GETTING STARTED
INTRODUCTION
PEP-AH members are using an evidence-based framework that includes five strategic areas, recommended initiatives and measurement indicators to develop action plans for alcohol harm reduction on their campuses.
PEP-AH members come together to share knowledge, expertise and the results of their ongoing efforts to reduce alcohol-related harms on campus.
Collectively, we have been working towards reducing alcohol harms on campuses for a number of years. In that time, we have experienced a number of successes and challenges. We want to share our experiences to help all PEP-AH members be successful. This online guide outlines PEP-AH’s origins and structure and provides suggestions for getting started, approaching the implementation of our evidence-based framework on your campus, and establishing the go-to group (PEP-AH Campus Team) who will work to reduce alcohol harms on your campus.
In the Taking Action section, you will find the resources your Campus Team will need to plan implement and evaluate your initiatives on campus. The processes we outline are meant to help build the capacity of your Campus Team. The resources we provide will help teams to assess alcohol-related prevention on their campus and to plan, implement and evaluate new initiatives.
The PEP-AH framework ( View full PDF ) was developed in collaboration with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. The framework builds from the best available evidence to show where campuses should invest their efforts to reduce alcohol harms (see Reducing the Harms Related to Alcohol on Canadian Campuses). It lays out five strategic areas to focus on and provides 14 recommendations across the strategic areas that show the most promise to reduce alcohol harms on campuses. The PEP-AH framework helps your campus answer the question, “What are we supposed to do to address alcohol harms?” It suggests long-term initiatives such as establishing a broad community coalition, but also, importantly, shorter-term campus-based actions that you can do now to reduce alcohol harms. These initiatives can help you improve the health and well-being of students, staff, faculty and the community.
In our experience, the process of implementing successful alcohol harm reduction initiatives is non- linear, but progresses through the same broad stages when it is successful. Engaging a dedicated team is covered in Engaging a Dedicated Team. The remaining four stages are covered in Taking Action, which accompanies this section (see menu).
The PEP-AH process allows for multiple iterations and flexibility. To deliver effective initiatives requires a flexible approach that allows for revisiting all aspects of an initiative to improve it. It might mean, for instance, re-engaging an important group so that you better understand their work and can plan a new initiative, or moving back to the planning stage while implementing an initiative in order to improve it or change your approach ( See Fine-tune Your Initiative in PEP-AH Action Guide ). We have also experienced false starts, and the need to take a step back and rethink our approach. The key to any single successful PEP-AH initiative is to keep moving, even if that means turning your time and effort back to an earlier step to ensure that your work is successful on your campus.
We want your Campus Team to jump in and get started!
It might make sense to move forward in multiple strategic areas with the knowledge that Environmental and System approaches and initiatives (Strategic Area 3, 4 and 5) will move differently and generally take more time, than addressing Individual approaches and initiatives (Strategic Areas 1 and 2). Our advice is to move forward with a manageable number of initiatives (as few as one), and to take the time to build up your team’s ability to implement an initiative before starting something new. Some opportunities will be quick wins; others will take more time and effort. The ability to rethink and move forward as a team takes time, and the best way to learn is to get started. It is worth the time and effort to build up your team, as this translates into initiatives that are more effective.
