Most of us working in prevention are challenged to think about the potential impact of our work. Preventing substance use and similar problem behaviors among youth is a serious and ethical responsibility. We need to be sure that we are delivering evidence-based interventions and policies to the right audience, in the right setting, and in the most effective way. While we recognize that the methodologies of monitoring and evaluation are important at every step in the implementation process, we see monitoring as crucial for giving us ‘real-time’ data that can inform how well we are doing as we progress toward our goals. It also tells us what might be needed to improve our reach and delivery in time to make changes to ensure better outcomes and sustainability...

See also, other APSI prevention nuggets -

• Making the case for evidence-based prevention systems 
• Bonding to family and school: measuring impact on adult outcomes 
• Replicating evidence-based prevention interventions and policies: why is fidelity
• How to select an evidence-based prevention intervention for my community
• What is evidence-based prevention programming and why is it important?