Establishing The Canberra Collaboration:

For ATOD Research, Policy, Practice… & Participation!

Carrie Fowlie, ATODA & David McDonald, Social Research & Evaluation

Presentation at The Canberra Collaboration: ACT ATOD Research Networking Workshop

Thursday 31 October 2013

www.atoda.org.au

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners and custodians of the lands upon which we meet, and pay my respects to the Elders, ancestors

and families.

I extend my respects to all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are here today.

About ATODA• 3 year old sector-wide peak & work (NGO & government)

• Seeks to promote health through preventing and reducing ATOD-related harms

• Works collaboratively to provide expertise and leadership in the areas of social policy, sector and workforce development, research, coordination, partnerships, communication, information

• Evidence-informed, public health, human rights, social justice, harm mimimisation

• Partners: ACT and Federal governments, consumer groups, treatment services, research institutions, etc.

About ATODA

‘Traditional’ ACT ATOD Sector

Service Consumers, People who use

ATOD, Families & Friends

Health, Practitioners & Service Providers

Policy & Government

Researchers & Institutions Law Enforcement The Community

The Canberra Collaboration approach

Service Consumers, People who use ATOD,

Families & Friends

Health, Practitioners &

Service Providers

Policy & Government

Researchers & Institutions

Law Enforcement

The Community

• For some people, the pathways towards achieving this are clear, whereas for others evidence-informed policy is seen as an unattainable goal.

• Evidence-informed policy is a particularly difficult challenge for the ATOD field because of the multiple inputs into policy activity in this area.

• Policy development and implementation: – Are impacted upon by attitudes, values, public opinion, etc. – Have to compete with other sectors such as medical care, law

enforcement, education, social welfare, etc, – Making it difficult for ATOD research to have as much impact on

policy activity and its implementation as many would like.

An era of evidence-informed policy

Practitioners: • Are concerned that their practice may not be as evidence-

informed as it could be.• They are keen to ensure that the services that they provide are

of the best possible quality, reflecting the latest and best knowledge about what works, with whom, in what circumstances.

Researchers: • Would like to be more effective in influencing ATOD policy. • However many are isolated from the policy environment. • They may not know what questions policy makers are dealing

with that could be supported through research.

An era of evidence-informed policy

• There are many people engaging in research in the ATOD field in the ACT.

• Many of these do not identify specifically as ATOD researchers, finding their professional identities within their own disciplines.

• They apply the paradigms, research strategies and methods that characterise their own disciplines to answering research questions relating to drugs.

This constitutes a missed opportunity for the benefits that come from integrating a range of different

worldviews and approaches to research… or does it?!

An era of evidence-informed policy

About ATODA

To establish a structure, and process, to achieve the goal of better interaction and integration between ATOD researchers, policy workers, practitioners and consumers in the ACT and region.

This could: • Enhance research utilisation in policy development and its

implementation • Support knowledge transfer and exchange• Mobilise knowledge • Support demonstration of research impact• Improve the quality of our practice and services

And most importantly improve the

health and wellbeing of our community

The vision

ACT ATOD Research, Policy and Practice

About ATODA

• Forward looking, united, engaged• Evidence-based, collaborative• Potential engagement across the sector – consumers,

policy, practitioners, researchers• Strengthening an innovative and exciting environment• Solutions focused, localised• Energy from examples of progress• Think big… why not?! • Good ideas, good evidence and energetic people want to

action ‘what works’

Some examples from the ACT sector…

Attributes & opportunities

About ATODA

Implementing expanded naloxone availability in the ACT

• Opioid overdose prevention and management program that provides naloxone on prescription to potential overdose victims

• Consumer led (CAHMA) supported by a multidisciplinary committee (I-ENAACT)

• Policy workers involved, bringing their unique insights and providing conduits to the decision-making areas of government – in the ACT and nationally

• Researchers are involved in both developing the program and its evaluation (Burnet, NDRI, Kirby, Social Research & Evaluation)

• Additional research and publication opportunities, e.g. Strategic advocacy and drug policy: a case study of the ACT overdose management program (Drug Policy Modelling Program)

e.g. An Australian First

About ATODA

Integrating research within policy contexts and developing funding opportunities

e.g.• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tobacco Control

Strategy: Post-graduate position funded• ACT election 2012 commitment: $660,000 for justice

reinvestment research• ACT Budget advocacy: For justice reinvestment funding to be

allocated• Surveillance & monitoring: Advocacy for (and then ACT

Health) commitment to funding for the ACT adult prison Inmate Health Survey & annual sub analyses

