Building Capacity
The Building Capacity project, with 31 country partners and 10 European organizations, will support the EC in its Communication on alcohol, helping to reduce the €125bn of social costs due to alcohol each year in the EU.
Background:
The Building Capacity project, with 31 country partners and 10 European organizations, will support the EC in its Communication on alcohol, helping to reduce the €125bn of social costs due to alcohol each year in the EU. The project aims to reduce inequalities between MS and promote the achievement of the Lisbon agenda for a viable productive Europe.
The project will build on the work of the previous EC co-financed project "Bridging the Gap", and will draw on the conclusions of other EC-co-financed projects in the fields of alcohol policy, including the PHEPA project on brief interventions in primary care, the ELSA project on monitoring and reviewing the marketing of alcohol products, and the "Pathways for Health" project reviewing and documenting good practice to reduce binge drinking, drinking and driving, and improved consumer information through labelling and health warnings. (hyperlinks to the other relevant project sections of the Eurocare Website)
Aims:
- To broaden the network base, bringing together a wide range of organizations, including NGOs, as well as research, information, consumer protection, transport, commercial communications, public health, health professionals, and partners addressing youth, mental health and accidents and injuries
- To develop an inventory of country based experiences;
- To undertake economic and health impact assessment of policy options; and
- To build capacity at country, regional and municipal levels for effective programme and policy implementation through conferences and advocacy training events.
- To achieve these objectives, the project will utilize the networking methodology to exchange experience and best practice, data collection and inventorization techniques to document alcohol policies, programmes and best practices, impact assessment methodology, and capacity building through training courses, conferences, and audit.
- The main expected results include a vibrant alcohol policy network, an inventory of experiences, best practices and infrastructures, and an enhanced capacity at European, country, regional and municipal levels to develop, implement and monitor alcohol policy, supported by a series of alcohol policy related fact sheets, and a health and economic assessment of the impact of alcohol policies at the country level.
Objectives:
General objectives:
- Support the European Commission, Member States, regions and municipalities in the implementation of the Commission’s Communication on alcohol.
- Ensure the full participation of the newer Member States and Accession countries in the implementation of an effective alcohol policy.
- Signal the importance of all countries, including southern European countries, in the implementation of an effective alcohol policy
- Support the objectives of the Lisbon strategy by contributing to a reduction in the social exclusion caused by the harmful use of alcohol, and by highlighting the role of a alcohol policy in promoting a viable and economically productive Europe
- Contribute to a reduction in the health inequalities that are due to the harmful use of alcohol, both between the newer and older Member States, and within countries.
Specific objectives:
- Build and maintain an Alcohol Policy Network of European countries and European organizations;
- Broaden the base of alcohol policy matters to ensure that the network includes a wide range of organizations representing different sectors;
- Support effective policy making by preparing, publishing and disseminating 24 fact sheets on relevant alcohol and alcohol policy issues;
- Maintain and extend a user friendly Internet data base inventory of country experiences with alcohol policies, including country infrastructures, laws and regulations, experiences and practices
- Prepare a health and economic impact assessment of a range of alcohol policies at European and country levels, supported by a guidance and training manual
- Convene a European Alcohol Policy Conference during 2008, as part of the Slovenian EU Presidency, but hosted by the Government of Catalonia
- Build the capacity of MS to develop and implement an alcohol policy through a series of advocacy schools on alcohol policy, focusing on training the trainers
- Support alcohol policy implementation in the regions, in partnership with the Assembly of European Regions
- Support alcohol policy implementation in municipalities and local communities
- Review the evidence and build an inventory of policies and practices to reduce alcohol-related accidents and injuries, with a focus on intentional and unintentional injuries in the workplace, in public places, in domestic and family settings.
Project Partners:
Events:
RCP: Reducing the harm caused by alcohol:A co-ordinated European response. London, 13 November 2007
3rd European Alcohol Policy Conference. Barcelona, 3-5 april 2008
Project Meetings:
First Meeting of Alcohol Policy Network. Bled,Slovenia, 24-26 September 2007
Second Meeting of Alcohol Policy Network. Barcelona, Spain, 2 April 2008
