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Research and Development Interest Group (RDIG) Charter
This charter is written in accordance with Section
6.2.6 of the 5 February 2004 W3C
Process Document.
- Mission
- Scope
- Duration
- Deliverables
- Milestones
- Dependencies
- Confidentiality
- Meetings
- Communication
- Voting
- Patent Disclosures
- Participation
Information about how
to participate in RDIG is available.
The mission of the Research and
Development Interest Group (RDIG) is:
- to increase the incorporation of accessibility considerations into
research on Web technologies, and
- to identify projects researching Web accessibility and suggest research
questions that may contribute to new projects.
The desired outcome of more research in Web accessibility and awareness of
accessibility in mainstream Web-related research should decrease the number
of potential barriers in future Web-related technologies.
This mission is complementary to the work of other Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) groups
within the WAI
Technical Activity and the WAI International Program
Office Activity. The RDIG is part of the WAI International Program
Activity.
The original charter
for this group is available. The RDIG is renewing its charter in order to
continue exploring accessibility considerations in Web technologies.
2.1 Intended audience of deliverables
The primary audience for the RDIG's deliverables is public and private
researchers of Web-related technologies including assistive technologies for
people with disabilities. We expect that this work may also be of interest to
potential funders of Web-related research.
2.2 Focus of activities
Items in the scope of work are:
- creating a forum, through a mailing list, teleconference seminars,
face-to-face meetings and other medium, for exchange of information on
key areas of Web-related research and current accessibility trends;
- identifying and prioritizing areas of research (existing or absent)
that may significantly impact the accessibility of the Web;
- developing approaches to promote awareness and provide guidance to
researchers in prioritized areas, such as:
- promoting partnerships between researchers with complementary
expertise;
- compiling accessibility-aware research resources for public
reference, including summaries of the results of forum
discussions;
- posting a prioritized list of research problems needing
investigation;
- coordinating with projects external to the W3C, and where relevant,
with W3C activities.
The RDIG is scheduled for 24 months, from 1 January 2005 through 31
December 2006, at which point the RDIG should be re-evaluated for possible
extension to continue activities relating to accessibility considerations in
Web research and development.
- Teleconference Calendar: proposed list of topics, with
schedule of teleconferences at which those topics will be addressed.
Potential topics include:
- virtual reality markup languages,
- e-commerce,
- digital TV,
- agents,
- mobile technologies,
- intellectual property rights and security issues,
- affordability,
- adaptability,
- internationalization,
- semantic web,
- distance learning,
- assistive technologies for people with disabilities.
- Teleconference seminars: Two hour teleconferences,
scheduled approximately four times per year, to explore a given research
topic in depth. Topics will be nominated and selected by the RDIG
participants in good standing. Materials will be available at least one
week in advance of the teleconference and will include:
- a list of confirmed speakers;
- Web-based reading materials, including presenter slides if
available;
- general questions including:
- What are the implications of this area on accessibility?
- What are the possible coordination points (people, places,
projects)?
- questions collected from participants;
- upcoming teleconference will be publicized including in:
- WAI Calendar,
- WAI Interest Group,
- W3C Calendar,
- W3C Advisory Committee Newswire.
- Reports: A brief written synopsis of discussion with
links to the material generated for the seminar such as a reading list,
key research projects for the topic, and audio and text transcripts.
- Prioritized Research Problems: Prioritized list of
research questions that are not being investigated or are not being
sufficiently investigated. Descriptions and implications of each question
or issue will be provided as well as links to additional information if
available.
- Tips for Accessibility-Aware Research: Start-up tips
and very basic guidance for researchers, to help them incorporate
accessibility into their research designs (not a comprehensive statement
about how to do universal research design). Perhaps publish as a W3C
Interest Group Note.
- Research Resources: Web page of reference links to
accessibility-based research resources.
