The possibility and potential of public policy on accessibility: Fid-Bau Portal

The possibility and potential of public policy on accessibility

Pirie, G.H.

Abstract The development of measures of accessibility has proceeded largely independently of concern for the ways in which public policy makers respond to analytic research. Academic interest in accessibility is not necessarily paralleled by a public interest and the former cannot be expected to have a ready-made market or to promote public policy of its own accord. Public policy on accessibility will only be forthcoming if accessibility is a well politicized issue. If improved accessibility can be achieved as part of other programs, then there is little likelihood of public policy being addressed to accessibility exclusively. If conditions are such that public policy on accessibility is a possibility, sound policy-relevant research is still not a guarantee of program success. Successful implementation of public policy relies in part on identifying those who have actual and not merely nominal control over outcomes. Political viability is also vital to the working of accessibility. Public policy imposed from above is unlikely to succeed in the context of a pluralist society honeycombed with special interest groups committed to participatory problem solving. Reflecting on the possibility of formulating and implementing an effective policy on accessibility suggests the importance of giving as much attention to the development of a conceptually robust and incisive notion of accessibility as to the improvement of accessibility measures.