This is a good high-level reference document that helps staff in different roles (including management and support) determine where they can find more information to help them promote and/or understand the potential behind the Open Standards. It identifies several barriers to adoption and ways to address them, directing the reader to more detailed reference materials. Here is the link to the document, which is part of a comprehensive set of documents penned by Annette Stewart as part of her 2016 Fullbright Scholarship.. Full citation Stewart (2016) Study of Practices: Summary of Key Findings from Fulbright Scholarship. Fulbright Scholarship, Melbourne Australia.

This is a great resource for fundraisers who are looking to identify funds for specific projects. It helps them understand the key characteristics of projects developed with the Open Standards so that they can judge and then pitch the quality of the project design, implementation, and planned monitoring to potential donors. Here is the link to the document, which is part of a comprehensive set of documents penned by Annette Stewart as part of her 2016 Fullbright Scholarship. See below for the Roadmap which the complete set of report can be accessed. Full citation Stewart (2018) Fundraiser’s Guide to the…

The Conservation Capability Maturity model provides a very useful framework for assessing institutional capacity and effectiveness, especially regarding the key processes involved in the practice and management of conservation work. The model provides a scorecard format for identifying where an organization is on key processes (e.g., strategic planning, information management, learning and sharing) and what it would need to do to move to the next level (if relevant). The model draws heavily from the business sector – there is much to learn from this sector, but conservation practitioners should carefully consider their organizational context when applying some of the approaches…

This is a great resource for M&E staff or other “integrators” in small to medium-sized organizations that are playing a support role to projects and programs. It provides them with an understanding of how to improve workflows across their organizations, why it is important to do so, and why it is important to invest in processes and technology to support the conservation workflow, the core of its business. This is important information to get decision-makers in an organization to help them understand the value of the Open Standards and supporting technologies. The concepts in the document are excellent, but the…

This is an excellent guide that explains how to use Open Standards’ supporting systems, Miradi and Miradi Share, to manage project information. In particular, it provides guidance on using Miradi and Miradi Share for work planning, budgeting, and reporting across projects and rolling up to a program level (via Miradi Share). The guide is aimed at integrators (often monitoring and evaluation staff) in small-to-medium sized conservation organisations in the initial pilot stages of using Miradi and Miradi Share. