Accessibility Statement
Contents
This accessibility statement applies to the NIHR website, www.nihr.ac.uk.
This website is run by the NIHR. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website.
For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels, and fonts
- zoom in up to 400% with text staying visible on the screen, and most images scaling without resolution loss
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
- read most of the website using a screen reader, including the latest versions of JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver
- read most of the website on devices without a screen, like a braille computer
- use the website, though not the search, even if Javascript is switched off.
We've made the website text as simple as possible to understand, using plain English wherever possible.
Some of our content is technical, and contains scientific terms and language. In some instances we have not been able to simplify the wording without changing the meaning of the text.
If you have a problem accessing any documents then AbilityNet has advice to help you make your device easier to use.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- We have a number of documents in PDF and other formats not designed for accessibility. See Non-accessible content [link] for a full list of these documents, including the accessibility options available for each one.
- Some content is embedded in our website, such as videos, and you cannot easily scale these on screen (but you can open a full screen version)
- Some content embedded in our HTML documents is not fully accessible.
- The breadcrumb trail for pages is not currently optimised for screen readers.
Unsupported browsers
The vast majority of our website works correctly on any web technology.
For security reasons, we only support TLS 1.2 and higher security protocols, and this means that some older browsers will not show the site.
Internet Explorer is no longer supported by Microsoft, and while the site may work in more recent versions of IE, we do not recommend its use.
You may experience unexpected behaviour in other browsers, although we use fully validated code which should work on any other browser.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
- Email enquiries@nihr.ac.uk
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in five working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the NIHR website team at enquiries@nihr.ac.uk.
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
We are a distributed organisation, with offices across the country. You can find out more about our organisational structure on our NIHR governance page.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The NIHR is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Links that are broken or have non-accessible formatting
Some links on the site are not currently formatted in a compliant manner and we aim to fix these as quickly as possible. This does not comply with WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) and WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum).
We are working to address instances where the colour contrast of links is incorrect, or links are incorrectly formatted. We aim to complete this by June 2021
We scan the site weekly for broken links, and look to fix them as soon as they are identified.
Some buttons on the site are worded or formatted in an ambiguous way. This does not comply with WCAG success criterion 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose. We are working to address this across the site by June 2021.
Headings that are incorrectly formatted
We are aware of some issues with headings across the site which do not comply with WCAG 2.4.6 Headings and Labels. In some cases, headings are incorrectly coded, and we are running some development work to address this by June 2021.
There are some issues with heading structure on certain documents and pages, and empty headings. We are working to address these instances by June 2021.
Breadcrumb trails are an unordered list
The breadcrumb is currently an unordered list without child items which is problematic for screen readers. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships). An update to the CMS is due which will allow this issue to be resolved by March 2021.
Elements not visible in focus
For keyboard users, the focus highlight is unclear, which does not comply with WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible.
We are working to address this by June 2021.
Non-accessible images or video
We strive to make all of our content accessible. We are aware of the following issues with images and video on our site:
- Video content uses automated closed captioning and transcripting, and this is often inaccurate. We review these captions and ensure their accuracy manually.
- There are some images with missing alt text, particularly the images of logos from our partners across the site. This does not comply with WCAG success criterion 1.4.5 images of text. We aim to make these accessible by June 2021.
- Some of our videos are missing audio descriptions, which does not conform with WCAG success criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded). We are working to address this by June 2021.
Non-accessible documents
Our site favours the HTML format for documents.
PDFs are not able to comply with the requirements of the web accessibility standard, and we do not generally upload new PDFs. Where we do create new PDFs, we use the PDF/UA standard which is more accessible.
We are working to address the below non-accessible documents, which do not comply with WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.9 Images of Text.
- CCF RMS user guidance [PDF 3164KB] - We are working to make an HTML version of this available by March 2021
We are working to address the below non-accessible documents, which do not comply with WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.1.1, Non-text content.
- SoECAT Tool A [Excel 676KB] - accessible version on request. Contact supportmystudy@nihr.ac.uk. We are working to make this into an accessible interactive form and aim to complete this work by November 2021.
- SoECAT Tool B [Excel 678KB] - accessible version on request. Contact supportmystudy@nihr.ac.uk. We are working to make this into an accessible interactive form and aim to complete this work by November 2021.
We host example legal contracts on our site for transparency. We are currently working to make all of these documents available in HTML. Due to the length of these documents, we are working on a long term project to have the below documents rationalised and made accessible by June 2021.
- HEI Personal Award Merge [PDF 391KB]
- NHS Personal Award Merge [PDF 419KB]
- Sample ODA research contract - version 20 [PDF 374B]
- AI award standard contract for commercial organisations - version 20 [PDF 720KB]
- AI award sample standard contract for universities - version 20 [PDF 715KB]
- AI award sample standard contract for NHS bodies - version 20 [PDF 711KB]
- Research-contract-v1-19-EME-hei [PDF 236KB]
- Research-contract-v1-19-EME-nhs [PDF 238KB]
- Research-contract-v1-19-EME-other [PDF 237KB]
- research-contract-v1-19-EME researchcouncil [PDF 235KB]
- Research contract HEI - version 20 [PDF 244KB]
- Invention for Innovation programme sample standard contract for commercial organisations - version 20 [PDF 720KB]
- Invention for Innovation programme sample standard contract for univerisities - version 20 [PDF 715KB]
- Invention for Innovation programme sample standard contract for NHS bodies - version 20 [711KB]
- Research contract NHS - version 20 [PDF 239KB]
- Research contract other - version 20 [PDF 245KB]
- Programme Grants for Applied Research sample standard contract for NHS bodies - version 20 [PDF 714KB]
- Policy Research Programme sample standard contract for univerisities - version 20 [PDF 717KB]
- Policy Research Programme sample standard contract for NHS bodies - version 20 [PDF 712 KB]
- Research contract research councils - version 20 [PDF 241KB]
- Research for Patient Benefit programme sample standard contract for universities - version 20 [PDF 715KB]
- Research for Patient Benefit programme sample standard contract for NHS bodies - version 20 [PDF 710KB]
- Research for Patient Benefit programme sample standard contract for commercial organisations - version 20 [PDF 720 KB]
- CRN Generic Template for Contract amendment Mar16 Word 40KB]
- mICRA template [Word 236KB]
- FINAL Suggested financial arrangements appendix text APR17 [Word 60KB]
As part of our application process for certain calls, we ask applicants to provide information in an excel spreadsheet. Every effort has been made to ensure these are accessible, but if another format is required, please contact the email addresses below.
