Learning from the past to plan for the future Virginia Berridge Centre for History in Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London

Outline  1. The past of European research coordination  2. The present situation  3.The future: what needs?

The past: twenty years ago  Researching drug research in Europe

EMCDDA was interested  ‘an important document for the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction which is in a stage of being established.’  Hilde Van Lindt programme coordinator EMCDDA,Brussels  15 July 1993.

The present : twenty years later  Common monitoring and standardisation  The European view  Convergence in ideas and policies?  ‘ the European Union is now mainly a single voice at international meetings, with a strong and explicit harm reduction tone… ’Peter Reuter,2009

What future needs?  Taking convergence further?  Defining drugs  The demands of evidence and policy  Integration of qualitative research  Looking back to look forward?

The demands of evidence and policy  The rational model  Enlightenment?  The limestone effect  Political constraints  Research on how research is used.

Integration of qualitative research  Moving beyond epidemiology  Integrating quantitative and qualitative  National reporting  Training  Outreach

Looking back : ten years ago

Looking back to look forward  Failure to learn from past experience  Policy transfer- local/ national/ Europe /international  Witness seminars, interviews and archives  History from below and from above :pressure groups and policy makers.

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