NADA’s activities focus on better positioning the non government drug and alcohol sector through capacity building and contribution to policy development. A range of projects are undertaken to support NADA members in providing drug and alcohol services. 

Current NADA projects include:

NGO Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Traineeship Program
NADA was funded by NSW Health in July 2009 to deliver a state-wide Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Traineeships program in the non government sector. Funding is available for three trainees to be placed in drug and alcohol programs or NGOs from January 2010 to December 2012, while undertaking relevant undergraduate qualifications. The objectives of the program are to increase the number of tertiary qualified Aboriginal drug and alcohol workers across the sector, increase opportunities for Aboriginal drug and alcohol workers to undertake supported practical and theoretical training and raise awareness of Aboriginal health issues and a holistic approach to drug and alcohol issues in NGOs.

No Bars - Drug Crime Diversion Project
The No Bars Training Project is aimed at increasing staff and organisational confidence and capacity to address the needs of clients who are in contact with the criminal justice system. The Community Restorative Centre (CRC), a specialist independent community organisation that aims to change lives positively by supporting people affected by the criminal justice system, has partnered with NADA to develop a comprehensive training and change management resource package for NADA members. A web based and hard copy resource for drug and alcohol services is now being developed and will be publicly available on the new No Bars website.

NGO Drug and Alcohol and Mental Health Information Management Project
This project will assist agencies to assess and measure outcomes for clients with drug and alcohol and mental health issues. Outcome measuring builds evidence of program effectiveness beyond simple measures of inputs and outputs. The foundation of the project will be an on-line outcomes data collection system building on NADA’s current MDS system. Outcome domains of the data collection set are psychological wellbeing, heath and social functioning and drug and alcohol use and dependence. A pilot of the system will commence in 2010 with a flagship group of NADA member agencies, with further rollout following a pilot evaluation process.

NGO Drug and Alcohol and Mental Health Family and Carer Project
The level of family and carer engagement varies across the drug and alcohol sector, with few clearly identified models or strategies to engage and support families and carers for improved outcomes for clients and their families. The Family and Carers Project aims to support the involvement of family and carers of clients with mental health issues who are accessing non government drug and alcohol services. The Project has three main components: A toolkit - Tools for Change: A new way of working with families and carers, training opportunities and a seeding grants program.  Twenty two non government drug and alcohol organisations have been funded to conduct projects for up to one year that will improve support for family and carers.

Improved Services Initiative - Cross Sectoral Support and Strategic Partnerships Project
The Improved Services Initiative is a national project which aims to build the capacity of non government drug and alcohol organisations to effectively identify and treat comorbid substance use and mental illness. The Department of Health and Ageing provided 26 grants to D&A NGOs (or consortia of agencies) in NSW.  NADA works closely with grant recipients to provide support in four key areas: building partnerships and linkages, service improvement activities, identifying workforce development and training opportunities and disseminating targeted information and resources. Over the next twelve months, NADA will undertake a range of activities that will benefit both grant recipients and the broader NADA membership such as:  development of a template policy and procedure toolkit (a collaborative project with the NADA Sector Development Program), hosting regular information and networking forums, and providing relevant training opportunities and resources.

Information Technology
The NADA on-line MDS database continues to develop to support members in collecting, reporting and using MDS data. This project provides members with free access to the on-line MDS system with a range of reporting functions available. NADA also provides free user support and training for this system. Additionally NADA represents members on a range of government data related advisory and steering groups to ensure the needs of the non government sector are included in any policy and system development.
No Wrong Door - Mental Health Capacity Building Projects
A cross training project has been developed to enhance capacity within both the NGO mental health and NGO drug and alcohol sectors. The mental health sector package is a partnership with the Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) and includes the change management training package ‘No Wrong Door’. This package includes nationally recognised training assessment materials developed in four competency areas within the Community Services package. The project has also partnered with University of Wollongong, Illawarra Institute of Mental Health for a comprehensive evaluation. 

NGO Drug and Alcohol and Mental Health Research Grants Program
NADA and the Mental Health Coordinating Council (MHCC) have been funded to administer research grants through the NGO Drug and Alcohol and Mental Health Research Grants Program. The primary objective of the research grants program is to engage drug and alcohol NGOs and mental health NGOs in research and contribute to the effectiveness of drug and alcohol and mental health service delivery. Organisations were required to partner with a research body to undertake the research for up to 2 years. Nine drug and alcohol NGOs have received funding to conduct research on a diverse range of issues. NADA and the MHCC have also facilitated training and networking opportunities to assist grant recipients to build their capacity in this area.

Sector Development
The goal of the Sector Development Program is to support NADA members to develop their organisational capacity, with a particular focus on quality improvement (QI). The Program includes development and implementation support of a range of resources and tools (such as a Policy Template Tool Kit), hosting of forums and workshops (particularly on QI, governance and management), promoting and supporting partnerships (with other members, other service providers, etc), and information dissemination (on relevant resources, capacity building opportunities, etc).

Workforce Development (including Training Grants)
The NADA Workforce Development (WFD) Program supports the NGO drug and alcohol workforce to provide quality drug and alcohol treatment, health promotion and education services. The WFD Program continues to develop and strengthen partnerships in the NGO and government sectors in areas including criminal justice, mental health, the workforce and training sectors, child protection and homelessness. NADA hosts a calendar of customised training for members in areas of clinical practice and other frontline work. Additionally, a training grant program is run to support individual and organisations to participate in training that directly supports service delivery.