At ECF, we believe that every voice deserves to be heard in the engagement process. Despite over 14 million people living with disabilities in the UK, people with accessibility needs are often excluded from the engagement process, and their specific needs neglected.

Therefore, we have created an accessibility engagement toolkit, in line with the RIBA Engagement Overlay, which provides practical guidance on what to consider when planning and designing community engagement activities for people with disabilities.

Our toolkit identifies the barriers to engaging with people with who have accessibility needs and offers both traditional and innovative methods that can be used to engage with people who have specific requirements, which may include:

• Creating accessible materials for events, such as large prints and tactile drawings
• Choosing accessible venues for events
• Speaking at a slower pace without raising your voice or over-annunciating
• Not wearing distracting accessories or covering the face in a manner which will make lip-reading difficult
• Providing an audio version of any report produced about the event to aid the visually impaired.

ECF have extensive experience in engaging with people with accessibility needs, both independently and through collaborations with disability organisations. We ensure that people with disabilities are heard in all our consultations, which we achieve through direct engagement with established groups and targeted workshops for those with disabilities.

An example of this is the engagement we undertook for the Peterborough Station Quarter project. The station is currently not easy or welcoming for people with accessibility issues to navigate, which the project is aiming to address. To understand more about our approach on this project,
please read the case study below.