In June 2024, Glenlead Director, Dr Vaughan Connolly, co-hosted a workshop on accessible procurement with Kellie Mote from Jisc as part of the Accessible Digital Futures (ADF) project.

The workshop, entitled Accessible procurement. Exploring the challenges and identifying collaborative solutions in Scottish Higher Education, brought together stakeholders from across the education sector. They included the Universities of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Caledonian, and Heriot Watt, and representatives from Higher Education IT Directors Scotland (HEIDS) and Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC).

Participants expressed concern over the added complexity of procurement when it comes to AI, and the danger of ‘techno-solutionism’ as vendors may be tempted to overstate the capabilities of their products.

Key challenges: How to ensure that vendors can take responsibility for their products, how to navigate the jungle of procurement frameworks, and how to ensure that products are adequately tested and that test results are shared across the sector.

Key question: How can we shift the perception of accessibility being a mitigating risk and compliance requirement to a strategic opportunity for innovation and growth?

Our workshop report from the event can be accessed here.