Sea Turtle Conservation Group

Conservation networks are often poorly designed and run. They can suffer from a lack of a clear compelling purpose, appropriately skilled leadership, poor recruiting of membership, badly designed activities, lack of measurement and evaluation of impact, lack of documentation of lessons learned, and under funding.

 

This document is a handbook designed to help network sponsors and leaders design, launch, and operate effective conservation networks. The seven standards are conditions that we have found to be essential for success. For each standard we have briefly described practices that can help ensure that a network meets that particular condition for success.

 

Seven Standards:

1. Clear Strategic Purpose
2. Effective Leadership
3. Committed Membership
4. Well-designed and Executed Activities
5. Measurement and Adaptive Management
6. Documentation of Lessons-Learned
7. Adequate Resources

A companion website also exists. An earlier study on Learning Networks also contains some useful hints and tips.

The Nature Conservancy has several highly effective networks:

 

US Fire Learning Network

Latin American and Caribbean Fire Learning Network

Shellfish Restoration Network

Pacific Invasives Learning Network

Eastern Invasives Learning Network

Western Invasives Learning Network

Grassland Restoration Network

Micronesians in Island Conservation

A network is a group of people, working across organizational and/or geographic boundaries, who collectively create, apply and test solutions to one or more common challenges. With this broad definition it is clear that adapting these standards to meet the specific circumstances of your network is critical.

 

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