Assessment of an Implementation in a Participative Context: The Procedure Followed at Relais-Methadone

Relais-Methadone is an intervention program within the context of a harm reduction approach. Since this program calls for innovative practices in Montreal, it was judged necessary to evaluate its implementation. This article describes the collaboration pertaining to this evaluation between the researchers, the promoters of the project, the administrative coordinators & the caregivers. Implementation evaluation of this program is considered profitable for each of the parties & its success is attributed to the following factors: the promoters interest in associating research to the program; the context of a pilot project that produces an index case useful in justifying the continuation of such programs; the consensus between partners, including the financial backer, to proceed to a systematic study of the program's implementation; the availability of funds for evaluation, that permitted researchers to be associated at the very beginning of the program; the choice of a participative approach, applied to every step of the process, that helped the milieu to master both the evaluation & its results. References. Adapted from the source document.