To do so, the state is using a mix of approaches, including a program dedicated to helping state agencies provide equitable access to government, a Lived Experience Library and more. And Colorado's method may be of interest to other jurisdictions as well, given that state IT leaders are increasingly focused on the accessibility of digital services, especially because there is a 2026 deadline set by the Department of Justice that requires all digital content and products be accessible for people with disabilities.
Colorado has an accessibility ecosystem that exists under its Office of Information Technology (OIT). OIT’s Technology Accessibility Program (TAP) was created to help state agencies provide equitable access to state government, said TAP Accessibility Consultant Kate Miller, and TAP has an Empathy Lab that offers insight and support to other agencies through three key initiatives.
One is the Lived Experience Library, which leverages real human insight obtained through a Community Steering Committee (CSC) that provides a lens into lived experiences for people with different disabilities and backgrounds. The CSC is a group of individuals outside of state government who provide guidance to inform state IT decisions — with compensation for their time and expertise — based on their various experiences and perspectives.
A common method of understanding access barriers for people with different disabilities and experiences is the use of personas, which essentially act as a model or representation of a sample user, their goals and the challenges they may face in accessing digital content.
And the Lived Experience Library is essentially a library of real people with whom virtual meetings can take place as staffers at state agencies plan to implement new technology products or assess accessibility barriers. This allows for real-time feedback about experiences such as using a screen reader with a state agency website.
The plan is to eventually include video testimonials from CSC members that would be available to review. Eventually, officials foresee creating “digital cards” with information about CSC members, their expertise, assistive technologies they use and other information so that state officials can determine whom they should connect with for insight about various projects.
But the library is just one piece of the Empathy Lab’s three-pronged approach, along with the CSC informing it and its Digital Accessibility Workshop. This approach moves beyond personas, Miller explained, to connect with real people using Colorado government services for actionable feedback.
“I think that Colorado is totally unique in this,” said Kelly Tabor, TAP’s communications manager.
Digital government design barriers for people with disabilities include content like websites, forms, PDFs and other documents preventing screen reader or keyboard navigation. The list also includes things like language barriers, ranging from only having content available in one language to not using plain language.
In addition, a lack of access to devices and an Internet connection can pose barriers to access, as can security measures like multifactor authentication. Finally, a lack of trust can be a barrier for people with disabilities or from different cultural backgrounds due to a “historic exclusion from decision-making,” Miller said.
CSC has continued to evolve since 2023, when it was launched to surface accessibility barriers to accessing digital services. Since then, the CSC members’ roles have evolved and they have influenced state accessibility strategy. Now, they have a voice in shaping statewide accessibility training content, too.
In addition to incorporating CSC members’ feedback into the state’s digital accessibility training series, the group has also shaped the development of the Empathy Lab’s Digital Accessibility Workshop, which provides capacity building for agencies’ staff accessibility training. The CSC has helped state officials prioritize plain language in policy updates to make information is accessible. Finally, the CSC has played a role in storytelling, which helps build buy-in from executive leadership, influencing funding for accessibility initiatives.
“We're starting to see tangible outputs of these engagements and to change behavior and change practice and policy within our agencies, and then partnering on outreach so that historically underrepresented voices are included in design and policy decisions,” said Miller.
Another round of funding for the Empathy Lab has been secured, enabling officials to take the work on the road and provide demonstrations and storytelling in physical locations throughout the state. Although the initiative is in early stages, agency leaders will be able to understand how different assistive technologies work in action.
Miller has a bold vision for the future of the Lived Experiences Library, too: She is hoping to open it up for use by local governments and higher education institutions in the state. The team is also growing; new CSC members will be joining soon, allowing for more unique perspectives from more communities, representing people with different disabilities.
Improved data collection processes will also help officials demonstrate the impact of this work. To date, there have been roughly 40 engagements with the library since its September 2024 launch.
As accessibility priorities change at the federal level, Tabor said Colorado leadership’s goals remain the same: “to have easy and reliable and equitable government technology.”
