WEB ACCESSIBILITY GRANT SCHEME | PROSPECTUS
WEB ACCESSIBILITY GRANT SCHEME | PROSPECTUS
When will the Scheme commence? ▶ The first phase** of this Scheme will commence in June 2025. ▶ Your project will run over a period of up to 6 months.
Terms and Conditions
▶ If you have already upgraded your website to meet WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards you are not eligible to apply for this Scheme. ▶ Businesses that have already procured a vendor, and are currently undergoing WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility upgrades, do not qualify for additional support under this Programme. ▶ Applicants must be fully compliant with the terms and conditions of their previous Digital that Delivers Programme Letter of Offer and data sharing conditions to the satisfaction of Fáilte Ireland. ▶ Applicants must qualify for the grant under the De Minimis Regulation (Commission Regulation) meaning they have not exceeded the €300,000 aid ceiling from any source over a three-year fiscal period. For more information, please refer to Fáilte Ireland’s State Aid Handbook. Applicants will be required to provide a declaration confirming that they have not exceeded and will not exceed this ceiling and should note that the EU is drawing up a register of all De Minimis funding on which details of this funding will be entered. ▶ Those applying on behalf of a grantee business should be in a leadership or management position, e.g. an Owner, Commercial Manager, Sales & Marketing Manager, or General Manager of the grantee business. The applicant must have management responsibility for website development, accessibility compliance and the performance of the website’s booking system. ▶ Applicants must be authorised to commit to their business dedicating 8 hours to capability development, including the completion of three digital accessibility courses. This will include a mix of online and self-directed learning aimed at upskilling your team to improve business operations. ▶ Grantees must have a live, standalone website in order to be eligible under this Scheme. ▶ Grantees website should have Google Analytics tracking installed so that progress and performance can be monitored. ▶ Once approved, Grantees must work with a website vendor from an approved list of trusted, vetted vendors with the expertise to meet the specific needs of your project. ▶ Please note that only work related to website and digital content upgrades to meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards will be considered in scope for this Scheme. Other types of website improvements or upgrades will not be eligible. For other courses please see Fáilte Ireland’s Business Supports Hub. ▶ *Investment Grant Funding up to a maximum value of €10,000 is available to applicants. The level of funding offered may be dependent on the requirements of your website and content, which will be determined by an external accessibility review and audit. Where the audit determines that accessibility upgrades exceed this value, Grantees will be liable to fund any additional amount. ▶ **This Scheme will run over two phases, the first will commence in June 2025, with a later phase planned provisionally to commence in January 2026. Acceptance into the Scheme will be based on eligibility, demand, availability of funding, compliance with the terms and conditions of the earlier funding and allocated on a first come first served basis.
▶ Once you accept your official Letter of Offer, work will begin almost immediately by completing a short survey to assess your digital maturity. ▶ You will be provided with a Digital Roadmap which will outline the milestones and timings specific to your project, aligned to your capacity. ▶ You will select an approved vendor(s) from our panel of trusted, vetted vendors with the expertise to meet the specific needs of your project and upgrade the accessibility of your website and digital content to comply with WCAG 2.2 AA standards. ▶ The development of your website will then begin, and you will work with both the vendor and your Project Co-ordinator to ensure that milestones are met, and the final product aligns with your requirements. ▶ You will participate in three digital accessibility learning courses as part of the Scheme over the six-month period, with access to other optional resources and training to undertake at your own pace. ▶ Your Project Co-ordinator will introduce you to a booking system consultant who will undertake a review of your system set up to ensure it is optimised for performance and data quality. This typically will take 1-2 days to complete. ▶ Throughout your project, you will receive support and guidance to deliver a successful outcome.
6
7
7
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease