Governance

The International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (hereafter referred to as 'the Centre' or 'the ICSDP') is a scientific body concerned with the greater incorporation of scientific evidence into the development of drug policies at the local, national and international levels.

Location: While its activities are coordinated through a physical space at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, the ICSDP is a large 'virtual centre' comprising an international network of scientists, academics, and health practitioners who contribute to the Centre's overall goal of improving community health and safety by responding to the harms of drugs through policies that are guided by the best available scientific evidence.

Science: The ICSDP aims to review and assess scientific and technical information relevant to the implementation of evidence-based drug policy. It also aims to conduct research in the form of systematic reviews, reports, and consensus statements. Scientists from all over the world and from a diverse set of academic disciplines contribute to the Centre's ongoing activities on a voluntary basis. Peer review is central to the Centre's activities, and Centre research products adhere to the highest levels of scientific transparency and rigour, achieved through the use of widely accepted guidelines and protocols for the production of scientific research. This process also ensures that, when scientific uncertainty exists in a particular area of study, this is reflected in the materials and reports the Centre produces.

Organization: The Centre comprises a large network of scientists, academics, and health practitioners committed to improving the health and safety of communities and individuals affected by illicit drugs through the increased use of scientific evidence in the development of illicit drug policy. The Centre is both a very expansive network and yet, organizationally and physically, very small. The Centre's work is guided by the input of its international network members, who contribute on a voluntary basis as advisors, reviewers or authors. Specific research activities, such as systematic reviews, are overseen by dedicated scientific working groups selected from the membership. Activities are overseen by a scientific board made up of global experts in fields relevant to systematic reviews, public health and drug policy.

Funding: The International Centre for Science in Drug Policy Society is a non-profit society registered in British Columbia, Canada. The society is overseen by a fundraising and governance board, which oversees day to day operational activities and works towards raising funds from corporate, government and individual donors to support the scientific activities of the Centre. If you are interested in donating, please click here.