Accessibility statement for the online services (SARA)

This accessibility statement applies to the Academy of Finland’s online services (SARA). The online services are governed by the Finnish Act on the Provision of Digital Services, which requires that public online services must be accessible.

Accessibility status

The online services partly meet the AA-level requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. Non-compliance with the requirements and exceptions to the requirements are listed below.

Non-accessible content

The following content is not accessible under the Finnish Act on the Provision of Digital Services.

The following shortcomings were detected (requirement in parentheses):

  • The service is missing text alternatives, such as:
    • The header banner lacks a text alternative. (WCAG 1.1.1)
    • The tabs of the application form where obligatory information is missing are marked with a red triangle; the triangle does not have a text alternative. (1.1.1)
    • The PDF and email icons in the menu lack text alternatives. (1.1.1)
  • The language of the contents in the service has not been identified to support assistive technology. (3.1.1, 3.1.2)
  • The main headings are not descriptive. (2.4.2.)
  • The programmatical page structure does not correspond to how it has been determined, for example:
    • Sub-headings have not been identified to support assistive technology. (1.3.1)
    • While the user is in the main menu, the language selection of the login page and the various tabs of the service, the currently active page has not been marked to support assistive technology. (1.3.1)
    • Table headers for tables used in the service are not correctly marked in the code, or some of the table contents do not match the header, which makes it more difficult to perceive their structure and contents using assistive technology. (1.3.1)
    • Some of the content and forms in the service have a layout based on tables, which may make it more difficult to use them with assistive technology (1.3.1)
  • Some features of the service cannot be accessed with a keyboard, for example:
    • It is not possible to delete research fields, degrees, etc. under ‘My account’ using the keyboard. (2.1.1)
    • When editing the application on the ‘Collaborators’ tab and in the ‘Use of infrastructures’ section, the ‘Add’ and ‘Delete’ buttons cannot be selected with the keyboard. (2.1.1)
    • The keyboard focus does not behave as expected in the ‘Show abstract’ buttons in the ‘Panels’ section. (2.1.1)
    • It is not possible to attach a file to the application using a keyboard or screen reader. (2.1.1)
    • The functions of the text editor and its formatting features can be used with a keyboard and assistive technology, but the required keyboard shortcut (Alt + F10) is not displayed on the page. (2.1.1)
  • There are some problems with using the various forms, such as:
    • When filling in an application and using the publications search, the keyboard focus can get stuck on the ‘Search’ button, and individual publications cannot be selected with a keyboard alone. (2.1.2)
    • Not all fields in the forms have a visible title or are mapped or grouped correctly in the code. (3.3.2 and 1.3.1)
    • Obligatory fields in the forms have not been clearly marked in all situations, and the obligatory fields are not indicated in the code. (3.3.2 and 1.3.1)
    • The error notifications in the forms are not associated with the corresponding fields at code level, which may make their detection with assistive technology more difficult. (3.3.2 and 1.3.1)
    • Some form fields contain very long instructions, which are difficult to read with assistive technology. It is not possible to select the web addresses in them using assistive technology. (3.3.2 and 1.3.1)
    • The purpose of the form fields that request personal data cannot be programmatically determined. (1.3.5)
  • The service does not adapt to smaller screens, and it is cannot be browsed without side scrolling on a 320 px screen or using large screen magnification settings (400%). (1.4.10)
  • The service is missing a method to bypass blocks of content that are repeated. (2.4.1)

Some of the above shortcomings will be addressed during 2022–2023. This accessibility statement will be supplemented as errors are corrected.

About this accessibility statement

This accessibility statement was prepared on 27 November 2020.

The statement is based on a third-party assessment on whether the website meets the requirements of the Finnish Act on the Provision of Digital Services.

The statement was last checked on 20 January 2021.

Feedback and contact information

Have you noticed any accessibility concerns? You can email us at kirjaamo@aka.fi or use our feedback form to let us know and give comments.

As recipient, select the Division of Information Management. Please note that it may take up to 14 days for a reply to be forwarded to you.

The Academy of Finland is responsible for the accessibility of the online services and for the processing of feedback concerning them.

If you are not satisfied with the reply, or if you do not receive any response within two weeks, notify the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland. Detailed information on how to proceed and how the matter will be handled is available on the Agency’s website.

Supervisory authority

Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland
Supervisory unit for accessibility
saavutettavuusvaatimukset.fi (accessibility requirements web service, available in Finnish and Swedish)
saavutettavuus(at)avi.fi
Tel. (switchboard) +358 295 016 000

Do you have questions or feedback for us?

Contact us