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Recently, the National Drug Research Institute prepared a report, on behalf of the Australian National Council on Drugs, on the geographical distribution of alcohol and other drug intervention projects aimed specifi cally at Indigenous Australians. 1 In that report, entitled Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Projects 1999-2000, we identifi ed 277 projects conducted by 213 organisations for the 1999-2000 fi nancial year, of which 177 were Indigenous community-controlled services.We classifi ed the projects into six categories:• acute interventions -primarily harm reduction strategies such as night patrols and sobering-up shelters;• prevention projects -health promotion campaigns, provision of alternatives to alcohol and other drug use;• non-residential treatment projects;• residential treatment projects;• 'other' projects -a small residual category that included support and referral services, and staff development; and• 'multi-service' projects -projects that provided a range of services but in which those services were not administered as discrete projects.As part of that study, we were asked to identify a small number of projects that exemplifi ed 'best practice' and which could serve as examples to other organisations providing alcohol and other drug intervention services.During the process of seeking information about the projects being conducted, we interviewed representatives of the organisations providing the services, those funding them, and those who had conducted evaluations of them.We asked the people we interviewed if they could provide examples of 'best practice' .Interestingly, although a ' .Interestingly, although a ' small number of projects were mentioned, most of our interviewees were reluctant to identify such projects.Instead, they made two key points -points that refl ected our own experience of working in the area.• First, the local cultures, histories and present circumstances of Indigenous communities are extremely diverse.This means that what works in one community may not work in another.Thus, we have to be wary about holding up particular projects as examples for others to follow or, worse, providing examples that might later be imposed inappropriately by funding agencies.• Second, organisations are not uniformly exemplary or otherwise.The same organisation might do some things extremely well, others not so well, and yet other things poorly.Consideration of these and related comments, review of the limited evaluation literature, and attempts by others to identify factors in the successful delivery of health care led us to take the focus we have in this study.That is, we have presented a small number of case studies which provide examples of the various elements that make an intervention elements that make an intervention elements project successful.Not all of the case studies may exhibit all of these elements, but they do exhibit many of them to a high degree.• trained staff and effective staff development programs;• multi-strategy and collaborative approaches;• adequate funding; and• clearly defi ned realistic objectives aimed at the provision of appropriate services that address community needs.
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