Improving knowledge accessibility and communication at AIDR

Over 3 months, intern Zara Falkiner-Rose explored AIDR’s knowledge development and management processes to identify where accessibility principles can be embedded in day-to-day operations, as well as opportunities for longer-term improvement.

Accessibility is about ensuring everyone can access and understand information in a format that suits their needs. Accessible content supports:  

  • people with disabilities 
  • people with low literacy level 
  • people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.  

Image: Pixabay/TheDigitalWay

For AIDR, accessibility also means ensuring content is accessible to a non-expert, public-facing audience.  

Zara began her internship by exploring AIDR’s knowledge resources – the handbooks and Knowledge Hub – and how they rate in-terms of accessibility. She found that over time, language use and layout dramatically improved in AIDR’s handbooks. The latest Tsunami Emergency Planning in Australia Handbook is the most accessible for all readers, with the team exploring ways to further improve accessibility in future revisions.  

She interviewed AIDR team members from our Knowledge Development and Management and Engagement teams to understand current organisational processes, challenges and goals regarding accessible content. These interviews found that AIDR staff were widely supportive of accessibility but needed ways to easily incorporate it into their workflows.   

Zara then undertook desk-based research to learn about accessibility best-practice; how assistive technologies work; and what is required to make content accessible for different audiences. She also looked at theories of knowledge acquisition and retention, particularly around the role of visual imagery in memory processing.  

Through this research process, Zara identified 4 main areas of improvement in AIDR’s handbooks and Knowledge Hub: 

  • Language: switch from complex, expert-level language to plain language in public-facing content. Most Australians read to a year-eight level, and AIDR’s content needs to reflect this.  
  • Visuals: incorporate visuals into knowledge products to improve knowledge retention and comprehension. 
  • Compatibility: ensure AIDR products are compatible with accessible technologies like screen readers and optimised for mobile and desktop viewing. This includes incorporating alternative text and using heading styles in documents. 
  • Workflow: accessibility needs to be incorporated in both the writing and design stages of product development.  

These findings were presented to the AIDR team with recommendations on how to improve accessibility ranging from quick and relatively easy fixes to long-term structural changes.  

Following this meeting, Zara developed products to help the AIDR team incorporate accessibility into their roles. These included:  

  • checklists for AIDR’s writers to ensure they are writing in plain language and incorporating alternative text into their work 
  • checklists for AIDR’s design team with steps on how to make documents screen-reader compatible, and 
  • a guide for working with graphic designers to improve workflow and communication between AIDR’s content writing and design teams. 

She has also been updating the content in the Understanding Hazards collection to improve its readability. This includes writing in plain language, fully explaining concepts, and including multimedia assets like pictures and videos to enhance reader understanding. These new pages will be coming online in the coming months.   

AIDR’s knowledge resources support Australia’s understanding of disaster risk reduction and resilience. While it will take time to make AIDR’s resources fully accessible, the team is dedicated to taking meaningful steps in the right direction.  

To learn more about accessibility visit the Australian Government Style Manual