Collaborating to maximise the impact of autism research

The Autism PSP published its priorities in May 2016. In a recent article, Dr James Cusack, Director of Science at Autistica, describes how Autistica and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) have been working closely on the priorities of the autism community, following the completion of the PSP.

“We used the outcomes of the Priority Setting Partnership to shape Autistica’s research strategy and continue to use them in our policy work,” said Dr Cusack. “The priorities have also been picked up by other funders, including in the US, so the exercise is having a far reaching impact on autism research.”

One such impact is on the research funded by the NIHR, which has been working closely with Autistica to fund research on mental health in autism. The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme worked with Autistica to develop commissioning briefs based on two of the top 10 priorities, to refine the broad evidence uncertainties into specific research questions.