, most public buildings and digital services in smaller towns and rural areas remain unassessed for accessibility, with no affordable or scalable tools for local organizations to audit and report these gaps. This project supports SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities by addressing accessibility in both physical and digital infrastructure.

The proposed solution is a hybrid audit toolkit: a mobile app and web platform that guides users through standardized checklists for physical accessibility (ramps, signage, toilets) and digital accessibility (website contrast, screen reader support), referencing Indian and international guidelines. The toolkit enables rapid, crowdsourced audits by local NGOs, students, or citizens, with automatic data collation and easy reporting for improvement advocacy.

Key features include geotagged data collection, integration with OpenStreetMap for location tagging, offline support for field audits, a simple website accessibility scanner using open-source libraries, guided checklists based on the Harmonised Guidelines and WCAG, and auto-generated summary reports. The working prototype will be tested in partnership with a local disability-rights NGO and a municipal ward, targeting at least 20 buildings and 15 local government websites.

This solution empowers underserved communities to self-advocate for accessibility, creating actionable data for local authorities and NGOs. Impact is measured by the number of audits conducted, accessibility issues reported, and improvements tracked. The toolkit can scale citywide or statewise, supporting broader inclusion initiatives and public accountability.