Moving Towards a National Research Agenda

More than 70 leading addictions researchers and other specialists from across Canada met in Ottawa on October 2-4, 2003 to develop a strategic addictions research agenda, ranging from basic and clinical science to social, cultural and environmental research in relation to alcohol and illicit drugs. The objectives were:

1. To review the range of research and related priorities in Canada and internationally. To identify and agree on research themes fundamental to addressing health and social issues associated with alcohol and illicit drugs in Canada.
2. To explore and support the development of research partnerships among individual and organizational stakeholders. The Forum on Alcohol and Illicit Drugs Research was sponsored by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Health Canada, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC)(previously known as the Solicitor General of Canada), the Canadian Executive Council on Addictions (CECA), and CCSA.
3. Forum participants agreed on a set of nine strategic themes or directions that alcohol and illicit drug research should take, and they are expected to contribute to a new national addictions research agenda. Key to the identification of these themes was agreement that research should be inter-disciplinary. The themes are:

• Aboriginal peoples
• Biology of substance use and addiction
• Epidemiology
• Health promotion, prevention, and healthy public policy
• Populations/resiliency
• Research into knowledge exchange and dissemination
• Sex differences and gender influences
• System design and evaluation, and public policy
• Treatment and relapse prevention

For a copy of a background paper on the 2003 Forum: Alcohol and Illicit Drugs Research Priorities for Canada: A Background Paper
For a copy of a report on the 2003 Forum: Report on the Forum on Alcohol and Illicit Drugs Research in Canada
Or, for more information, please contact Dr. Colleen Dell at cdell@ccsa.ca

Previous workshops

Planning for the 2003 Forum started with recommendations from several previous workshops, including a December 2001 event co-sponsored by CCSA, CIHR and Carleton University. The 2001 Canadian Addictions Researcher Workshop: Moving Toward a Plan of Action to Develop a National Research Agenda was held in Ottawa, on December 15-16, 2001. The goals of the workshop were:

1. To support and strengthen CIHR's, and, in particular, Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction's (INMHA) understanding of the needs of the addiction research community.
2. To conduct an informal environmental scan of research priorities within the addiction community that would feed into a plan of action to develop a national research agenda.
3. To identify practical means to facilitate and sustain collaboration and communication within the addiction field, and with CIHR and INMHA.

Inherent to the discussions was how CIHR, and in particular INMHA, could optimize its investment in addiction research in Canada. Recommendations were made concerning research partnerships in Canada, a model to develop a national research agenda, suggestions for furthering collaboration between CIHR, INMHA and the addictions community, and the identification of logical next steps.

The 2001 report can be found at Canadian Addictions Researcher Workshop: Moving Toward a Plan of Action to Develop a National Research Agenda.

The 2001 and 2003 workshops built on the efforts of a previous gathering held on April 21-22, 1993, and sponsored by the National Health Research and Development Program, Health and Welfare Canada. A report, Substance Abuse Research and Funding Priorities: Report of a National Workshop, was prepared by Dr. F. Andrews and Dr. E. Single and published in 1994.