Capacity building in the application of EU drug research – Training With STakeholders

ended

The main objective of TWIST is to design, deploy and evaluate a 2-day European multi-stakeholder and inter-sector networking and capacity building training event aimed at promoting the application of drug research within the scope and frame of the 2nd European Conference on Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies in Lisbon 24-26 October 2017 (LxAddictions17). The need and demand for such an event were detected in the evaluation of the 1st edition of LxAddictions in 2015. TWIST will achieve this objective by undertaking a comprehensive participatory process with stakeholders from a variety of addictions related sectors and backgrounds, through an online consultation platform and on-site co-creation workshop, to develop the training course and evaluation indicators. Liaison with LxAddictions17 will ensure a seamless fit of the 16 training modules in the conference for 150 training participants, and synergy between the events. A 3-tier evaluation strategy will assess: progress towards the project objectives and outputs; inclusiveness and effect of the participatory co-creation process; and effectiveness of the training course in promoting participants knowledge, competence and confidence to apply drug-related research in practice. Sustainability of the project outcomes will be ensured by the production of adaptable and exploitable materials for the replication of the participatory process and training event. The overarching aims of TWIST related to the work programme are to promote practical application of drug-related research, in particular, addiction research with a view of addressing current challenges and new threats; and to support civil society organisations by reinforcing their best practice sharing methods, through their inclusion in the participatory process and the training, both as trainees and trainers. The training topics will be framed within research related to the priorities of the EU drugs strategy 2013-2020 and the thematic pillars of LxAddictions17.