The National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference (formerly called the NPN Prevention Research Conference) has a long-standing history. The first conference was held in 1988 in Kansas City, Missouri and has been conducting on an annual basis ever since in various cities around the country. Over the years, the conference has grown in size, hosting 700-1,000 participants.

The purpose of the NPN Conference is to highlight the latest research in the substance use prevention field. It provides a forum for prevention professionals, coalition leaders, researchers, and federal partners to share research, best practices and promising evaluation results for the purpose of integrating research into prevention practice.