Sociability

Sociability is an innovation project that has arisen out of the need for better accessibility information for social venues across Oxford and beyond. Google provides an enormous amount of detail on all public venues; opening times, menus, customer reviews, and busiest periods for example, but it cannot tell you whether you will be able to fit through the entrance door in a wheelchair. By crowd sourcing information, Sociability aims to tackle this issue on a local, and national level.

There are two key parts to the app. The first part allows users to browse evaluations of social venues by location; they can flick through a summary or find specific details such as door widths, and lift access. The second part allows any user to create or contribute to an evaluation as they are guided through an intuitive, user-centric questionnaire. Rather than aimlessly browsing social media whilst waiting to meet friends at a venue, users can contribute to an evaluation, and create real value with their spare time.

Due to its strong social benefit, Sociability qualified for funding from Global Initiative’s Digital Support Fund. The app development is due to begin in early Autumn, so stay tuned to see the project unfold.