Expert by Experience Advisory Group
The Expert by Experience Advisory Group aims to achieve active and meaningful public involvement at all stages of the research process, with a common goal of ensuring research quality.
Group members consist of autistic adults, parents, carers and family members of children or adults with autism. They act as critical friends on autism research from their own perspective of living with autism, advising and giving feedback about research via our face to face or virtual group.
For information on how to join the group please contact Dr Emma Gowen.
Face-to-face group for group members
Our face-to face-group meets quarterly and consists of around 15 to 18 group members. They are in hybrid format, meeting in person and via Zoom. Dates for the next group meetings are:
- Wed 27th Sept, 13:00 - 15:00
- Wed 13th Dec, 11:00 - 13:00
- Wed 20th March, 13:00 - 15:00
- Wed 19th June, 11:00 - 13.00
How to get to the meetings
All of our meetings are held in the 2nd floor meeting of the Zochonis building on Brunswick Street, which is building number 60 on the campus map. You can also view our location on Google Maps and see what the building looks like.
You can find details about transport links by train, bus, bicycle and car on the University website.
To get to the meeting room, enter the building and take the stairs to the 2nd floor. Turn left after the double doors and the meeting room is straight ahead. Alternatively, to take the lift, turn left when you enter the building and the lifts are on your right.
Car parking
If you would like to use car parking, contact Emma Gowen (emma.gowen@manchester.ac.uk) at least 2 days prior to the meeting to arrange a free space.
Contact us
If you need further help, please email: emma.gowen@manchester.ac.uk
If you need help on the day of the meeting, please phone Peter Baimbridge on 07713 903224.
Expert by Experience Advisory Group for researchers
Have you asked autistic people or their family members what they think about your research?
Do you want your research findings to get to the people that could most benefit?
Have you thought about talking to the Expert by Experience Advisory Group?
What is the group about?
Autistic people, parents and carers of autistic children advise on research projects at all stages of development, using face-to-face or virtual means.
Why should I consult the group?
People living with autism may have insights into your planned research that you may not have considered. Consulting the group could assist with bridging the gap between researcher and subject, improving the relevance, impact and funding success of your research.
The group can also help disseminate your work so it gains wider impact and recruits more participants.
If you would like to find out more contact: Dr Emma Gowen
Virtual group
Welcome to our Expert by Experience virtual group. The group aims to connect the autism community with researchers by sharing information about research projects online. Members are asked to provide comments on materials that researchers send via a LISTSERVE mailing list. As the aim of the group is to get advice from people with a lived experience of autism, group members consist of autistic adults, parents, carers and family members of children or adults with autism. To become involved, please do the following:
- Download and read the Induction pack on this page
- Contact Dr Emma Gowen to indicate that you would like to join
- You will receive a reply, asking you to indicate (1) Your connection to autism (2) That you will maintain confidentiality (3) That you will keep comments concise, professional and friendly.
- Once approved, you can find instructions on how to access documents and post comments in the Induction pack.
If you have any questions please contact the chair, Dr Emma Gowen.