Project Northland is a universal school-based program targeting children aged between the ages of 11 and 16 at high risk for teenage alcohol use. It was originally implemented between 1991 to 1998 in six counties in north-east Minnesota.
The first phase is conducted over a minimum of three years when children are aged 11 to 13; a follow-up component is delivered when children are between the ages of 14 and 16. It aims to delay the onset of alcohol use and reduce alcohol use among children already using. The program involves action by children and youth, their parents and peers and the community as a whole to change social norms around alcohol use so that it becomes socially unacceptable for children to start drinking under the legal age limit.
The evaluation of Project Northland conducted by program developers at the University of Minnesota used experimental methods and involved 2953 students, it showed that the program has a significant effect on rates of alcohol misuse and delays the onset of drinking for a large a proportion of children.