Council Workgroups

People With Lived/Living Experience of Substance Use Workgroup

Charge

To advise on ways to enhance and increase meaningful engagement of people who have lived or living experience with drug use in NIDA-funded research.

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Are you passionate about making sure the perspectives of people who use or have used drugs are incorporated into research? Do you want to help shape expectations for meaningfully engaging people with lived and living experience of substance use in research?

We are excited to share that the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is launching a working group to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (NACDA) made up of people with lived or living experience (PWLLE) with drug use. The primary purpose of the group will be to advise on ways to enhance and increase meaningful engagement of PWLLE with drug use in NIDA-funded research. Workgroup members will provide input and feedback to help NIDA co-create standards for engagement of PWLLE in research that will serve as a resource for researchers and PWLLE about NIDA’s expectations regarding engagement in research. 

NIDA is seeking workgroup members who identify as having current or former experience themselves with substance use or substance use disorder, or as a family member or caregiver of someone who does. The workgroup will meet for 1-2 hours approximately 3-4 times a year during 2025 and potentially into 2026. Workgroup meetings will be virtual to facilitate broad participation from around the U.S. Access to Zoom via computer, phone, or tablet will be necessary to participate. There will be current NACDA members as representatives on the workgroup. Workgroup members will be paid $200 per meeting as compensation for their time and there will be no requirements for work outside of meeting times. Workgroup meetings will not be public, but the names of workgroup members will be public information shared on NIDA’s website. Registered lobbyists are not eligible to serve on this workgroup.

If you are interested in participating in this opportunity, please send a brief personal statement in any format (written, audio, or video recorded) to PWLLEworkgroup@nida.nih.gov by January 10th, 2025. In your statement, you might include:

• How your relevant lived or living expertise would be an asset to the workgroup. 
• A brief description of any substance use-related research you have been involved in before in any capacity (researcher, advisor, or participant). Previous experience with research is not required. 
• If you are comfortable, please share your geographic and demographic (age, race/ethnicity, gender) information so we can ensure we engage a diverse set of voices in the group.

Please reach out to PWLLEworkgroup@nida.nih.gov with any questions.

OMB Control Number: 0925-0766    Expiration Date: 09/2026 

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