3‑Year Accessibility Plan 2023–2025

FinDev Canada is committed to creating accessible, inclusive, and equitable experiences for our clients, employees, and members of the public, including people with disabilities.

FinDev Canada’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan builds a foundation for accessibility across the organization over the next three years. This foundational plan:

• describes our actions to identify, prevent, and remove barriers to accessibility for the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) Section 5 (“Purpose”) areas.
• is guided by consultations with people with disabilities, accessibility and disability partners, clients, and employees as conducted by our parent company, EDC.
• contributes to advancing FinDev Canada’s inclusion, diversity & equity (IDE) goals.

Director, Corporate Affairs & Operations
FinDev Canada

• Online: Accessibility Feedback Form on our Accessibility page
• Email: Accessible@FinDevCanada.ca
• In Person or Mail: 150 Slater Street, Ottawa ON Canada, K1A 1K3
• Social Media: LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube

FinDev Canada welcomes feedback on this Accessibility Plan. Consult FinDev Canada’s Description of feedback processes on our Accessibility page for ways to provide feedback, and to learn how your information is used and safeguarded.

You can request alternate formats of FinDev Canada’s Accessibility Plan, or description of feedback processes by email (Accessible@FinDevCanada.ca) or by using the Accessibility Feedback Form on our Accessibility page. Alternative formats include:

• Print
• Large print
• Braille
• Audio format
• Electronic format.

Consultations conducted by EDC to inform FinDev Canada’s 3‑year plan identified barriers to accessibility and proposed actions FinDev Canada could take to prevent or remove these barriers. The annex lists barriers to accessibility organized by the Section 5 areas.

For the seven Section 5 areas, through our parent company, EDC, FinDev Canada has benefitted from meaningful engagement with people with disabilities and is taking a collaborative, multi‑year approach with teams across FinDev Canada to deliver more accessible, inclusive, and usable services, programs, and products for all.

For four of the seven Section 5 areas, FinDev Canada will follow EDC’s Accessibility Plan. Please consult EDC’s Accessibility Plan in English or French for the actions listed under the following four sections:

FinDev Canada is advancing our technology and digital capabilities to improve the experience for clients, employees, and members of the public.

Actions

• Benchmark against ACA standards for ICT.
  • CAN‑ASC‑6.1 – Information and Communication Technology, based on the European harmonized standard, EN 301 549, is targeted for adoption in 2023.
• Create an inclusive experience for all users, including people with disabilities, of FinDev Canada digital services and products.
• Implement accessibility enhancements to external website to ensure equal access to information.
• Update or replace technology across FinDev Canada that do not meet digital accessibility requirements.
• Increase employee awareness and use of accessibility features embedded in the technology, platforms, and digital tools regularly used at FinDev Canada.

FinDev Canada uses creative communications and channels to support our vision and mandate and to inform, inspire, and engage our clients and employees.

Actions

• Benchmark against ACA standards for communication.
  • Standard on Plain Language is targeted for publication in 2023.
• Provide content, brand, and design expertise to embed accessibility into all corporate and internal communications.
• Provide communications expertise to support external website accessibility updates to ensure equal access to information.
• Embed accessibility into external‑facing corporate events and meetings and provide guidance to planners and hosts for internal corporate events and meetings led by employees or teams.

The FinDev Canada’s Accessibility team will work with the EDC Accessibility Lead and employees to embed accessibility into daily practices.

Actions

• Benchmark against ACA standards for Design and Delivery of Services and Programs and update relevant FinDev Canada policies, guidelines, and programs as needed.
  • No ACA standards for Design and Delivery of Services and Programs have been published and no targeted date has been identified from the Government of Canada.
• Establish accessibility expertise to guide the work to scale, embed, and sustain accessibility within teams.
• Partner with teams to apply an accessibility lens at all phases of the design and delivery lifecycle of FinDev Canada’s services and programs.