… All directly linked with policy and practice

Research within policy

About ATODA

Maximising opportunities to strengthen research within

practice and policy settings

e.g.• Qualification Strategy: existing sector funding to pilot workers to

undertake post-graduate ATOD qualifications• Looking for a project / supervisor: potential research projects,

masters students, PhD students in services• Services evaluations & research: engaging with services to co-

fund research positions, research settings• Policy & research employment: opportunities to undertake

research & translation work, secondments

…Supporting evidence informed practice and policy

Students

About ATODA

Implementing practice based research and commissioning researchers to translate the evidence base

e.g.• Screening and brief intervention: ACT electronic Alcohol,

Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test Pilot • Screening in the ATOD field: paper on best practice screening

tools in the ATOD sector• NHMRC tobacco research project: Randomised controlled trial

with ATOD services in the ACT (University of Newcastle & co)• NHMRC ‘We’re Struggling in Here!’: Winnunga Holistic Health

Care Prison Model

…Demonstrating impact

Practice

About ATODA

Commissioning evaluations and reviews to

strengthen policy and practice

e.g.• Independent evaluation of drug policies and services at the

Alexander Maconochie Centre (Burnet Institute)• Review of the need to expand rehabilitation services (Rod

MacQueen & Andrew Biven)• ACT Drug Diversion Programs (Drug Policy Modelling Program,

National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre)• 3 x service specific reviews / evaluations (LeeJenn)• National peak body capacity building evaluation (Social

Research & Evaluation)

…Influencing policy

Evaluations and reviews

About ATODA

e.g.• Research eBulletin: A concise summary of newly-published

research findings and other research activities of particular relevance to ATOD and allied workers in the ACT. Collaboration between research consultant and peak body, disseminated to 500+ subscribers

• Annual Conference: 100 people from the diverse areas of our sector (research, policy, practice, consumers and families)

• ACT Research Spotlight & Register: Identifying, collating and promoting ACT specific ATOD research/ers and its implications

• Presentations & papers: various forums, including government advisory structures, to present ideas and advocate for development, collaboration & change

And of course forums like today!

Knowledge dissemination

About ATODA

Embedding research expertise within policy and advisory structure to support interpreting the evidence

and evidence-informed decision making

e.g.• ACT Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Strategy

Evaluation Group• ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tobacco

Control Strategy• Alexander Maconochie Centre Health Policies and

Services Advisory Group

Embedding research expertise

About ATODA

Engaging ATOD agencies, practitioners, researchers and service consumers through consultancies

e.g.• Workplace Tobacco Management Pilot Project

research & evaluation • Expanded access to residential treatment for people

on opioid maintenance therapy evaluation • Service Users Satisfaction Survey • Workforce Remuneration and Qualification Profile

Consultancies

About ATODA

Engaging with the sector and its networks to access consumers & research participants, including feeding

back research findings to participants

e.g.• ACT Drug Offense Thresholds Study• Implementing Expanded Naloxone Availability in the

ACT• Illicit Drug Reporting System • Ecstasy and Related Drug Reporting System• NSP Survey• Service User Satisfaction Survey

Consumers & research participants

About ATODA

• Development and provision of university level graduate and post-graduate ATOD units

• Facilitate the preparation of joint grant applications across institutions and involving a number of different drug researchers for major, high impact studies that are beyond the reach of individual researchers.

• Conduct in-house Chatham Rule discussion sessions in complex areas of ATOD policy.

• Facilitate the exchange of personnel between research institutions, ATOD policy development bodies and service delivery agencies in the community.

More possibilities…

About ATODA

So much work underway…

with so much possibility!

• National interest in working in the ACT, how can we better support local researchers to be involved?

• Need for improved coordination and communication• Potential for an ACT ATOD research agenda • Strategic planning and thinking• Structured approaches

Moving forward..

About ATODA

We can make our own opportunities!

• Join and contribute to the eBulletin• Join a Canberra Collaboration working group • Be part of the ‘directory’ of ACT ATOD researcher gems• Contribute your research to the register• And many more…

Thank you for coming along today

Get involved!