📽️ Event: Accessible Insights Consortium Meeting Hosted by: Insights Association & IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access) Council
🗓️ When: Wednesday, February 19, 2025
⏰️ Time: 11:00 AM PT, 12:00 PM MT, 1:00 PM CT, 2:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM GMT
📍️ Where: Zoom. Register here.
A Defining Moment for Accessibility in Research
For decades, people with disabilities have been overlooked in market research, not by intention, but by design. Traditional research methodologies, often inaccessible by default, have led to flawed insights, excluding millions from shaping the very products and services meant to serve them. The consequences are evident: AI models that misunderstand accessibility needs, digital platforms that create more barriers than solutions, and a persistent gap in data that leaves businesses flying blind when it comes to inclusive innovation. As industries undergo rapid digital transformation, this failure to include diverse perspectives is no longer just an ethical lapse, it’s a strategic liability.
The Accessible Insights Consortium (AIC), in partnership with the Insights Association and the IDEA Council, is hosting this meeting at a defining moment: a turning point where inclusivity must become a fundamental principle of research, not an afterthought. This is more than a conversation; it is a call to action. Industry leaders, researchers, and advocates will come together to tackle the accessibility gap head-on, exploring cutting-edge methodologies, fostering collaboration, and laying out a roadmap for universal design in research. Because real change begins with real representation, and the time for that change is now.
The Current State of Accessibility in Research
Market research, at its core, is about understanding people, what they need, how they behave, and why they make decisions. Yet, for far too long, research methodologies have failed to capture the full picture by systematically excluding people with disabilities. The data gaps are undeniable: without proper representation in surveys, focus groups, and user testing, insights are incomplete, leading to biased AI models, inaccessible digital platforms, and exclusionary products.
Research tools themselves pose barriers, with many surveys incompatible with screen readers, user testing platforms lacking adaptive navigation, and recruitment strategies failing to engage disabled participants. And the cost of this exclusion? A missed opportunity to connect with the $13 trillion global disability market, a consumer base that is underserved and ready to engage.
The Accessible Insights Consortium (AIC) is stepping in to rewrite the playbook. By working alongside Verizon, Ipsos, Fandom, Nissan, and other industry leaders, AIC is establishing new standards rooted in universal design, inclusive AI, and data integrity. Inclusive research isn’t just a social good, it’s a competitive advantage. Companies that embrace accessibility gain clearer insights, drive better innovation, and foster deeper customer loyalty. The question isn’t whether accessibility should be prioritized in research, it’s whether companies can afford to ignore it any longer.
Featured Sessions & Guest Speakers: What to Expect
This event is not about raising awareness, it’s about driving action. Attendees will hear directly from leaders at the forefront of accessibility innovation, beginning with a keynote address that showcases real-world case studies where inclusive research reshaped industries, improved products, and influenced policy.
The research findings session, led by Yana Beranek (Ipsos), Imogen Brickman (Ipsos UX), and Rachel Weitzner (Verizon), will dive into how disability identity shapes consumer behavior, offering brands and policymakers a data-driven foundation for meaningful change.
The panel discussion brings together market researchers, UX experts, disability advocates, and corporate leaders to tackle the most pressing issues: mitigating AI bias, embedding accessibility into UX design, and navigating the evolving legal landscape. These conversations are designed to move beyond theory and into practice, equipping attendees with concrete strategies to integrate accessibility into research, product development, and corporate decision-making.
The takeaway is clear: accessibility is not a compliance checkbox, it’s a critical business imperative, and it starts with inclusive research.
Industry Implications: Why Businesses Must Act Now
The businesses that lead in accessibility today will be the ones that win in the marketplace tomorrow. Investing in inclusive research isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a strategic differentiator that expands customer reach, enhances brand loyalty, and ensures compliance with rapidly evolving regulations.
Companies like Verizon have embraced this reality, pioneering inclusive tech research through their Accessibility Innovation Lab, where user testing includes people with disabilities from the start. The financial case is undeniable: when accessibility is prioritized, engagement rises, customer retention improves, and legal risks decrease.
Companies that fail to adapt will not only face compliance challenges but will also alienate a growing segment of consumers who expect inclusive experiences. With new accessibility regulations on the horizon, including stricter standards for digital platforms, AI-driven services, and consumer research, businesses can no longer afford to wait.
The AIC’s research-backed best practices provide a clear roadmap for organizations to stay ahead, ensuring that accessibility isn’t just a last-minute fix, but a core pillar of their research, design, and business strategies. The bottom line? Accessibility isn’t an expense, it’s an investment in innovation, resilience, and long-term success.
How to Get Involved: Taking Action Beyond the Meeting
The insights shared at this meeting must translate into real-world action, because accessibility doesn’t improve through awareness alone, but through deliberate, sustained change. The Accessible Insights Consortium (AIC) and its partners offer a step-by-step framework for integrating universal design principles into research and UX testing, ensuring that accessibility is embedded from the ground up, not retrofitted as an afterthought.
Companies can take immediate steps by committing to corporate accessibility pledges, leveraging AIC’s toolkit for inclusive survey design, AI bias mitigation, and UX research. But change doesn’t happen in isolation, ongoing collaboration is key.
Attendees can stay engaged through AIC working groups, mentorship initiatives, and post-event workshops, gaining the expertise and support needed to turn accessibility commitments into measurable impact. This is not just a one-time conversation; it is the beginning of a movement toward a research landscape where inclusivity is the standard, not the exception.
The call to action is clear: commit, collaborate, and lead the way in accessibility innovation.
The Future of Research is Accessible
The future of research is accessible, because it must be. This meeting makes it clear: accessibility is not a checkbox, nor a compliance hurdle, it is a fundamental necessity for businesses that want to remain competitive, innovative, and relevant.
The Accessible Insights Consortium (AIC) and its partners are setting the gold standard for inclusive research methodologies, ensuring that people with disabilities are not just included in studies, but actively shaping the insights that drive business decisions, policy, and product development.
Companies that invest in accessibility will gain a stronger customer base, deeper brand trust, and a proactive stance on compliance in an evolving regulatory landscape. But this is just the beginning. Every organization has a role to play, and now is the time to act.
Whether it’s committing to an accessibility pledge, advocating for better policies, or integrating universal design into every phase of research and UX development, the path forward is clear. Join a working group, engage with industry leaders, and make inclusivity the foundation of your research strategy.
Change doesn’t happen passively, it happens through collective action, deliberate choices, and a shared commitment to building a world where research reflects the full diversity of human experience. Let’s make it happen, together.
” Inclusion isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s a strategic advantage. “
Dr. Kirk Adams, Ph.D.
Advocate, Leader and Keynote Speaker on Disability Inclusion & Leadership
Leading the Way to Accessible Innovation
Innovative Impact, LLC Consulting
Managing Director
Impactful Workforce Inclusion Starts Here
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