Submitted by Zach Patterson on
Toolkit for Funding Youth Substance Use Prevention Programs
The Toolkit for Funding Youth Substance Use Prevention Programs is designed to assist funding agencies in the charitable, not-for-profit and government sectors to develop granting processes that encourage evidence-informed and effective practices for the prevention of youth substance use. The toolkit is based on the Portfolio of Canadian Standards for Youth Substance Abuse Prevention (the Standards), as well as on discussions with key stakeholders across Canada. It supports the granting processes for community-based and school-based substance use prevention projects to help ensure that these projects are in line with the Standards. The toolkit is designed for funders of youth substance use prevention activities in a variety of sectors. It provides practical, evidence-informed guidance on how to develop or revise a funding process to encourage applicants to use the Standards to plan, select, implement and evaluate their prevention efforts with schools, communities and families.
Why This Toolkit is Important
Funders have enormous capacity to make a positive impact on communities. This capacity is enhanced when funders adopt evidence-informed practices to determine how to distribute their funds. By encouraging the development of comprehensive, quality initiatives that promote collaboration and accountability, funders can contribute to the achievement of results that will be effective in addressing complex problems. As the availability of resources becomes critical, funding agencies must recognize their responsibility for ensuring their investment decisions are having the intended impacts.
Setting the Context
Canada’s first national, evidence-informed resource for substance use prevention, the Standards, are an essential resource for those funding, developing, implementing and evaluating youth substance use prevention activities in health promotion, education, social and community development, public safety, and enforcement. The Standards provide teams with guidance, based on the best available evidence, on how to plan, select, implement and evaluate their prevention efforts with schools, communities and families.
While the Standards focus specifically on prevention initiatives in schools, communities and families, the Toolkit for Funding Youth Substance Use Prevention Programs is designed to engage, inform and support the work of funders of such initiatives. The toolkit provides a variety of practical, adaptable resources that funders can use to support their efforts to encourage evidence-informed practice and enhance the effectiveness of youth substance use prevention efforts. The various tools can be used together or independently based on interests and needs.