Development of Needs-Based Planning (NBP) Model

NBP uses a systematic quantitative approach to planning substance use health and mental health treatment and support systems by estimating the required capacity of services and supports, based on needs of the whole population, and all levels of severity and complexity of those needs and contrasting these services with current resource capacity.

The NBP Project team led by Dr. Brian Rush and Dr. Daniel Vigo developed an integrated planning model that estimates the required capacity of mental health and substance use health services and supports for adults, based on objective measures of population need and evidence informed services.  The development process included pilot testing in six diverse Canadian jurisdictions which presented unique opportunities to assess strengths and challenges in design and implementation of an integrated model.

Project work has benefitted significantly from the contributions of the project’s National Advisory Committee (NAC) comprised of researchers, policy makers and system planners from across Canadian provinces and territories. The NAC will continue to be supported.