TWO EVALUATIONS IN SLOVENIA, HOW MUCH OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE IMPLEMENTED ? doc. dr. Nino Rode University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social work nino.rode@fsd.uni-lj.si EMCDDA Reitox Academy on the evaluation of national drug strategies and action plans, Lisboa, June 17th – 18th 2010

Introduction: what I will talk about Presenting the two evaluations Evaluation of the National Strategy and Interministerial Coordination in the Field of Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009 Evaluation of Substitution Maintenance Programmes in Slovenia 2007 What was said and what was heard

Evaluation of the National Strategy and Interministerial Coordination in the Field of Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009 Methodology Critical comparative analysis of content of EU Strategy on Drugs 2005 – 2012 and Resolution on the National Programme on Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009: Thematic analysis of the EU strategy: (re)identifying the main themes Comparison of the ReNPID with the EU strategy: similarities and differencies Overview of the implementation and its problems: Interviews and focus groups with the key stakeholders in the field

Evaluation of the National Strategy and Interministerial Coordination in the Field of Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009 Results: Comparison of the EU strategy on Drugs 2005 – 2012 and Resolution on the National Programme on Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009 EU: Explicit values, International conventions (explicitly listed), Need for different points of view (policy, health, research...), Goals sistematical, objectives operationalised, measurability Reponsibility clear (responsible bodies defined) ReNPID: Principles, International conventions (mentioned), principle of evenhanded treatment, goals interlaced, objectives NOT operationalised, NO MENTION of measurement of the OBJECTIVES Reponsibility UNCLEAR (responsible bodies NOT defined)

Evaluation of the National Strategy and Interministerial Coordination in the Field of Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009 Results: ReNPID A patchwork of the texts prepared by different ministries: The same goals are set in different parts of the document, Different goals are interlaced and merged Responsibility is not determined There is no action plan High retorical value – low practical value Initiated new programmes – low infrastructural support

Evaluation of the National Strategy and Interministerial Coordination in the Field of Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009 Results: Implementation: There is no Action plan No governmental coordinator Coordination should be made by the ministers themselves (declaration of very high priority) The ministers „don't have time“ (nothing is decided realy) Problems with programmes exceding the competency of one ministry (low cooperation) Low exchange of data, low quality of the data

Evaluation of the National Strategy and Interministerial Coordination in the Field of Illicit Dugs 2004 - 2009 Recommendations: Find an equilibrium in financing (efficient resource allocation) More coordination Improve quality of information and information exchange Secure equal coverage by the services in whole country

Evaluation of Substitution Maintenance Programmes in Slovenia Original goals quality of services delivered (including client satisfaction)‏ the cost-effectiveness of the programme, assessing the input (human resource, financial) – output (client numbers, interventions / services) relation the impact of the programme on clients, assessing the development of a selection of clients in a specified time interval staring at the time they enter the programme

Evaluation of Substitution Maintenance Programmes in Slovenia Ideas how to do it Collecting context information from key stakeholders Including force field analysis to reflect highly politicised debate/surroundings in Slovenia Impact on clients: discussing the option of retrospective analysis

Evaluation of Substitution Maintenance Programmes in Slovenia Adaptations Turn cost-effectiveness into an analysis of the (efficiency of the) system Focus on organisational structure, financing system, client numbers, staff number and structure, etc. Desk research Interviews Add comparison of Slovenian practice against a selection of reference countries

Evaluation of Substitution Maintenance Programmes in Slovenia Recommendations: Staff find a structural solution for the limited staff capacity especially for psycho-social support, counselling and other additional services Patients Improve coverage and decrease travelling time to the centres Internal organisation Improve data collection (computers) Staff and resource use should be under control of the SMTC heads External organisation Improve (almost nonexisting) political responsibility, auditing and control More cooperation and coordination between different treatment and care services

What was said and what was heard Lack of coordination on the higher levels Lack of cooperation between: the ministries different types of servicies Need to improve financing auditing and monitoring coveage Device a concrete action plan with measureble and achievable goals and operationalised actions Develop services more in line with the needs of their users

What was said and what was heard What was heard (from The basis for the preparation of the National programme on drugs in Slovenia – draft): About the Substitution maintainance programmes: „Evaluation shown that the substitution maintainment treatment in Slovenia is well organised compared to other EU countries,treatment availability is good, there is no waiting time, working time of the centres is appropriate, and there is no additional criteria for inclusion in the treatment that would hamper the availability.“ About the ReNPID: „In main lines the National programme is well coordinated with the EU strategy The National programme is an important refference point for all the actors in this field in Republic Slovenia – professionals, policy makers, researchers, users and public The international cooperation on drug issues is outstandingly intensive“