Introduction

Addressing accessibility needs in OpenActive

Accessibility is a central concern for OpenActive: our mission is to use open data to get more people more active. In a world where more than 80% of disabled people feel that gyms are unwelcoming, that means doing everything we can to give them more information about the support that's available to them - including driving improvements to industry best practice in data-gathering and publication.

However, improving the quantity and quality of data related to accessibility presents several challenges, including

• lack of consistency in how data is gathered

• lack of consistency in how data is communicated

• varying and evolving understandings of 'disability' and 'accessibility'

• differences in the extent to which individuals identify as 'disabled'

• blurry lines between accessibility and other health-related needs

• the highly-bespoke nature of much accessibility information

The challenge, then, is to create a data model that is sufficiently well-defined to capture adequate accessibility information and encourage good practice, while remaining flexible enough to accommodate the evolving understandings and wide range of needs confronting individuals with enhanced accessibility requirements.