Assistive Technologies (AT) are a key instrument of public policy to support participation, inclusion, and autonomy of persons with disabilities. Unlike other policy domains that rely primarily on regulatory obligations, AT is predominantly governed through social, health, labour, and education policies and implemented via complex systems of assessment, eligibility, provision, and funding. As a result, access to AT is strongly shaped by national policy design, institutional responsibilities, and prevailing societal and administrative attitudes toward disability and support.
Across countries, AT provision systems differ with regard to governance models, entitlement frameworks, assessment procedures, funding mechanisms, and long-term support structures. In many cases, AT is framed primarily as an individual compensatory measure rather than as a strategic public investment in participation and inclusion. This framing influences policy priorities, funding decisions, innovation pathways, and user choice, often leading to unequal access and fragmented service delivery despite formal policy commitments.
This thematic session aims to examine Assistive Technologies from a public policy and governance perspective. It focuses on how AT is conceptualized in policy, how provision systems are designed and financed, and how institutional and societal attitudes shape policy outcomes. By bringing together contributions from policy analysis, law, economics, social sciences, and AT research, the session seeks to identify structural challenges, best practices, and opportunities for more coherent, equitable, and sustainable AT policies.
Scientific and practice-oriented contributions may address, but are not limited to, the following topics:
- Public policy frameworks for Assistive Technologies at national level
- Governance and institutional arrangements for AT provision
- Eligibility criteria, assessment models, and decision-making processes
- Public funding, reimbursement, and cost-control mechanisms for AT
- Policy rationales and narratives shaping AT provision (e.g. welfare, rights-based, investment-oriented)
- Comparative analyses of AT policies and provision systems across countries
- Impacts of policy design on access, equity, innovation, and user choice
- The role of users, advocacy organizations, and other stakeholders in AT policy development
- Policy reform, system integration, and future governance models for AT
- Ethical, economic, and rights-based implications of AT policies
This session seeks to contribute to a deeper and more critical understanding of Assistive Technologies as a field of public policy, highlighting how governance choices and funding structures directly shape access, participation, and social inclusion.
Chairs
Melanie Schaur, Johannes Kepler University Linz
Reinhard Koutny, Johannes Kepler University Linz