EDC invited employees to share their feedback via an anonymous online survey and six virtual focus groups, including a session with the DiversAbility Employee Resource Group, a key partner for accessibility at EDC and FinDev Canada whose members include employees with disabilities and allies.

• Employees were invited to share barriers they experienced or observed and propose actions to create accessible and inclusive experiences for all.
• EDC created a safe space to share comments; Employees were not required, nor expected, to self‑identify with a disability. Employees were also reminded to respect privacy and confidentiality of information others shared.
• 94 employees took part in these consultation sessions, with over 50% of participants voluntarily identifying as having one or more disabilities.

In addition to the targeted consultations, the EDC Accessibility Lead met with 123 employees at 52 meetings to discuss accessibility at EDC and FinDev Canada. During these meetings, teams and individuals leading initiatives provided information on:

• Accessibility barriers people with disabilities experience when interacting with EDC and FinDev Canada services, programs, or products.
• Actions their teams are taking, or will take, to increase accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities.
• Challenges their teams encounter when applying accessibility to their work, namely, a decreased awareness of accessibility best practices to support inclusive experiences for customers and colleagues.

EDC, on behalf of FinDev Canada, consulted with external partners to inform our three‑year Accessibility Plan, and to identify best practices and evidence‑based resources to support awareness and training goals.

• Suppliers, including Accenture, Microsoft, and Canada Life.
• Disability partners, including Adaptability Canada, Inclusive Workplace and Supply Council of Canada, and the Employment Accessibility Resource Network.
• Crown Corporation networks for Diversity and Inclusion, Accessibility, Learning, Procurement.

In addition to the consultation activities, FinDev Canada is using information collected by EDC to inform the FinDev Canada Accessibility Plan and to prioritize accessibility activities.

• Employees and visitors are unaware of the accommodations and support they can access when in company spaces or attending company‑hosted events.
• A leader or colleague questions the capabilities of people with disabilities, which can negatively impact hiring decisions, job assignments, or promotions.
• Stigma from a leader or colleague, or self‑stigma, prevents an employee from sharing information about their disability or requesting accommodations.

• Office space or meeting room elements create unintended barriers for people with disabilities, for example, heavy sliding doors, poorly positioned meeting cameras.
• Hybrid office re‑design may disadvantage employees who need quiet workspaces, or customized desks to support accommodation requirements.
• Employees and visitors are not aware of company safety and emergency procedures.

• Minimal information exists in the market regarding Accessible Procurement to help guide work in this area.
• Internal partners may not consider accessibility criteria and features when procuring goods, services, and facilities.
• Procurement policies, programs, guidelines, and processes may create unintended barriers for people with disabilities.

• Information on accessible travel is not always shared with employees or visitors to company spaces or company‑hosted activities.
• Company travel and hospitality suppliers may not offer options for employees requiring accessible transportation or accommodations.

• Technology often does not meet the accessibility needs of people with disabilities who use assistive technology.
• Some technology suppliers are unaware of federal accessibility requirements or have no immediate plans to update their solution to include accessibility features.
• Some teams do not currently have the knowledge or skillset required to design barrier‑free experiences for people who use assistive technology.
• Employees have decreased awareness of accessibility best practices and features to support inclusive experiences for their customers and colleagues.

• Communications may only be available in one format, or non‑accessible formats.
• Information is difficult to find, access and understand from policies or guidelines to available services and support for customers or employees.
• Company communications may not be inclusive of people with disabilities, preventing customers and employees from engaging with FinDev Canada.
• Content leads are not familiar with how to make their content accessible.
• Meeting planners and hosts may design meeting communications and materials without considering accessibility requirements to ensure equal participation for all.

• Employees who interact directly with customers may not know how to communicate effectively with people with disabilities and different disability types.
• Teams work in silos or with limited time to meaningfully engage people with disabilities in the design and delivery of programs.
• Employees make assumptions or decisions about the accommodations a person may need, rather than asking them directly about their requirements.
• Team activities, including team‑building or social events, are often designed for people without disabilities and may unintentionally exclude participation by peers with disabilities.