5. Milestones
All publishing milestones are approximate:
- 1Q 2005
- Teleconference seminar #3
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #3
- 2Q 2005
- Teleconference seminar #4
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #4
- Initial compilation of research resources
- 3Q 2005
- Teleconference seminar #5
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #5
- Prioritization of research problems from topics covered to date
- 4Q 2005
- Teleconference seminar #6
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #6
- Tips for Accessibility-Aware Research, Working Draft (to become W3C
Note)
- 1Q 2006
- Teleconference seminar #7
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #7
- Expanded compilation of research resources
- 2Q 2006
- Teleconference seminar #8
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #8
- Updated prioritization of research problems from topics covered to
date
- 3Q 2006
- Teleconference seminar #9
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #9
- 4Q 2006
- Teleconference seminar #10
- Summary of research questions from Teleconference #10
6. Dependencies
- WAI Coordination Group (WAI CG)
-- address questions on dependencies, harvest ideas for potential topics,
raise awareness of future Web access issues and implications
- Education & Outreach Working
Group (EOWG) -- coordinate on materials to reach policy makers,
researchers not reached by the RDIG, students, accessibility experts, Web
developers and other people interested in the work of the RDIG.
- Other W3C Groups -- coordinate with W3C activities including Mobile Access, Internationalization, and Voice Browsing to maintain awareness
of key developments, researchers, and relevant projects.
- External organizations -- coordinate with other groups worldwide who
perform research and development or who coordinate research and
development in their geographical region or topic area. For example:
- COST 219 bis works to
increase the availability of telecommunications products, including
the Web, for people with disabilities and the elderly. They
accomplish this by creating industry guidelines, disseminating
research results, surveying the practical needs of disabled people
and elderly and evaluating the future possibilities of Information
Technologies.
- The Web3D Consortium provides a
forum for the creation of open standards for 3D specifications to be
used on the Web, and to accelerate the worldwide demand for products
based on these standards through the sponsorship of market and user
education programs. This community created the VRML 1.0 and 2.0
specifications.
The RDIG is a public Interest Group as defined by Section
4.1 of the W3C Process Document. The Interest Group maintains a public
mailing list at public-wai-rd@w3.org.
8. Meetings
- Teleconferences every other week as needed, including calls for
planning purposes, and planned topical teleconference seminar to occur
quarterly.
- Face-to-face meetings: Approximately twice a year. The RDIG may also
schedule:
- "Birds of a Feather" ("BOF") sessions in conjunction with heavily
attended research-type conferences
9.1 Communication within group
9.2 Communication within W3C
9.3 Communication with public
The primary means of decision-making in the RDIG is consensus.
This charter is written in accordance with Section
3.4, Votes of the 5
February 2004 W3C Process Document and includes no voting procedures
beyond what the Process Document requires.
11. Patent Disclosures
The RDIG provides an opportunity to share perspectives on Web
accessibility. W3C reminds RDIG participants of their obligation to comply
with patent disclosure obligations as set out in Section
6 of the W3C Patent Policy. While the WAI IG does not produce
Recommendation-track documents, when Interest Group participants review
Recommendation-track specifications from Working Groups, the patent
disclosure obligations do apply.
Please note that the proceedings of RDIG (mailing list archives, minutes,
etc.) are publicly visible.
12.1 W3C Member and Invited Expert participation
The RDIG welcomes participation from W3C Member Organizations,
and also invites experts from organizations researching Web technologies and
accessibility, disability organizations, assistive technology developers,
government organizations, and other interested in promoting accessibility of
Web content, subject to the W3C
Invited Expert policy. The RDIG is particularly interested in people with
experience in:
- new Web applications and user interfaces;
- usability studies of Web usage and tools;
- studies of Web accessibility issues;
- development of Web architecture;
- investigating future applications of Web or Internet technologies
(telecommunications, Web appliances, etc.).
Participants are expected to observe general
participation requirements and to maintain good
standing in the group as defined in the W3C Process Document. For the
RDIG, the following commitment is expected:
- Minimum 4 hours per week, including meeting time and reading/responding
to mailing list
- Remain current on w3c-wai-rd mailing list and respond in timely manner
to postings on mailing list
- Contribute to development of RDIG deliverables
- Participate in teleconferences with regrets sent when one has to be
missed
- Participate in face-to-face meetings or send regrets to the list
- Remain aware of related work in other WAI Working Groups
Participation in RDIG teleconference seminars is open to the public and on a
first-come first-served basis.
12.2 Participating in RDIG
Information about how to
participate in RDIG is available.
12.3 W3C Team participation
- 10% Wendy Chisholm
- 40% TBA
$Date: 2005/01/21 21:49:40 $ Judy Brewer
<jbrewer@w3.org>, Wendy Chisholm <wendy@w3.org>
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