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National Center on Accessibility

About the National Center on Accessibility

The National Center on Accessibility was established in 1993 through an agreement between Indiana University and the National Park Service. Since then, thousands of park superintendents, facility managers, civil engineers, landscape architects, program coordinators, interpreters, exhibit designers, and accessibility coordinators have drawn on NCA as a valued resource. As a result, they have been able to affect change within their programs, facilities, parks, agencies, and communities.

Eppley logo

Who We Are

The National Center on Accessibility is a program of the Eppley Center for Parks and Public Lands which works within the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC) at Indiana University.

What We Do

We help professionals balance access and enjoyment for visitors with disabilities with preservation of the park’s natural and cultural resources that they are there to experience. Our goal is welcoming access, programming, and enjoyment—making sure we help all visitors have the key experiences unique to each location—and helping park staff provide the right information to visitors with disabilities so that they can determine for themselves the best way to enjoy a particular location.

We do this through training, accessibility assessments, research, planning, and technical assistance, linking the preferences and needs of people with disabilities to those of practitioners designing and managing facilities and operating programs.

Learn More About Accessibility Assessments

Learn More About Planning and Technical Assistance

Learn More About Our Trainings and Certifications

Why We Do It

At NCA, we believe that the principles of universal design and a welcoming environment are important factors for achieving personal wellness and building healthy communities. Recreation and active leisure pursuits are vital for disease prevention, longevity, mental health, and quality of life for all of us, regardless of whether we have a disability.