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Open Source Matters is seeking a contractor to deliver Milestone 2a of Joomla's STF-funded accessibility programme, defining the design tokens and building the accessible core UI components that the rest of the programme will be built on. By making these foundational decisions early and getting them right, this milestone prevents inconsistency from multiplying across the later milestones and ensures contrast, focus, and spacing meet WCAG 2.2 AA across any template or framework choice.

Introduction and Background

Open Source Matters, Inc. (OSM), the non-profit organisation supporting the Joomla project, is selected for funding from the Sovereign Tech Fund (STF) to deliver a structured, 20-month accessibility improvement programme across the Joomla CMS. The programme covers 19 independently contracted milestones, ranging from expert audits and remediation work to documentation, testing infrastructure, and community enablement.

Parallel to this milestone, we have published the RFP "Call for Design System, Complex Components and Validation" Applicants are welcome to submit a single proposal covering both milestones. This is encouraged, provided that the proposal clearly distinguishes the work packages, timelines, and deliverables for each milestone. All deliverables must be completed within the specified deadlines, regardless of whether the contractor is awarded one or both milestones.

This RFP covers Milestone 2a: Design System, Tokens and Core Components.

By delivering the design tokens and foundational components first, this milestone creates the shared vocabulary that every other part of the programme builds on. Making these decisions early and getting them right prevents inconsistency from multiplying across the later milestones. The design tokens ensure that contrast ratios, focus styles, and spacing meet WCAG 2.2 AA across any template or framework choice.

Milestone 2a depends on the prioritised remediation backlog produced in Milestone 1b and on the test protocols and acceptance criteria established in Milestone 1a. Its outputs unblock Milestones 2b, 3a, and 6 by making an initial versioned alpha of the design system available for integration work before the complex components in Milestone 2b are complete.

Scope of Work

The contractor is required to deliver all six deliverables described below. Scope and acceptance criteria are fixed. The budget is to be quoted as a fixed price, based on the applicant's approach and team composition.

Deliverable 1: Design Tokens

Define design tokens as a CSS-framework-agnostic abstraction layer that is not tied to Bootstrap or any other specific framework, covering:

• Spacing
• Typography
• Colour, with documented contrast constraints (WCAG 2.2 AA)
• Border radius
• Focus styles

Tokens must be documented with their accessibility rationale, including the contrast thresholds and focus-visibility requirements they enforce.

Deliverable 2: Core Accessible UI Components

Define and implement the core accessible UI components based on the remediation plan from Milestone 1b like:

• Buttons
• Form controls (inputs, selects, checkboxes, radio groups)
• Data tables (non-sortable)

Each component must implement proper focus management, ARIA attributes, keyboard interactions, and labelling in accordance with WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices. All components must support RTL layouts, responsive mobile behaviour, and reduced-motion preferences. All components must be tested with the browser/assistive technology matrix defined in M1a, and shown to work correctly (Deliverable 5).

Components are explicitly split into core (this milestone) and complex (Milestone 2b) so that parallel downstream work can begin earlier. The boundary: core components are those with no overlay, portal, or complex focus-trap behaviour.

Deliverable 3: Component Documentation and Examples

Produce documentation and example pages for each core component delivered in this milestone, showing:

• Correct usage
• Accessibility requirements
• Common mistakes to avoid

Deliverable 4: Initial Versioned Alpha Release

Publish an initial versioned alpha release of the design-system package to GitHub, covering the tokens and core components from this milestone. This release allows Milestones 6 and 3a to begin integration work without waiting for Milestone 2b to complete.

Deliverable 5: Validation Against MS1a Test Protocols

Validate all core components against the test protocols and the AT/browser combinations defined in Milestone 1a (minimum matrix: NVDA + Chrome, JAWS + Edge, VoiceOver + Safari). Results must be recorded against the acceptance criteria for each component.

Deliverable 6: Documentation and Milestone Report

Maintain the programme documentation framework and produce the milestone completion report in the format agreed to at milestone kick-off.

