Research project DR/33 (Research action DR)
Objective
The research has the objective to make a policy evaluation and a feasibility study of the Belgian comprehensive and integrated drug policy. As an additional objective of the research, a methodology will be developed to enable the evaluation of policy guidelines in the drug policy.
This research is aimed at the identification of the preconditions required to implement a comprehensive and integrated drug policy. The key element in the research is the analysis of best practices and bad practices with regard to initiatives concerning the collaboration of the different policy sectors and competency levels responsible for the drug policy. Existing forms of cooperation on the different policy levels and the public authorities involved in the drug policy will be inventoried. The feasibility of the implementation of studied best practices in the working field will be verified.
Research design
In a first phase a critical literature review of national and international effect studies will be conducted. On the basis of an analysis of existing studies on the evaluation of forms of cooperation between the different policy sectors involved in drug policy (prevention, treatment, law enforcement) best and bad practices will be identified. Attention is also paid to effect studies concerning health issues, taking into account the public health aspect of the drug policy.
In a second phase an inventory will be made of each competency level concerning the public authorities and services involved in drug policy. The competent public authorities for the different policy sectors and the forms of cooperation on these competency levels will be inventoried. In that way, public authorities and their competences as well as existing projects are part of the inventory. These results will be linked to the analysis of the best and bad practices (first phase), as a result it becomes possible to evaluate whether the Belgian drug policy is organised in a comprehensive and integrated manner.
In a third phase, the feasibility of the implementation of studied best practices in the working field will be verified. On the basis of interviews of policy makers and people working in the drug field the opportunities and obstacles that can arise with the implementation of initiatives concerning collaboration in the framework of a comprehensive and integrated drug policy are examined. Taking into account these results and the best practices identified in the literature, best practices are elaborated. Subsequently, a selection of elaborated best practices will be discussed in focus groups with professionals so that the opportunities and problems with the implementation of cross-sector initiatives of cooperation are examined thoroughly.
In a fourth phase recommendations concerning the implementation of best practices for the benefit of the working field will be formulated on the basis of the preceding results, for example, recommendations that enable the creation of new authorities and consultative structures and/or to adjust existing authorities and consultative structures so that gaps and overlapping competences are avoided. A scenario where best practices are elaborated will be drawn up.
Besides a policy evaluation and feasibility study of a Belgian comprehensive and integrated drug policy, the research has the additional objective of developing a methodology to enable the evaluation of policy guidelines in the drug policy.
On the basis of social-scientific criteria of reliability and validity, methods and techniques are described and explained to make the evaluation of policy guidelines possible. Policy guidelines, such as ministerial guidelines, guidelines of the Board of Prosecutors-general and guidelines of the Order of Practitioners are disentangled in its constitutive elements. Central definitions are conceptualised and made operational.
Coordinator:
Prof. Dr. Brice De Ruyver (UGent, Vakgroep Strafrecht en Criminologie, IRCP)
Dr. Wouter Vander Plasschen (UGent, Vakgroep Orthopedagogiek)
Promoters:
Prof. Dr. André Lemaître (ULG, Service de criminologie)
Prof. Dr. Michel Born (ULG, Service de psychologie de la délinquance et du developpement psychosocial)
Prof. Dr. Paul Ponsaers (UGent, Vakgroep Strafrecht en Criminologie)
External expert:
Prof. Dr Dirk Korf (Universiteit Amsterdam)
Researchers:
Sara Van Malderen (UGent, Vakgroep Strafrecht en Criminologie, IRCP)
Mathieu Chapeau (ULG, Service de criminologie)
Do's en don'ts in een integraal en geïntegreerd drugbeleid : samenvatting
Brussel : Federale Wetenschapsbeleid, 2009 (SP2036)
[To download]
Faire et ne pas faire dans le cadre d'une politique intégrale et intégrée sur les drogues : résumé
Bruxelles : Politique Scientifique fédérale, 2009 (SP2037)
[To download]
Do's en don'ts in a comprehensive and integrated drug policy : summary
Brussels : Federal Science Policy, 2009 (SP2038)
[To download]
“Do’s and don’ts in een integraal en geïntegreerd drugbeleid : eindrapport =Faire et ne pas faire dans le cadre d’une politique intégrale et intégrée sur les drogues : rapport final
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2009 (SP2132)
[To download]
“Do’s and don’ts in een integraal en geïntegreerd drugbeleid : bijlagen =Faire et ne pas faire dans le cadre d’une politique intégrale et intégrée sur les drogues : pièces annexes
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2009 (SP2133)
[To download]
