2012 Open Innovation Challenge for Election Accessibility

          We received the below video e-mail:

Participation in elections is a central function in any democracy, but people with disabilities including visual, physical, cognitive and language disabilities still face barriers to voting, registering to vote, and learning about candidates.

What would happen if a community of 20,000 creative thinkers, designers, engineers and problem solvers committed to working for social good put their heads together to find new ways to make voting accessible?

That’s the idea behind the Open Innovation Challenge (http://elections.itif.org/projects/open-innovation-challenge/), part of the Accessible Voting Technology Initiative.*

The purpose of the challenge it to generate ideas to improve the accessibility of elections and allow more people with disabilities to engage in civic life. The challenge will be conducted using OpenIDEO, a collaborative online environment that allows everyone, from election officials to accessibility advocates, to participate in the design process. Through sharing and collaboration, good ideas can gain momentum.

The Accessible Voting Innovation Challenge will open in early 2012 and run for 10 weeks as the challenge moves through three phases: inspiration, concepting, and evaluation.

The winning ideas will be carried forward in the Accessible Voting Technology Initiative. Participants in the challenge will also be eligible to apply for grant funds from the Accessible Voting Technology Initiative in the spring of 2012.

IDEO, a design and innovation firm, developed OpenIDEO and will manage the Accessible Voting Innovation Challenge.

To be notified when the challenge begins, sign up for project updates at http://elections.itif.org/sign-up-for-updates/

*The Accessible Voting Technology Initiative is 3-year project working to: understand the barriers and facilitators to voting for people with disabilities; identify gaps where current technology fails to fill user needs and where new solutions can have the most impact; and work to integrate these changes into the current election environment. The partners in this intiative are: The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation; Georgia Tech Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access; Georgia Tech Research Institute; National Federation of the Blind; OpenIDEO; University of Colorado Denver Assistive Technology Partners; University of Utah; and University of Washington Center for Technology and Disability Studies. This project is funded with a 3-year grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.