Meeting the Challenge, Inc. has conducted numerous projects in addition to the DBTAC Rocky Mountain ADA Center. Some of these projects include:

ADA Document Portal

The current ADA Document Portal is the evolutionary descendant of a NIDRR-sponsored research project called the Disability Law Knowledge Management System (DL KMS), which was initiated by a field-initiated project grant to MTC in 2000. At the conclusion of the three year research project, MTC had created the basis for what is now the ADA Document Portal. In order to continue the development and improvement of the prototype system, MTC received annual funding from the National Network of DBTACs for hosting and maintenance of the Document Portal, from 2004 through 2006. For the current five year DBTAC grant cycle, from 2006 through 2011, the ADA Document Portal is being hosted and maintained by the Coordination, Outreach, and Research Center (CORC), a cooperative agreement between NIDRR and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
In the six years of research, development, and maintenance of the ADA Document Portal, MTC was on schedule and on budget for its activities. During that time, MTC evaluated various knowledge management technologies, created a working prototype for evaluation, and worked closely with a Working Group of DBTAC staff to determine the key requirements of the system. In 2008, the ADA Document Portal is an indispensable tool for the DBTAC staff across the country, as well as an important national resource for disability service providers.

U.S. Access Board State Code Project

In 2007, MTC and the DBTAC Network applied for and received funding from the U.S. Access Board to develop a Technical Bulletin on Best Practices in State Building Code Implementation. The purpose of this project is to collect, summarize, and publish a description of the most innovative and effective practices in accessibility code implementation that exist at the state level across the United States. Our technical approach is to first gather data on the variety of approaches that States take to implement accessibility codes, and then qualitatively evaluate them to determine which are innovative and effective. Our approach capitalizes on our long-standing position as one of the U. S. Department of Education’s Regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTAC). We intend to tap into this well-established network to access the right people in every state to collect the data needed. We plan a two phase data collection process:
• Phase 1 – Each DBTAC will contact the appropriate state building code official in each of their states. These officials will be asked a series of questions about accessibility code implementation in their state. MTC will create a common data collection survey with a standard set of questions that have been pre-tested.  The data will be collected using a Web-based survey tool owned by MTC, so the data will be directly stored in a central database. After all the data is collected, five states will be selected, in consultation with the Access Board staff, for Phase 2 data collection.
• Phase 2 – Phase 2 data collection will use a structured interview technique designed to probe for additional data on the accessibility code implementation methods of the five states selected for in depth assessment. This will be an open-ended interview process designed to gather a wide range of details about the implementation methods used in that state.

The entire set of data that is collected will be presented in a report that characterizes the approaches across all states first and then presents of the best practice approaches of the five selected states in more detail. The end product will be an Access Board Technical Assistance Bulletin on Best Practices in State Access Code Implementation. This project started on October 1, 2007 and is currently on schedule and on budget. The project will continue for one year.

Other Projects

Meeting the Challenge, Inc. has established an excellent reputation for disability expertise and management performance. We have competed successfully for a number of grants and contracts at the National level and have had successful projects with the following agencies:

• US Dept of Education – Over 20 research contracts since 1992 in assistive technology and information technology

• US Access Board (http://www.access-board.gov/ ) various projects since 1996. MTC is engaged in a current project on assessing best practices in State Building Codes in all 50 states of the U.S.

• Texas Department of State Health Services (http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/ ) Consulting contract on web site accessibility for users with disabilities