IAN Exchange

Linking people and ideas to advance autism research

IAN Exchange

The IAN Exchange is an online Community of Practice for Autism Researchers that will:

•Enable the exchange/convergence of community knowledge and ideas

•Promote collaboration in the autism research community

But what’s a Community of Practice (CoP)?A network made up of individuals who share:

• Set of concerns • Common mandate• Sense of purpose

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But more than just a community, CoPs, like Guilds:

• Span borders of organizational and geographic boundaries intentionally

• Complement existing structures • Promote collaboration,

information exchange, and the development of best practices

• Self-governed and managed

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A Very Brief History of CoPs

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• The first known ‘CoPs’ (Guilds) were developed in India 2000 – 500 B.C.

• Term coined in 1991

• The first known (by me) ONLINE CoP was developed in Baltimore in 1990

Known as the Genome Database Project…• It organized and amassed

information about the subject at hand

• It was maintained by the researchers themselves – they were the ‘curators’ of the information

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And…it organized the peopleand brought them together in new collaborations in a brand new way

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In the 21st Century, Online CoPs exist in most professions

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The Best:

Organize people, organizations, and groups.

The Best:

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Provide tools that help professionals get their work done better

The Best:

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Allow the professionals do it by themselves (with a little help from the staff)!

The Best:

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Provide mechanisms for groups and individuals to manage their

knowledge assets

The Best:

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Create unprecedented partnerships

The Best:

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Foster informal learning and exchange of

experiences.

Most importantly:

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Become an essential part of the participants’

lives.

Most importantly:

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Become an essential part of the participants’

lives.

But why do autism researchers need this?

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Because autism researchers come from….

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A variety of disciplines…

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PsychiatryGenetics

NeurobiologyEducation

Anthropology Physical Therapy

PsychologyPediatrics

Occupational TherapyEpidemiologyPublic Health

PsychopharmacologySociology

Speech and Language

Etc.

A variety of institutions…

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UniversitiesClinics

SchoolsHospitals

Non-profits/NGOsGovernmental agencies from local to national

Etc.

All over the world…

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We publish in scores of journals…

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American Journal of Medical GeneticsCurrent Opinion in Psychiatry

Journal of Neuroscience ResearchJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology

Journal of Autism and Developmental DisordersArchives of General Psychiatry

Clinical EndocrinologyCNS Spectrums

PediatricsPediatric Clinics of North America

Biological PsychiatryAmerican Journal of Mental Retardation

Pediatric NursingJournal of Child Language

Epilepsia

Etc.

But much of what we learn comes from peers and mentors…

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Do you want to expand your horizons, explore new territory, learn from the experiences of others, and

become part of an international collaboration?

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How will the IAN Exchange help?

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The IAN Exchange will provide secure online meeting rooms where existing groups can discuss their projects and share and

organize their documents and other digital assets

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CentersNetworks

CommitteesProfessional Associations

Boards of DirectorsResearch Projects Multi-center studies

Departments

The IAN Exchange will provide Special Interest Areas (Cafes) where ad hoc groups can discuss and share assets on topics of

interest.

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ImmunologyMaternal depression

Cross-cultural attitudesSpecial diets

FMRP deficiencyEducational interventions

Grant writersResearch on adults with Asperger’s

Autism and femalesPhenotypes

Journal ClubsIAN Research Data Users

IAN Research Subject Recruitment Assistance Users

IAN Community AuthorsIAN Exchange Leaders Group

Etc.

The IAN Exchange will foster a self-organizing, community-rated, searchable library containing all manner of ‘assets.’

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ProjectsFindingsImagesFilms

DiscussionsPodcasts

DocumentsPowerPoint Slides

IdeasPeopleGroups

LecturesOnline Learning Modules

Etc.

The IAN Exchange will build trust with the broader autism community by allowing them to be observers of selected groups

and assets.

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How will the IAN Exchange help?

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• Enable life-long learning• Broaden the circle for informal learning (learning from experiences)• Facilitate important day-to-day collaborative activities• Allow you to participate in a variety of collaborative activities (from

your lab to international consortia) with one USER NAME and PASSWORD

• Foster interaction between new/more junior and senior/more experienced

• Move knowledge assets fluidly from group to group • Tie your work to the other internet assets.

But better than that, the IAN Exchange will help you:

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• Adapt to pace of change in creation and dissemination of knowledge

• Create a stronger synchrony of efforts• Create a culture of shared responsibility• Engage the public in the research agenda• Address the ethical, legal, and social issues involved in autism

research• Foster the notion that data derived from the people should serve

the public good

(Source: Derived from IOM Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine)

How can you help?

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• Start your own or facilitate a special interest group • Open your own meeting rooms• Engage other researchers in the project!

Coming soon to a browser near you…

IAN Exchange