Standards have a ‘first-mover’ advantage: it’s better to influence and shape an emerging standard yourself, rather than see a competitor do it. BSI is skilled at engaging with stakeholders - on an individual or consortium basis – to collaboratively produce BSI-endorsed Publicly Available Specifications in an unprecedented timescale. The result: agenda-setting clarity - achieved cost effectively and quickly.
Case study - Website accessibility
When research showed that huge numbers of websites were inaccessible to disabled people, the Disability Rights Commission knew it had to act. With a lack of clarity as to what precisely constituted an appropriate level of access, an opportunity existed for it to set the agenda.
With help from BSI Professional Services, it developed and launched a standard that has received plaudits from around the world - underlining a leadership position in an area where definitions of best practice have been lacking. "Website owners have a legal duty to ensure their sites are accessible to disabled people: thanks to PAS 78, there's now no ambiguity about what that duty involves," says Stephen Beesley, software development manager at the Commission.
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