Funding autism research on the same  topic may be appropriate and necessary—for example, for purposes of  replicating or corroborating results—but in some instances, funding  similar autism research may lead to unnecessary duplication and  inefficient use of funds. Most agency officials we spoke with said that they consider the research  funded by their agencies to be different than autism research funded by  other agencies; however, we found that each research area included  projects funded by at least four agencies. NIH funded a majority of the autism research  projects in five of the seven research areas. 1.) The IACC’s and Federal Agencies’ Efforts to Coordinate and Monitor Federal Autism Activities Were Limited

We noted in our November 2013 report that the IACC and federal  agencies may have missed opportunities to coordinate federal autism  activities and reduce the risk of duplication of effort and resources. Although the CAA requires the IACC to coordinate HHS autism activities  and monitor federal autism activities, OARC officials stated that the  prevention of duplication among individual projects in agency portfolios is  not specified in the CAA as one of the IACC’s statutory responsibilities  and therefore is not a focus of the IACC. In our November 2013 report, we recommended that the Secretary of  Health and Human Services direct the IACC and NIH, in support of the  IACC, to  identify projects through their monitoring of federal autism activities— including OARC’s annual collection of data for the portfolio analysis,  and the IACC’s annual process to update the strategic plan—that may  result in unnecessary duplication and thus may be candidates for  consolidation or elimination; and  identify potential coordination opportunities among agencies. Further, we found that the IACC’s efforts to coordinate HHS autism  research and monitor all federal autism activities were hindered due to  limitations with the data it collects. HHS did not concur with these recommendations. This plan included the  number of research projects funded from fiscal years 2008 through 2012  under each objective, and the corresponding funding amounts, which may  help identify those objectives that have received more funding than  others. Detailed project information  is needed to effectively coordinate and monitor autism research across  the federal government and avoid duplication. DOD  concurred with our recommendation to improve coordination among  federal agencies, and comments from Education, HHS, and NSF  suggested that these agencies support improving the coordination of  federal autism research activities. However, Education, HHS, and NSF  disputed that any duplication occurs. However, the fact that  research is categorized to the same objectives suggests that there may  be duplicative projects being funded.
Why GAO Did This Study

Autism—a developmental disorder involving communication and social impairment—is an important public health concern. From fiscal years 2008 through 2012, 12 federal agencies awarded at least $1.4 billion to support autism research and other autism-related activities. The Combating Autism Act directed the IACC to coordinate HHS autism activities and monitor all federal autism activities. It also required the IACC to develop and annually update a strategic plan for autism research. This plan is organized into 7 research areas that contain specific objectives.
This statement is based on GAO's November 2013 report, GAO-14-16 , with selected updates. It discusses federal autism activities, including (1) the extent to which federal agencies fund potentially duplicative autism research, and (2) the extent to which IACC and agencies coordinate and monitor federal autism activities. GAO analyzed agencies' data and documents, and interviewed federal agency officials.

What GAO Found

Eighty-four percent of the autism research projects funded by federal agencies had the potential to be duplicative. Of the 1,206 autism research projects funded by federal agencies from fiscal years 2008 through 2012, 1,018 projects were potentially duplicative because the projects were categorized to the same objectives in the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee's (IACC) strategic plan. Funding similar research on the same topic is sometimes appropriate—for example, for purposes of replicating or corroborating results—but in other instances funding similar research may lead to unnecessary duplication. Each agency funded at least 1 autism research project in the same strategic plan objective as another agency and at least 4 agencies funded autism research in the same research area.
The IACC and federal agencies may have missed opportunities to coordinate and reduce the risk of duplicating effort and resources. GAO found that the IACC is not focused on the prevention of duplication, and its efforts to coordinate the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) autism research and monitor all federal autism activities were hindered by limitations with the data it collects. Apart from federal agencies' participation on the IACC, there were limited instances of agency coordination, and the agencies did not have robust or routine procedures for monitoring federal autism activities.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommended in November 2013 that HHS improve IACC data to enhance coordination and monitoring. HHS disagreed and stated its efforts were already adequate. GAO also recommended that DOD, Education, HHS, and NSF improve coordination. The agencies supported improved coordination, but most disputed that duplication occurs. GAO continues to believe the recommendations are warranted and actions needed.