About Us

BATA is a not-for-profit and membership organisation, which has over 90 members from across the UK. BATA is a sector body that exists to ensure that voices that care about AT are heard, from disabled advocates to the AT industry.

Summary

In the UK today, it's estimated that 20% of the UK's population has a disability, somewhere in the region of 14 million people. With a system that's often difficult to navigate, societal barriers, a lack of services, and challenges with the accessibility of the built environment, the end-user is often left unable to participate in daily life as they should. 

It's for this reason that BATA is passionate about ensuring that disabled adults and children as well as older people get access to the AT and accompanying services that they have a right to, so that they can remain as independent as possible.

We do that through (more below):

  • Advocacy

  • Empowering and Strengthening

  • Challenging Stigma

  • Research and Partnerships

  • Creating Community 

BATA is here to advocate and raise awareness on issues surrounding AT to governments, businesses and communities. We aim to capacity build and strengthen our sector and industry, challenge stigma, create a vibrant community and network that supports our mission, and finally, push for better information and evidence through collaborations, partnerships and research. Our current members are suppliers, assistive technology (AT) professionals, universities, organisations who provide support to people who need AT solutions as well as charities. 

We aim to respond to the UKs current context and remain flexible to support our members in a variety of ways as changes happen. BATA aims to become the one-stop-shop for advice and information on AT for end-users and businesses, and we regularly share referrals to our membership as they arrive. 

*Please note that BATA cannot endorse any particular technology and does its utmost to remain impartial. BATA shares experiences and information but no opinion on which technology/software is most appropriate. BATA is not an assessor* 

A black child working with peers focusing very hard on writing
Laptop and braille keyboard with light blue bottons

What we do

  • We advocate for our members interests, needs and values.

    We advocate for disabled people to government, to decision makers and to those that hold decision-making power.

    We advocate to communities that previously have not heard our arguments or what’s of interest to us.

  • We raise the voices of the end-users

    We tell the story of our members and bring their voices to new audiences

    We challenge pre conceived notions of disability and of assistive technology

  • We have an internal network of over 90 members from various sectors, with different interests and passions.

    We want our community to be a place where vibrant discussion can take place, where knowledge can be shared and alternate perspectives valued.

    We care about doing what's necessary to break silos and create space for collaboration, expanding our community and growing our influence.

  • We believe that disabled and older people deserve decisions based on accurate evidence. We want to ensure that space is created to share research that is relevant both for the end-user and our members.

    We know that we cannot achieve all our goals alone, our strength is our ability to create and utilise partnerships to deliver impact.

  • We believe that our community need to be strengthed with the best information possible.

    We equip our members with information, insights and knowledge that only BATA can provide.

    We aspire to be a place where anyone in need can find training and resources related to AT.

FAQs

  • Our membership rates are based on the number of full-time employees in your organisation. We have special rates for schools and certain educational institutions. Please contact us for more information, or use the form below.

  • Yes, we do.

    We only ask that you do not use an organisational email address if you work for a larger organisation. Please contact us to find out more, or see the form below.

  • No, BATA does not do AT assessments.

  • Yes, BATA would love to help you find answers to your AT related questions. Please contact us with your query and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Contact us.