Welcome to the thirteenth EDDRA (Exchange on Drug Demand Reduction Action) column. The aim of this column is to inform people about the online EDDRA database, which exists to provide information on good practice interventions to policy makers and those working in the drugs area across Europe, and to promote the role of evaluation in reducing demand for drugs. The database is co-ordinated by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

As part of the continuous drive to improve the quality of interventions included on the EDDRA database, the EMCDDA is currently developing the Prevention and Evaluation Resource Kit (PERK). This resource will be available on the website of the EMCDDA (http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/) and will include information on evidence-based prevention principles, the essential rules of project planning and evaluation tips. Additionally, it will provide related documentation and references for download to facilitate individuals who might experience difficulty accessing the scientific prevention literature. PERK promotes the notion that the planning of prevention programmes and their evaluation are intrinsically interlinked. A well-planned programme must from the very beginning take into account the means by which it can be evaluated.

If you are planning to design an intervention in the field of drug prevention, PERK will facilitate you by taking you on a step-by-step guided tour through the development of an intervention and through the available knowledge base in prevention. This will enable you to compile or revise ideas and suggestions on how to plan and design your intervention, including its evaluation. By using PERK you will come to see that not everything in the field of drug prevention is a matter of opinion. There is a strong evidence base and a sufficiently robust theoretical base for practitioners to recognise what should and should not be included under the heading of drug prevention.

In order to promote the role of PERK in improving the quality of prevention interventions for the EDDRA database, the Drug Misuse Research Division of the Health Research Board is planning to hold a number of workshops with individuals and groups that are currently planning or revising an intervention in this field. The workshops will include an introduction to both the EDDRA database and the PERK resource online, highlighting the most useful navigational routes. Using the PERK resource, the workshops will bring you through the key steps in the development of an intervention and will introduce you to the available knowledge base on the key components of effective drug prevention. The workshops will include a large participatory element where you will have the opportunity to compare your ideas on designing prevention programmes with the existing knowledge base in the field of drug prevention. It is envisaged that the workshops will be run during the first quarter of 2006 at HRB offices, with the exact dates to be decided.