The Policy Impact Project was a venture of the Policy and Analytics Center, under the direction of Dr. Lindsay Shea at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University. This project was created to address the gap between autism research and policy. It empowered autistic self-advocates, their supporters, and professionals to understand and shape policy for the betterment of the autism community.

The Policy Impact Project began in 2021 and ended in June 2026, as Dr. Shea was named the Director of the Center for State Health Policy (CSHP), a unit of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research (IFH).

Key program staff have continued working on Pennsylvania’s ASERT (Autism Services, Education, Resources, and Training) Collaborative, a statewide partnership of medical centers, autism research and service centers, universities, and other providers dedicated to the support of individuals of all ages with autism and their families.

If you are looking for flagship reports and programs, including the National Autism Indicators Reports, the Autism Transitions Research Project, the National Autism Data Center, and Autism by the Numbers, many of them will move to the Center for State Health Policy's website.

For archived information, visit: www.policyimpactproject.org