Funding & Sponsorship
The ASSIGN score was developed in consultation with, and under the aegis of the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN). The database which made it possible was created with funding from the Chief Scientist Office of the then Scottish Home and Health Department for its first decade, and the British Heart Foundation for its second decade. The two analyses which led to publications in Heart were funded by specific grants from the Scottish Executive Health Department (now the Scottish Government Health Directorate).
Professor Hugh Tunstall-Pedoe and Professor Mark Woodward updated the SHHEC database and extended the study to make cardiovascular disease the endpoint, rather than just coronary heart disease.
The Scottish Government Health Department has funded further development work and implementation. The concept therefore originated within a professional body and has been made to happen without commercial interest, and the score algorithm is published and accessible to all without charge.