Contract Details

Milestone reference: Milestone 2a (Cluster B: Design System)

Contract type: Service agreement with OSM.

Dependency: Builds on outputs from Milestones 1a and 1b.

Duration: 3 months (1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027).

Delivery date: 31 January 2027.

Payment terms: Full payment upon acceptance of all deliverables.

Budget: To be quoted by the applicant as a fixed price, based on the scope described.

Eligibility and Required Skills

Applicants must have experience in the following areas

• Design and implementation of accessible design systems, including framework-agnostic design tokens
• Building production-grade accessible UI components in accordance with WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices
• Practical knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA, including contrast, focus visibility, keyboard interaction, and labelling requirements
• Implementation of RTL layouts, responsive mobile behaviour, and reduced-motion preferences
• Component testing with assistive technologies (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver) and with automated tools such as axe-core
• Versioned package publishing on GitHub, including release management and semantic versioning
• Clear technical writing for component documentation and usage examples

Skills the applicant should have

• Familiarity with the Joomla CMS, in particular the Atum admin template and the Cassiopeia frontend template
• Experience designing tokens and components that integrate with, but are not bound to, existing CSS frameworks such as Bootstrap

Skills that would be nice to have

• Prior contributions to open-source design systems or component libraries
• Familiarity with the upstream consumers of this design system within the Joomla programme (Milestones 2b, 3a, and 6\)
• Familiarity with the results of milestones 1a and 1b

How to Apply

Proposals must include the following

• A brief description of your organisation or team and relevant design-system and accessible-component experience
• Examples of comparable accessible design systems or component libraries, with links where possible
• At least one reference from a comparable project engagement
• Your proposed approach and methodology for the tokens, the core components, and the alpha release
• A clear description of how the core/complex boundary will be handed off to Milestone 2b
• Identification of any potential schedule risks or bottlenecks, including any dependency on the timing of Milestones 1a and 1b
• A timeline showing how the three-month delivery period will be structured
• Your fixed-price proposal for the full scope

Proposals should be submitted by email to the address published alongside this RFP. The submission deadline is two weeks from the date of publication.

Selection Process

Proposals will be reviewed by a small selection committee comprising community members.

Evaluation criteria are:

• Technical quality: depth and rigour of the proposed design-system and component methodology
• Accessibility expertise: demonstrated experience with WCAG 2.2, WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices, and assistive-technology testing
• Architectural fit: a credible plan for framework-agnostic tokens and for the core/complex split with Milestone 2b
• Timeline: a realistic plan for delivery within the three-month period
• Price: value for money within the fixed contract envelope

The selected team will be asked to sign a standard OSM service agreement. Work can begin once the agreement is signed and the Milestone 1b outputs are available.

Community Support

Every milestone in this programme includes access to an experienced Joomla community maintainer if you need it. If you have questions about the codebase, about an accessibility standard as applied to Joomla's specific implementation, or about how something works within the Joomla ecosystem, you can ask. This support is funded through the project's Community Accessibility Reserve, a dedicated budget set aside to help contractors succeed. The maintainer's role is to guide and not to supervise. You are not on your own.

Questions

Questions about this RFP may be submitted by email to the address published alongside this RFP prior to the submission deadline. Answers to questions received will be shared publicly so that all applicants have equal access to information.

Submission Timeline

Terms

This RFP is published as part of the STF-funded Joomla Accessibility Programme. Submitting a proposal does not guarantee selection. OSM reserves the right to cancel or amend this RFP at any time.

• The RFP can be withdrawn at any point without reason.
• No compensation will be given to any entity submitting a proposal or working on a proposal.
• The vendor selected for this proposal will be solely at the discretion of Open Source Matters, Inc.
• Open Source Matters, Inc. reserves the right not to award any applicant if no proposal meets the expectations or requirements set by this RFP.

For all communication with OSM use [email protected] as email address.

Changes to this RFP

20. August 2026 Published Q&A