Innovative Practice 2020 on Inclusive Education and ICT
Rating-based training of accessibility assessors
Name of Innovative Practice: | Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification |
---|---|
Organisation: | Rick Hansen Foundation |
Country of Implementation | Canada |
Start Year | 2017 |
PROBLEMS TARGETED
Designers, architects, and other professionals in Canada working on the built environment often do not take accessibility into account.
SOLUTION, INNOVATION, AND IMPACT
Through the RHFAC Training, participants learn to deliver evaluations that determine the accessibility of buildings and sites for people with disabilities. The training is based on the RHFAC rating survey, which is the only tool in Canada to certify accessibility of built environments.
The training curriculum includes topics such as disability awareness, legal compliance, and construction plans and documents. It also trains participants to prepare reports that identify key areas of improvement or success with respect to a site’s accessibility.
The Rick Hansen Foundation itself employs several people with disabilities, including the chief architects of the RHFAC rating survey. Two government bodies in Canada have made the RHFAC ratings a mandatory practice, with more institutions adopting the scale in their policies.
The programme is available in five institutions spread across Canada. Between 2017 and 2019, over 200 professionals have taken the course. Professionals who pass the training and a subsequent exam are awarded an RHFAC Professional designation, which allows them to conduct RHFAC ratings. By end of 2019, 70 people had received the RHFAC professional designation.

Participants learn to evaluate the accessibility of Buildings.
FUNDING, OUTLOOK AND TRANSFERABILITY
The foundation administers the training in private post-secondary institutions through revenue-sharing agreements. The course fee ranges from $1,000-$1,200, depending on the institution hosting the course. Tuition subsidies are available for participants with disabilities.
The course is easily replicable as it has a standardized curriculum and structure. The foundation will release an online version in January 2020, in partnership with Athabasca University, which will include virtual reality as part of the training to evaluate accessibility in the built environment.