Member Statement of Intent

  • Members agree to further the mission of the Autism Consortium: to rapidly advance the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of autism through collaborative research to improve the care of children and families affected by autism and related disorders.

  • Consortium members acknowledge that in pursuit of this mission, common Consortium goals may supersede individual goals. Specifically, members commit to:

Model a collaborative, interdisciplinary spirit, characterized by mutual trust and respect across disciplines, individuals, areas of expertise, institutions   

  • And by demonstrating interest/engagement beyond own specific domain 

Ensure that data generated at individual sites is comparable and additive by using common research protocols, wherever possible

Embody a spirit of openness in the interest of rapid progress.  This includes:

  • Providing a profile of lab's ongoing projects/funding in autism research
  • Sharing data on these projects as they become available - with the hope of catalyzing otherwise unforeseeable collaborations
  • Sharing existing samples where possible (contingent on consent issues, etc.) for collaborative studies to accelerate progress
  • Sharing animal and cellular models for collaborative studies to accelerate progress 

Respect confidentiality and not exploit Consortium openness for personal gain  

  • Treating unpublished findings and results generated and disclosed by Consortium members on a confidential basis. These data cannot be used in grant applications, publications, or presentations without prior approval of the Consortium member who generated the data.
  • Treating unpublished findings and results generated by Consortium-funded collaborative research on a confidential basis. These data cannot be used in grant applications, publications, or presentations without prior approval of the Executive Committee of the Consortium
  • Respecting the stated short-term experimental plans of the individual Consortium member and not setting out to duplicate or compete with these.

For collaborative research involving Consortium members, develop a plan for joint publications that benefit all parties to the maximum extent possible.

Make necessary contributions to the Consortium in a timely manner    

  • E.g., in submitting data to common data sets, reviewing project proposals, design and analytic plans, carrying out analyses, and preparing manuscripts for publication.
  • As new collaborations form, this statement can and should be supplemented with more specific, tailored collaboration agreements.
  • Members acknowledge that this commitment extends to their labs, and further acknowledge their role as Consortium ambassadors to the larger research community.

Members also must agree to the Autism Consortium Data Sharing Policy.

Downloadable version:   pdf Statement of Intent for Members 20.35 Kb