Background:
In the summer, we asked members of what was then known as the Community Advisory Panel to help us review the group’s name. We wouldn’t change the name of the group without getting the views of existing members, so we designed a survey to hear from as many people as possible.
How this work empowered people to make more of a difference:
Community members were able to share their views about whether they agreed with our reasons for changing the name of the group and what it could be changed to. In this way, they were part of deciding whether or not we changed the name.
Having a name that better represents what the group does will help to create a shared purpose and focus for existing members and make it clearer to people considering joining. It will also help us more clearly describe the work of the group. This will help the public understand what we do, as well as strengthening our funding applications, which help us both deliver on community priorities and empower the community further.
What did we ask people to do?
We emailed a survey link to members of the Autism Action Community Network (at that time 1234 people and known as the Community Advisory Panel), asking them to share their opinions about the name of the group. They were asked if we should identify a better name, if they agreed with our reasons for wanting to change the name, if there were any other things we should take into account, what they thought about other name options, and if they had any name suggestions.
273 people responded. This included 219 autistic people, 109 parents/carers/supporters, and 53 people who work with autistic people or in the field of autism (these groups overlap).
How we used suggestions/responses:
We used the responses to identify views about renaming the group. This guided the decision to rename the group to the ‘Autism Action Community Network’.
The results are summarised below:
From the responses we got, we found the name ‘Community Advisory Panel’ didn’t represent the group:
- 69% agreed the term ‘panel’ doesn’t work when we are referring to hundreds of people.
- 70% agreed the current name is a mouthful and it doesn’t stand for anything.
- 63% agreed the word ‘advisory’ is too narrow for what the group does.
We also found that 90% agreed they would like the name of the group to include the word ‘autism’ or ‘autistic’.
How was the name Autism Action Community Network decided on?
We asked seven new names to be rated: Autism Action Network, Autism Action Group, Autism Voice, Autism Action Collective, Autism Action Committee, Autism Changemakers, and Autism Action Collaborative.
Only ‘Autism Action Network’ was rated as very good or good by the majority of people. However, this was only 66% of those who responded, so we looked at what alternative suggestions were given. Most suggestions were only made by one or two people, but the word ‘Community’ featured in quite a few. That word stood out to us because it’s a word the Autism Action team was keen to include. ‘Community’, can simply mean a group of people with a shared interest, and the members of this group all have a shared interest in autism.
The name ‘Autism Action Community Network’ is a combination of the option with the most votes (‘Autism Action Network’) and the inclusion of the word ‘Community’.
Were community members given a chance to object the new name?
Yes. As the name wasn’t one we originally asked about, we emailed members of our Community Network (at that time 1282 people and known as the Community Advisory Panel) to explain the process we went through and how we reached ‘Autism Action Community Network’. The email included a link to an anonymous form where people could give their reason(s) for objecting the name.
We received 16 objections to the name change. While we understand the comments, we also received a number of messages (22) from people who didn’t object or who strongly supported the name change. On balance, we decided to go ahead with renaming the group to the Autism Action Community Network. This was communicated to our Community Network (known then as the Community Advisory Panel) via email on the 3rd December 2025.
Why did we spend time on this?
When we looked through the survey responses, some people questioned whether this piece of work was important. One person’s comment highlighted some key benefits of changing the name: ‘a name that gives meaning, purpose and impact that will be taken seriously by those we are seeking to influence and make change.’ Our team designed a relatively low-key survey and reviewed responses ourselves, so this work didn’t take up too much of our time or cost very much at all.
How can I sign up to be a member of the Community Network?
If you haven’t previously signed up, please do so via this page.
If you signed up to what was formerly known as the Community Advisory Panel you don’t need to do anything else as you will automatically be a member of our Community Network.
