The entire PREVA Platform is designed as an analytical framework, which is formulated by a collection of common concepts, terminologies, accounting units, protocols for counting the units, data elements, and the operation of various constructs, as well as other summary measures intended to achieve an efficient and effective measurement of process input, program capacity, process output, performance outcome, and the societal impact of substance abuse prevention programs. The measurement units and summary data elements are designed to be measured across time and across jurisdictions. In the Platform, the process input is captured by two dimensions of time and capital. Program capacity is captured by 14 measurement units, tapping into the dimensions of staff resources and community assets. The totality of process output from all sources of program activities is reduced to 18 classes of measures. For the measurement of performance outcomes, two types of data are incorporated into the Platform: outcome data from individuals and the behavior or performance of social indicators from aggregated databases. The long-term outcomes capture the behavioral dimensions of substance use, the actual use in terms of intensity/frequency of use. Finally, the social impact is measured by social indicator data to reflect the overall impact of substance abuse prevention programs in the community at large. The selection of terminologies, data elements on individuals, and the social indicators are based on an extensive review of literature on the type of data prevention researchers and policymakers use most often. An eclectic use of both of these types of data is essential for the general accounting of substance abuse prevention, performance outcomes, and for the eventual transformation of the field of prevention into prevention science. 6 figures, 11 tables, and 178 references