Alcohol Harm Reduction Toolbox
The 2025 Alcohol Harm Reduction Toolkit is provided by ITGA with funding from Molson Coors, a member of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking. In 2019, a partnership was formed with ITGA to assist in the World Health Organization’s goal of reducing “at least 10% relative reduction in the harmful use of alcohol” by 2025. In order to support this goal, ITGA allocated funding from Molson Coors to six university communities to use evidence-based strategies or emerging best practices around alcohol use at off campus student house parties. ITGA would like to thank Dr. Jason Kilmer, an Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington (UW), who served as a partner to ITGA throughout the three year process, worked closely with each institution, and helped design the toolkit.
Challenges for Town and Gown Relationships: Addressing Off-Campus Parties
ITGA has been a leader for years in building bridges on and off college campuses to strengthen relationships between community stakeholders and college/university partners. Off-campus parties can result in high profile incidents that impact relationships and health.
The field of alcohol prevention and intervention has grown dramatically over the past 30 years, and, while off-campus parties have not historically been the primary focus, that is starting to change.
You can use content on this website for your own strategic planning, to review “lessons learned” from experts in the field, to explore innovations from other campuses, and to examine “gold standard” evidence-based approaches for prevention and intervention.
OFF-CAMPUS PARTIES – WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE SAY?
What did the Safer California Universities project find among its numerous successes? What are the unwanted outcomes people could be at risk for experiencing at off-campus parties? Why can someone’s ability to “hold their liquor” disappear if they go to a house party that represents a setting they’ve never been to before?
OFF-CAMPUS PARTIES – WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SUGGEST?
Don’t have time to read articles? Want to hear quick tips from some of the field’s biggest experts? Please see the following interviews with internationally respected colleagues for their suggestions related to address off-campus parties.
OFF-CAMPUS PARTIES – INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Schools that received 2025 Initiative Grants developed content with an eye on transferability and applicability to other campuses. For each school that was able to add a tool to the ITGA toolkit (or toolbox), their tools are below.
OFF-CAMPUS PARTIES – OTHER EVIDENCE-BASED OPTIONS
The following are links to other toolkits, resources, and websites that can be helpful with on- and off-campus planning.