Front page of the programme of action for UD

The Programme of Action for Universal Design was implemented from 2002-2004. An evaluation carried out by the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research (NIBR) shows that overall, the programme has had a positive outcome.

The programme was targeted toward decision-makers and employees at all levels of the government administration. Its purpose was to raise awareness and promote training as well as foster good solutions in practice. The programme of action was the precursor to the Government’s action plan for increased accessibility for persons with disabilities: Plan for universal design in key areas of society.

The report of the Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research presents the following conclusions:

The Programme of Action has had access to limited funding. The area involving pilot projects has resulted in the most tangible results. The focus of the action programme has been to incorporate the principles of universal design into the design of physical surroundings or into policy documents, and these efforts have paid off. The integration of universal design thinking into development projects involving the physical environment has been shown to be particularly cost-effective, leading to major benefits with relatively little investment. NIBR’s informants have also frequently voiced the view that the programme has helped to increase awareness on accessibility issues among employees in the public sector.

The programme was involved in a number of conferences on universal design. NIBR’s study shows that the programme has clearly contributed to increasing knowledge, but that the target group has undergone major change in that employees frequently switch jobs. As a result, the knowledge gained at a specific workplace may disappear when that individual goes elsewhere. Therefore, at such institutions, little evidence of the programme implementation remains. However, universal design principles have wide-ranging applications, so the importance of the knowledge such individuals convey to their new place of employ should not be underestimated. 

In most cases, critical comments from the informants have revolved around their impatience for things to move faster. It is considered to be essential to further define specific ways of working with universal design and to establish what this entails in practice.