The Austrian Science Fund FWF is committed to making its website accessible in accordance with the Web Accessibility Act (WZG) as amended, transposing the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (OJ L 327 of 2 December 2016, p. 1)

This accessibility statement applies to the FWF websites www.fwf.ac.at and scilog.fwf.ac.at

Due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below, the websites www.fwf.ac.at and scilog.fwf.ac.at are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 Level AA conformance standard (WCAG 2.1) and with the harmonised European standard EN 301 549 V2.1.2 (2018-08).

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

1. Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

   The FWF website is currently not responsive, but the scilog.fwf.ac.at website is responsive. The keyboard operability is not optimal for some elements. The colour contrast between the links in the content area and the background is too low. The colour contrast must also be adjusted in other places. The order in DOM does not match the order of display. Label IDs are present, but in some instances are assigned multiple times. The HTML code is faulty in some places. Alt texts need to be modified. Skip links are present but must be implemented further.

   For 2022, the FWF is planning to convert the websites into responsive pages. As part of this process, the programming will be converted to native HTML to make it easier for assistive technologies to interpret. 

   The PDF and Excel files which are currently used by users (e.g., application documents) are non-accessible at this time. 

   It is planned to make these accessible by the end of 2022. In the case of new documents, the FWF plans to make them accessible in accordance with WCAG 2.1 and PDF/UA compliant before publication. The publication of accessible documents will be indicated as such by adding (accessible) to the end of the document name.

2. Disproportionate burden 

   Videos on scilog are hosted and released on the video platform Vimeo. For some of these older videos, it is not possible to provide the required audio descriptions. The WCAG success criterion 1.2.5 (audio description pre-recorded) is thus not fulfilled. In our view, resolving this issue would constitute an unreasonable technical burden in the meaning of the provisions on accessibility. 

   We are planning to already start adding subtitles to new videos in 2021.

3. The content is outside the scope of the applicable legislation 

   Many predominantly older PDF files are not accessible. For example, PDF files (e.g., publications, annual reports) are not tagged, so they cannot be (or are insufficiently) identified and used by screen reader users. The WCAG success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) is thus not complied with. 

   Please contact us if you have difficulties with specific documents. We will prepare the content to make it accessible and subsequently replace the documents and/or provide accessible alternatives. 

   Content from third parties, such as studies or presentation materials from external speakers who are outside the sphere of influence of the FWF, is excepted from the Directive (EU) 2016/2102. For content from third parties of this kind, we cannot make any statements about its compatibility with the provisions on accessibility.

This statement is a self-assessment and was drawn up on 23 September 2020. The statement was last reviewed on 23 September 2020.

The evaluation of the website’s compliance with the Austrian Web Accessibility Act (WZG), transposing the Directive (EU) 2016/2102, was carried out in the form of an accessibility evaluation in May 2020 by two certified web accessibility experts from the gugler brand & digital agency according to WCAG 2.1, Level A and AA. Eight important subpages with all available templates and functionalities of the website were checked. The content of individual pages is regularly checked by the website editing team or, when new material is published, with the WAVE tool.

The offers and services on this website are improved, changed, and extended on an ongoing basis. Its ease of use and accessibility are of great importance to us. 

The FWF’s web content should be accessible to as many users as possible, regardless of technology or ability. We would be grateful for any feedback should you encounter barriers or shortcomings during use. If any of the information is insufficiently accessible to you, please contact us at: office(at)fwf.ac.at

Our team will look into the matter and make the desired information accessible accordingly in a timely manner.

If you are not satisfied with the answers you receive from the contact given above, you can complain to the Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (FFG) (Austrian Agency for the Promotion of Research). The FFG accepts complaints sent via its website. https://www.ffg.at/form/kontaktformular-beschwerdestelle

Complaints are examined by the FFG to establish whether they refer to infringements against the provisions of the Web Accessibility Act, and particularly to deficits in adherence to the requirement for accessibility on the part of the Federal Government or one of its agencies. If the complaint is justified, the FFG has to issue recommendations for action to the Federal Government or the agency in question and propose measures which would contribute towards eliminating the existing deficiencies.

Further information on the enforcement procedure (in German): https://www.ffg.at/barrierefreiheit/beschwerdestelle

The website www.fwf.ac.at was launched in this form in September 2014, and scilog.fwf.ac.at was launched in June 2015. Since then, both websites have been continuously updated and expanded. In 2020/21, many adaptations are planned to improve web accessibility, such as slider optimisations, online forms, accessible PDFs, alternative texts for images, etc. In 2022 we plan a relaunch project where known accessibility issues will be solved.

Despite the age and size of these websites, the FWF endeavours to ensure the highest possible degree of accessibility to its online content and services. Since the launch of the websites, the FWF has based its work on the guidelines for accessible content as per WCAG 2.0 in accordance with the national legislation, “E-Government Act 2004”, and the applicable anti-discrimination regulations.