Standard 2: Engage key internal and external partners andstakeholders throughout the process.

Rationale
Stakeholder and partner involvement is critical to ensure a common understanding and buy-in of the final products and how those products will be used for implementation. It is important to engage them early in the process because they may provide data, analyses, insights, capacities, and resources to develop the conservation plan. Having partners involved in the process provides education and buy-in for the process, and allows opportunities for the assessments to reflect partner priorities, their own planning needs, and better help support their actions. Having critical stakeholders who are not current conservation partners involved in the process offers opportunities for increased understanding and buy-in, and may ultimately lead to more effective implementation and collaboration.

Recommended Products

• A stakeholder analysis: Assessment of the most critical and influential stakeholders and partners and a strategy and timeline for engaging them.
• Documentation of the extent and degree of success of partner and stakeholder engagement.

Part of the Ecoregional Assessment Toolbox -- a guidance document supporting TNC's Ecoregional Assessement approach for priority setting.