Scottish Autism’s Centre for Practice, Policy and Research is our hub for sharing knowledge, collaborating, and advocating for change.
The Centre for Practice, Policy and Research
Scottish Autism’s Centre for Practice, Policy and Research is our hub for sharing knowledge, collaborating, and advocating for change. We strive to develop better support practice; to generate research evidence that is rooted in the priorities and experiences of autistic people, and to campaign for public policy that will safeguard the rights and needs of autistic people and their families.
The work of the Centre is based on our belief that practice development, public policy, and research are most effective when they inform one another. As an organisation that works across all of these fields, Scottish Autism’s Centre provides a unique space for bringing our own teams and external collaborators together in a range of projects, forums and public events.
The Centre is also at the heart of Scottish Autism’s wider programme focussed on autistic voice and participation - to improve the meaningful inclusion of autistic people in decision-making at all levels within our organisation, and to ensure that the organisation is led by the priorities, aspirations, and voices of the community we support and serve.
Our work includes:
- Facilitating meaningful autistic involvement in research, policy, and practice development.
- Continuous development of our practice framework; directly supporting our own services through the work of our Practice Development Team; and using our own Autism Practice Improvement Programme to nurture reflective practice.
- Capturing and sharing innovative practice in our services, and providing opportunities for reflection and knowledge exchange through internal forums and our colleague conference.
- A programme of participatory research that meaningfully informs support practice through co-production and critical inquiry.
- Collaborative Research Partnerships with Universities, third sector partners, and Autistic People’s Organisations.
- Drawing on the insights of our community, our experience as a service-provider, and research evidence to campaign for better public policy and accountability from public services.
- Learning and exchanging knowledge through our collaborative projects, Knowledge Share events, conferences, and publications including Share magazine
- Participation in a range of external networks and events in order to share our work and learn from others
The work of the Centre directly informs our external Training and Consultancy services, which works across a range of sectors to share best practice and learning opportunities informed by autistic experience and knowledge.
The Centre was launched in January 2025, it replaces the former Centre for Practice Innovation and is led by Dr Joe Long.
Members of the Scottish Autism team with guests speakers Karen Adam MSP, George Watts and Liz Pellicano in January 2025.
Contact Us
For more information about the Centre or for enquiries relating to potential collaborative projects, please contact:
CPI@scottishautism.org or call 01259 720044
