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Wisconsin Arts Board urges applicants to plan for disability and language access in applications
Summary
Board staff recommended applicants describe likely access needs and concrete accommodations — including ASL interpreters, audio descriptions and translation — and to use census links in the application to document community needs.
Wisconsin Arts Board staff told grant applicants they should identify anticipated accessibility needs and describe concrete steps to make projects accessible to people with disabilities and to non-English speakers.
"The more you can tell the panel, the better off they'll understand the nature of the work that you're doing in that space," a board staff member said when asked which disabilities applicants should address. Staff gave examples: American Sign Language interpretation arranged in advance, audio descriptions or QR-coded audio for people with visual impairment, and plans for translation or bilingual outreach when projects serve Spanish-speaking communities.
Applicants who plan to mount pop-up or mobile programming were told to think specifically about how people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices will enter and use the space and how people with sensory or speech differences will be able to participate. Staff recommended applicants state foreseeable accessibility issues in the application and propose practical responses or a plan to secure needed accommodations.
The application also contains a prompt to link to census data for the applicant's community; staff recommended embedding the specific census link on the application information page so panelists can see demographic context, including counts of residents with disabilities.
Board staff said the agency's current access questions come from the NEA reporting requirements but that the board is considering additional language about language access in the future. Attendees were encouraged to document reasonable accommodations in the access field and to include logistics such as lead times for interpreters in the narrative or support materials.
