Neurodiverse Self Advocacy Partnership

What Neurodiverse Self Advocacy Partnership does

Neurodiverse Self Advocacy Partnership (NDSA) is a UK Community Interest Company (CIC) limited by guarantee, formally incorporated in December 2019 under Companies House number 12230781 and operated entirely by autistic and multineurodivergent volunteer directors. The organisation delivers an online peer-support ecosystem — built on a XenForo forum, a WordPress-based learning management system (the Tool Up platform), Slack for team coordination, and Zoom for live sessions — through which autistic adults access free community discussion, mentoring programmes (Tool Up for employment readiness, Pathway for wellbeing, Phoenix for criminal-justice rehabilitation), autism training for employers and frontline professionals, business-startup coaching (Blast Off), and workplace reasonable-adjustments consulting. Service delivery is volunteer-led; only Pathway mentors receive compensation at £13.20 per one-hour session across a 20-week programme.

NDSA's revenue model is mixed-grant: primarily private member donations (cumulative £1,546 raised against an annual £3,800 website-maintenance goal) supplemented by grant funding — notably a £62,224 Innovate UK award in June 2023 and Derbyshire County Council funding for free in-person autism training for frontline professionals. Fee-bearing revenue streams include quote-based autism training for employers and workplace-adjustments consulting, while the core forum, peer support groups, and most community programmes are free. The customer base spans individual autistic adults (long-tail, free), one disclosed institutional funder (Derbyshire CC), and ad-hoc employer clients (quote-based, no logos disclosed). Operating geographies are stated as England, with the digital distribution model giving inherent global reach.

Strategic positioning rests on the autistic-led governance model ("Nothing about us without us") and an unusually credentialed leadership team including Maria (Chair, MPhil, MBA, PG Cert, MA Autism; Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award winner), Catriona OBE PhD (founder of SWAN), Andy (Chartered Accountant), and Richard Webb (IT Director, ex-IBM/Capgemini/PwC/Deloitte). The organisation has progressively productized its operations since 2020, launching new mentoring programmes annually and entering the criminal-justice vertical in 2024 with Phoenix Mentor.

Name

Neurodiverse Self Advocacy Partnership

Legal name

Neurodiverse Self Advocacy Partnership C.I.C.

Website

https://ndsa.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NDSA is a UK Community Interest Company run by autistic volunteer directors that provides a free online forum plus structured mentoring, autism training, and workplace-consulting services for autistic adults, employers, and frontline professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Advocacy and Peer Support Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Neurodevelopmental & Behavioral Therapy Platforms (ADHD/Autism/Behavioral Coaching) (HLALAEAJ), Autism Parent/Caregiver Education & Training (School-Linked) (EDAKAKAJ)

Keywords

• Autism peer mentoring
• Neurodiversity training
• Disability advocacy services
• Autism employment support
• Community peer support

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations: NDSA is a voluntary not-for-profit organization funded by private donations from members. Donations cover website maintenance costs and service development. The forum and community are completely free to users with no mandatory payment required.
2. Website Maintenance Fundraising: A dedicated fundraising campaign to cover basic website and forum operating costs. Total raised to date: £1,546.00 with an annual goal of £3,800.00. Donations can be made via PayPal and are anonymous or attributed.
3. Autism Training for Employers and Professionals: Autism training services for employers and organisations recruiting or employing neurodivergent people. Training is fee-based for some clients, with free training provided in Derbyshire through Derbyshire County Council funding.
4. Consulting Services: Workplace assessments to define employee needs and recommend reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent employees, provided to organisations as a consulting engagement.
5. Grant Funding: The organisation is actively applying for grants to support operations. Notable grants include funding from Derbyshire County Council for autism training programmes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Neurodiverse Self Advocacy Partnership (NDSA) is an autistic-led Community Interest Company that runs a free online forum for peer-to-peer support among neurodivergent adults, alongside structured mentoring programmes (Tool Up for employment, Pathway for wellbeing, Phoenix Mentor for those in the criminal justice system), autism training courses for employers and frontline professionals, and consulting on workplace reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent employees.