- Finance Summary Form (FSF) [Excel 77KB] - Accessible version on request. Please contact ccfcomms@nihr.ac.uk
- PPDA Finance Summary Form [Excel 33KB] - Accessible version on request. Please contact ccfcomms@nihr.ac.uk
- Global Health Research Units/Groups budget template [Excel 680KB] - Accessible version on request. Please contact ccfcomms@nihr.ac.uk
Some non-accessible documents such as posters and leaflets are provided as print-ready PDFs for users. The information included in these documents is also available in HTML on our website.
- CRP directory A3 poster [PDF 1860KB]
- CRP directory A4 poster [PDF 1066KB]
- CRP directory A5 flyer [PDF 912KB]
- CRP directory leaflet [PDF 978KB]
Certain documents hosted on our website are not produced by the NIHR and so cannot be edited by us.
- Annex B - AcoRD FAQs [PDF 249 KB] - This document is produced by the Department of Health and Social Care.
- Eligibility Criteria for NIHR Clinical Research Network Support [PDF 316 KB] - This document is produced by the Department of Health and Social Care.
- Impact and Value of the NIHR Clinical Research Network [PDF 2339 KB] - This report was produced by KPMG. Only KMPG can amend the document.
- PHE Application Form for Excess Treatment Cost [Word 45KB] - this document is produced by Public Health England
We have a number of Word documents which contain the questions included in the accessible forms used to apply for funding. These documents are to assist applicants wishing to gather information from multiple partners, and are provided in addition to the information which is provided in HTML formats.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. For this reason, we do not plan to fix the below documents:
- Going the extra mile: Improving the nation’s health and wellbeing through public involvement in research [PDF 1141KB]
- NIHR Annual Report 2015/16 [PDF 4344KB] - contact Liz Edgar for an accessible version
- NIHR Annual Report 2016/17 [PDF 2208KB] - contact Liz Edgar for an accessible version
- NIHR Annual Report 2017/18 [PDF 2868KB] - contact Liz Edgar for an accessible version
- NIHR strategic review of training 2017 [PDF 939KB]
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
In October 2020, we engaged the Shaw Trust to assess our website for accessibility. They undertook testing of the mobile and desktop version of our sites. On Desktop they used automated testing, a technical manual review, and user testing by seven in-house assessors with a range of disabilities, some using assistive technologies.
The report found that www.nihr.ac.uk was non-compliant with WCAG legislation in the below areas:
Issue |
WCAG level |
WCAG reference |
---|---|---|
Missing ‘Skip’ Navigation |
A |
2.4.1 |
Incorrect Heading coding |
A/AA |
1.3.1, 2.4.6 |
Empty Headings |
A/AA |
1.3.1, 2.4.6 |
Incorrect Heading Structure |
A/AA |
1.3.1, 2.4.6 |
Ambiguous Form Fields |
A/AA |
1.1.1, 1.3.1, 1.3.5, 3.3.2, 4.1.2 |
Non-Descriptive Link Text |
A |
1.3.1, 2.4.4 |
Empty links |
A |
2.4.4 |
Link Styling |
A/AA |
1.3.3, 1.4.1, 1.4.11 |
Incorrect table coding |
A |
1.3.1 |
Missing ARIA Reference |
A |
1.3.1 |
Non-Descriptive Page Titles |
A |
2.4.2 |
Mouse Dependant Areas |
A/AA |
2.1.1, 1.4.13 |
Unable to Pause Moving Content |
A |
2.2.2 |
Missing Alt Text |
A/AA |
1.1.1, 1.4.5 |
Non-Descriptive Alt Text |
A |
1.1.1 |
Untitled Frames |
A |
1.3.1, 2.4.1 |
Video and Audio missing Text Alternatives |
A |
1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3 |
Automatic Caption Accuracy |
A |
1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3 |
Video missing Audio Description |
A/AA |
1.2.3, 1.2.5 |
Inaccessible Non-HTML Documents |
A |
1.1.1 |
Duplicate ID’s |
A |
4.1.1 |
HTML Markup Errors |
A |
4.1.1, 4.1.2 |
Insufficient Colour Contrast |
AA |
1.4.3, 1.4.11 |
Elements not Visible in Focus |
AA |
2.4.7 |
In line with the Shaw Trust requirements, we will complete address issues by 13 June 2021, starting with our most-visited pages.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared in September 2019. It was last reviewed in February 2021.
This website was last tested on 24 November 2020. The test was carried out by the Shaw Trust.
We used this approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test:
- Our 10 pages with the highest traffic
- Eight pages audited by the Government Digital Service
- Four pages with non-standard code
- A selection of example pages to cover all of our page templates and content type, e.g. blogs, news pieces, documents, case studies.