Availability in micro-projects

Are you applying for a project or working in an institution that uses European Funds? Do you already know that everything that is created from EU funds must be accessible to people with disabilities so that they can fully benefit from EU assistance? Find out what obligations you have to fulfill by submitting the application and implementing the project so that it is fully available and that everyone can benefit from its effects!

Digital availability

What does it mean? All digital resources created by institutions and project initiators as part of projects (including websites, e-learning platforms, e-resources, etc.) must meet the accessibility criteria. An available website is one that allows for comfortable, intuitive use of its resources for people with various types of disabilities in accordance with the WCAG 2.0 standard, at least at the AA level. The available multimedia (animations, presentations, films, sound recordings, etc.) should include text transcriptions, audio description or translation into sign language.

Find out more:

Possibility of participation

What does it mean? The institution or the project promoter is obliged to provide everyone, regardless of their disability, with the opportunity to participate in information meetings, conferences, trainings, workshops and other projects implemented from European Funds.

Architectural accessibility

Open meetings, for which registration is not required, and all activities carried out as part of projects in which the possibility of participation of people with disabilities was identified at the recruitment stage, must be conducted in architecturally accessible buildings.

The mechanism of rational improvements

It is an aid for project promoters and institutions, enabling flexible response to the needs of participants with disabilities, which will provide them with access to "tailor-made" improvements. It is a possibility of financing improvements not provided for in advance in the application for project co-financing, but launched when a person with a disability appears in the project (as a participant or staff).

Examples of such rational improvements are, for example: renting transport to the place of providing a service, architectural adaptation of buildings or computer infrastructure, financing the service of an assistant for a person with mobility difficulties or an assistant translating into easy or sign language.

The costs of adapting to the needs of a project participant / staff with disabilities may be up to PLN 12,000. PLN per person.

dostepnosc w projektach Mechanizm racjonalnych usprawnien

The possibility of using

What does it mean? As a rule, all products of projects implemented from European Funds (products, goods, services, infrastructure) must be available to all people, including those adapted to the identified needs of people with disabilities.

Dostepnosc w projektach projektowanie uniwersalne

Designers are bound by the principle of universal design

This means that products, environments, programs and services should be created in such a way that they serve as many people as possible, including seniors, mothers and fathers with prams and all those who have different functional needs resulting from e.g. obesity, contusions on the slope, pregnancy, or from a stately height. Example: new trains, museums, built road, nursery care facilities, computer labs must be accessible to everyone.

The concept of universal design is based on 8 rules:

Usefulness for people of various abilities
Flexibility in use
Simple and intuitive to use
Clear information
Fault tolerance
Comfortable use without effort
Size and space suitable for access and use
Perception of equality (i.e. the Project should minimize the possibility of perceiving the individual as discriminatory

Projektowanie uniwersalne - wyzwanie naszych czasów (PDF 2 MB)
Dostowanie budynków użyteczności publicznej - teoria i narzędzia (PDF 2 MB)
Projektowanie dla wszystkich
Projektowanie bez barier - wytyczne (PDF 8 MB)

Szczegółowe informacje na temat tego, jakie wymagania dotyczące dostępności musisz spełnić jako projektodawca, znajdziesz w dokumentacji konkursowej.

Legal basis

All requirements are described in the Guidelines for the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination, including accessibility for people with disabilities and equal opportunities for women and men under EU funds for 2014-2020 .

Documents, publications, links

Familiarize yourself with the documents that guarantee people with disabilities full access to EU projects.

Familiarize yourself with the publications that will introduce you to how people with disabilities can benefit from European Funds:

Visit portals devoted to people with disabilities.

Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for Disabled People
Forum "European Funds without barriers - (p) access for all"
Investments for everyone - audit results of architectural, transport and IT projects.

Advisory services for ESF, ERDF and CF managing authorities

The current opinions created as part of the consulting service can be found on the website: consultancy.spoldzielniafado.pl .

Source: http://www.funduszeeuropejskie.gov.pl