Product overview

NDSA operates as a neurodiversity-focused not-for-profit organisation run by autistic volunteers, offering a unified platform consisting of an online forum/community and multiple structured programmes. The core forum enables peer-to-peer support and advocacy discussions, while the Tool Up suite provides structured mentoring programmes (Tool Up for employment, Pathway for wellbeing, Phoenix for criminal justice rehabilitation), autism training courses for employers and professionals, business startup coaching, and consulting services for workplace assessments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tool Up: A programme helping autistic people find and progress in fulfilling employment through mentoring, including one-to-one mentoring sessions, online employment readiness course, and online support group.
• Pathway
• Âûdentity

Products and services

• Online Forum and Community
• Tool Up Mentoring Programme
• Pathway Wellbeing Mentoring Programme
• Autism Training for Employers and Professionals

Quantifiable outcome

• Mentors are paid £13.20 per session for a 20-week programme, with mentees receiving weekly one-to-one mentoring and access to online employment readiness courses and support groups.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Derbyshire County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Derbyshire County Council funds NDSA's free autism training programmes for frontline professionals and for autistic individuals and families in Derbyshire. This funding enables free delivery of training on neurodiversity, autism theories, communication strategies, sensory sensitivities, meltdowns, and reasonable adjustments across multiple dates and in-person sessions.
• Derbyshire Autism Services (DAS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023NDSA collaborated with Derbyshire Autism Services (DAS) in developing and delivering the Living Well with Autism programme for autistic individuals and families in Derbyshire. Both organisations contributed their experience and expertise to create comprehensive training covering neurodiversity, autism theories, communication, sensory issues, and wellbeing.
• Bucks Business FirstminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020NDSA partnered with Bucks Business First professional business coaches to deliver a practical, hands-on business start-up course for autistic entrepreneurs. The three-session course covers business canvas methodology, sales and marketing, and business operations, with course materials provided by Bucks Business First coaches.
• SWAN: Scottish Women's Autism NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011SWAN was founded by Catriona OBE PhD (NDSA Director) as a small volunteer group focused on building knowledge based on lived experience of autistic girls and women. While SWAN operates separately, it represents a related initiative in the autistic advocacy ecosystem, sharing NDSA's values of valuing lived experience expertise and promoting positive self-narrative.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Autistic Society: The UK's largest autism charity, providing information, services and advocacy across the lifespan. Comparable because it serves overlapping beneficiaries (autistic adults, families, employers) and competes for the same limited pool of autism grant and donation funding, though it is parent-led rather than autistic-led.
• Ambitious about Autism: UK charity focused on autistic children and young people, with growing services for adults. Relevant because it operates in the same autism services and advocacy space and competes for similar grant funding and employer partnerships.
• Autistica: UK autism research and policy charity. Comparable because it influences autism policy and research funding priorities that affect NDSA's operating environment, and overlaps on adult-focused research advocacy.
• Autism Alliance: UK network of autism organisations coordinating cross-sector advocacy and service provision. Comparable because it influences policy and convenes stakeholders in the same adult autism services ecosystem as NDSA.
• Hiring People with Disabilities (Hireup-style UK services): Scope is a major UK disability charity with employment-focused programmes for disabled people. Comparable because it addresses overlapping employment outcomes for autistic adults and competes for similar employer inclusion and employability contracts.
• Autism Speaks (UK programmes): Large international autism organisation with advocacy and employment initiatives. Comparable at a high level because it shapes employer-facing autism training and advocacy narratives that affect NDSA's market, though its model differs materially from a small autistic-led CIC.

Direct peers

• Aucademy: UK-based autistic-led social enterprise providing training and consultancy on autism and neurodiversity to employers and professionals. Closely comparable to NDSA's employer training and consulting arm and competes for the same corporate neurodiversity training contracts.
• SWAN: Scottish Women's Autism Network: Autistic-led volunteer network founded by NDSA director Catriona, focused on autistic girls and women. Comparable because it shares the autistic-led, lived-experience model and overlapping community of beneficiaries.
• Different Minds UK: Autistic-led peer support and advocacy organisation offering mentoring and wellbeing programmes. Comparable because it offers overlapping peer mentoring, employment and wellbeing support to autistic adults in the UK.

Emerging players

• Colorful Minds: UK-based autism and neurodiversity support provider offering mentoring, training and consultancy. Comparable because it targets a similar employer and autistic adult customer base with overlapping training and mentoring offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NDSA_UK
• Facebookfacebook.com/NDSAUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/neurodiverse-self-advocacy-partnership
• Instagraminstagram.com/ndsa_uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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