Measures workshops (AKA “summits” or conferences) are an integral aspect of The Nature Conservancy’s approach to using the development of metrics in a written and oral peer-feedback setting to fine-tune and assess our conservation strategies and interventions.
This Measures Workshop Toolkit assembles information from workshops held from 2008-2011 to help guide you through the process:
- Who should attend?
- What is involved?
- Where should the workshop be held?
- When is the right time to hold a workshop?
- Why organize a measures workshop?
- How do I get started?
Who:
Participants in measures workshops should include project directors and key science and management staff. Valuable feedback is given by both peer managers, senior and regional/global staff, as well as key funders and partners. Participant lists from Asia-Pacific Marine, Great Lakes and One Conservancy Priorities give a flavor of the variety of perspectives integral to measures workshops.
What and Where:
The Nature Conservancy held a series of eight independently organized measures workshop after the release of the Conservation Measures Business Plan in 2008. Here you will find the agendas from several workshops including their dates, locations and objectives:
When:
While there is no best time to hold a measures workshop, it is helpful if strategies or interventions have been well thought out, including a robust theory of change. Of course, thinking about how to assess the strategy may lead teams to reassess their assumptions and logic, but that is all part of the iterative nature of adaptive management.
Why:
The purpose of a measures workshop is to catalyze conversations around strategies and their assessment and create concrete recommendations for improving conservation management. Several workshops also produced final summary reports, such as the Asia-Pacific Marine and Caribbean Challenge, as well as outreach presentations.
How:
No one wants to reinvent the wheel! That’s why we are providing copies of some guidance, organization and logistics information to aid others in their pursuit of the perfect measures workshop:
