Social Policy Research Centre
Performance measurement in alcohol and other drug treatment services
Published on the 31 May 2026
Robert Stirling completed a Professional Doctorate of Public Health, examining performance measurement in alcohol and other drug treatment services. The aim of the project was to establish a list of performance measures that can be used by funders of NSW non-government alcohol and other drugs treatment, that is acceptable to funders, treatment providers and service users. The study: assessed current performance measures used in the NSW NGO treatment sector and how they align with best practice; identified the most acceptable and feasible measures among stakeholders – where ‘stakeholders’ include the treatment providers, the funders and the service users; explored the extent of concordance in acceptable and feasible measures between those stakeholders; explored the challenges associated with the implementation of performance measures; and prioritised a finite list of performance measures.
Robert Stirling is the Chief Executive Officer at the Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies (NSW).
Research Centre
Research Area
Drug Policy Modelling Program
- Years
- Publications
- Funding agency
- Collaborators
2018 to 2022
Stirling, R. (2023). Performance measurement in alcohol and other drug treatment services. Doctorate thesis, UNSW Sydney. https://doi.org/10.26190/unsworks/24682
Stirling, R., Nathan, S. & Ritter, A. (2022). Prioritizing measures to assess performance of drug treatment services: a Delphi process with funders, treatment providers and service-users. Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16038
Stirling, R., Ritter, A., Rawstorne, P. & Nathan, S. (2020) Contracting treatment services in Australia: Do measures adhere to best practice? International Journal of Drug Policyhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102947
Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship
