Five busy days of visits and presentations lie ahead. We’re going to hear from some of the world's experts on prevention - people like Carolyn Webster-Stratton whose work I've been reading about for years - and we’ll get to meet the people working on the ground who have translated the theory into reality.

We’ve chosen Washington as the focus of this year's tour. It’s such a hotbed for research and development that we’ve been able to base ourselves in Seattle without needing to travel for more than an hour to reach all of our destinations. We could easily have stayed for two weeks!

The first challenge has been overcome: all our delegates have made it here! There were minor hitches along the way. You would have thought British Airways had never seen a wheelchair before the way the reacted to one at check-in. A few things have been mislaid: the list so far stands at a laptop (thankfully already recovered), $200, keys and a handbag (also recovered).

We’ve also made an accidental 911 call. Having organized two study tours before, I know that there are simply some things you can't plan for!

From last night’s first briefing it’s clear that some unifying themes run through people's expectations. These are the types of questions we will be posing to our hosts as we visit the different sites.

• How do you tailor a program to the needs of different populations and contexts?
• Are US programs applicable in other contexts?
• How do we make systems ready for programs and programs ready for systems?
• How do we use evidence about the costs and benefits of programs to sustain investment in a climate of financial cut backs?
• How do we stop people doing things that don't benefit children?
• What does an evidence based program look like in practice?

Today we’re visiting a middle school to hear about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Programme, then the Juvenile Court to learn about Multisystemic Therapy. Both are Blueprints programs, so I am sure we are in for a fascinating day.