Analytic and Political Challenges of Using Data to Drive Policymaking in Substance Abuse Prevention in Indiana

In July 2005, Indiana's Office of the Governor received a grant from the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) as part of its Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) Program. The SPF SIG program required that Indiana create a State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW) whose task was to collect and analyze available epidemiological data with the goal of helping state agencies make data-based decisions regarding substance abuse prevention. In order to meet the program requirements, state agencies involved in substance abuse prevention appointed representatives to serve on the SEOW. In an effort to balance tensions among the different state agencies, the Governor asked Dr. Eric Wright, Director of the Center for Health Policy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to chair the SEOW and to carry out the required data analysis with assistance from professional staff at IUPUI. In addition to a state epidemiological profile describing patterns of substance use and abuse in Indiana, the SEOW used the data collected to identify six prevention priorities to guide state policymaking and the allocation of prevention funding. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the key findings from the SEOW's work and discuss the research and political process involved in the development and application of the identified priorities. We conclude suggesting that the strategy employed in Indiana illustrates the potential practical and political value of a close government-academic collaboration to facilitate data-driven decision making and overcoming political silos within state government.