Accessibility Statement for Research Impact

Website accessibility statement in line with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018

This accessibility statement applies to:

https://uoe.sharepoint.com/sites/research-impact/SitePages/Home.aspx 

This website is run by the Library and University Collections Directorate, Information Services Group at the University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • Magnify text to 200%
  • Experience no time limits when using the website
  • View the website in landscape and portrait 
  • Navigate to the majority of the content by keyboard
  • Navigate most of the site using screen readers e.g., JAWS, NVDA
  • Navigate most of the site using voice recognition software e.g., Dragon

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording we could use without changing what the text means.

Customising the website

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:

AbilityNet - My computer my way

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:

Additional information on how to customise our website appearance

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:

Information on SensusAccess

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Some images do not have alternative text
  • Selection displays are not always clear for users who rely on keyboard navigation
  • Not all hyperlinks are formatted correctly with meaningful hypertext
  • Users must switch to arrow keys when navigating by keyboard, to reach all content on the site
  • The site cannot be magnified up to 400% without loss of content or overlap
  • Reflow is not fully operational to 400%
  • Some new tab/windows and pop ups open without alerting the user
  • Headings are not properly used, with some levels being skipped
  • Not all colour contrasts meet the minimum standards
  • Some tooltips cannot be reached by keyboard or assistive software 
  • The website is not fully compatible with assistive software
  • There are PDFs that are not fully accessible
  • There is movement on the site that cannot be stopped or paused by the end user

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:

Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:

Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website

Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language

British Sign Language service

Contact Scotland BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.

Contact Scotland BSL service details.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance Status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

The full guidelines are available at:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations.

The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:

  • Not all non-text items have appropriate alternative text 

1.1.1 – Non-text Content

  • Keyboard navigation order does not always follow a logical order as users have to change to arrow keys without warning to reach all content

1.3.2. Meaningful Sequence

2.4.3 – Focus order

  • Not all colour contrasts meet the standards required

1.4.3 Contrast Minimum 

  • Reflow is not operational up to 400%

1.4.10 – Reflow

  • Tooltips are not accessible by mouse or assistive software

1.4.13 – Content on Hover or Focus

  • There are moving items on the site and this movement cannot be stopped or paused by the user

2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide

  • Some links do not contain meaningful hypertext to inform the user of their target location

2.4.4 - Link Purpose (in Context)

  • Headings are not formatted correctly and some heading levels are missed, which affects screen reader software

2.4.6 - Headings and Labels

  • It is not always clear where you have tabbed to using a keyboard

2.4.7 - Focus Visible 

  • Some hyperlinks open link in new tab / window, and some pop-ups do not alert the user this will happen

3.2.2 - On Input

  • The website is not fully compatible with assistive software as not all items are coded correctly e.g., ARIA hidden elements are focusable or contain focusable elements and buttons do not always have discernible text  

4.1.2 - Name-Role-Value

  • The site has PDF’s which may not be fully accessible

2.1.1 - Keyboard

4.1.2 - Name-Role-Value

We aim to improve our websites accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below ('What we're doing to improve accessibility') on how we are improving our site accessibility. 

We are working towards solving these problems and expect significant improvements by July 2027. The site is fully within our control.

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

At this time we believe no content is outside of the scope of the accessibility regulations.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to address and make significant improvements to the accessibility issues highlighted. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by July 2027. 

While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 8th December 2024. It was last reviewed on 7th July 2026.

The website was last tested in July 2026. The testing was carried out by Disability Information Service, Information Services Group at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Microsoft Edge alongside Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.

Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:

WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey

The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.

We ran automated testing using AXE Devtools and then manual testing that included:

  • Spell check functionality;
  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
  • Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
  • Information conveyed in the colour or sound only;
  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
  • Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
  • Time limits;
  • Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS);
  • Any drag functionality and alternatives;
  • Consistent help function;
  • Submission and re-entry of data;
  • Any cognitive tests.

Change Log

We have undertaken extensive manual testing with assistive software to get a better understanding of the accessibility issues on this website. This section will receive updates as and when accessibility improvements are made to the website.

Since our initial report, we have undertaken more extensive manual testing with assistive software to get a better understanding of the accessibility issues on this website. This section will receive updates as and when accessibility improvements are made to the website.

July 2026

  • Certain ARIA attributes do now contain particular children

1.3.1 - Info and Relationships (partial fix)

  • Some hyperlinks are no longer conveyed with colour only 

1.4.1 - Use of Color

  •  All content can now be reached by keyboard

2.1.1 - Keyboard (partial fix)

  • A skip to main content button is now present on the site

2.4.1 - Bypass Blocks

  • Help is now provided in a consistent location on all pages 

 

 

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