GSA Information Consultants - Disability research & policy development

GSA strongly believes that all sections of the community should have equitable access to information and communication.

GSA offers:

Usability surveys
User interface design
Policy and planning research using qualitative and quantitative methodology
International literature reviews

GSA's official Australian membership of the European Union project, COST 219 bis (Telecommunications: Access for Disabled and Elderly People) provides it with a unique opportunity to access the latest international developments and provide input on the Australian situation.

GSA's extensive experience in this area is reflected in recent major projects:

TEDICORE (Telecommunications and Disability Consumer Representation). This is a federally-funded project aimed at achieving better access to telecommunications products and services for people with disabilities. The project is administered by Blind Citizens Australia but is cross-disability. Gunela Astbrink of GSA Information Consultants has been contracted to TEDICORE for the past two years and has been involved in policy development, input into telecommunications standards and guidelines and been active on government, regulatory and industry fora and committees.

The Telstra-funded project researched the consumer information needs for people who are blind or vision impaired. There was a strong focus on information and communication technology. The report 'Everybody's business: Consumer information access for people who are blind or vision impaired' is available from Blind Citizens Australia in print, Braille or electronic form.

The Internet Outreach project of Tertiary Initiatives for People with Disabilities (TIPD) aimed to encourage high school students with disabilities, who are academically able, to consider university study.