Autism pathway discovery and collaborative design across two ICBs

Collaborative design for a more equitable, digital-ready model

Autism pathways vary widely by region - creating delays, confusion, and inconsistent experiences for families. NHS Healthier Together (BNSSG) and One Gloucestershire ICS wanted to change that. They asked us to lead a joint discovery and design project to align their approaches, reduce inequalities, and explore where digital could make a meaningful difference.
‍

Collaborative design across two ICSs

We collaborated with clinicians, staff, parents, and educators to ensure practical, co-designed solutions that would work across both ICSs:

• Extensive stakeholder engagement through interviews and workshops to build on existing insight and compare pathways.
• Collaborative pathway mapping to identify alignment opportunities and necessary flexibility.
• Rapid prototyping of 14 conceptual changes and four tested prototypes.
• Faster decision-making through a hands-on, design-led approach.
  ‍
  

‍

Areas for alignment

We examined touchpoints across the pathway and prototyped ways pathways could be improved through:

• Creating a shared way to track multiple interactions, providing the ability to spot problems that need attention
• Building a shared understanding of an autistic person.
• Supporting parents and professionals understand their route through the assessment pathway
• Better communication through support emails and dashboards.

These insights informed a joint blueprint for a more integrated service model.
‍

Outcomes: a shared vision for change

Our work provided:

• A clear understanding of pathways commonalities and differences.
• Staff-tested storyboards and prototypes addressing core needs.
• Practical next steps that ICSs could implement immediately.
• A co-design framework for ongoing regional collaboration.

This project demonstrated that engaging stakeholders, aligning pathways, and focusing on real-world implementation drives successful service consolidation.
‍

Feedback

"The insights from parents and carers, and the resulting prototypes, were real highlights for me."
Timothy Clarke, Head of Digital Transformation, Gloucestershire ICS

"This will make a significant, sustainable impact in supporting young people and shifting towards a needs-led model."
Mark Hemmings, Head of Children’s Transformation (SEND), BNSSG ICS

"This has been a brilliant experience- we’ve made a giant leap forward."
Geraldine Bates, Head of Children’s Services, Therapies, Autism & SEND, BNSSG ICS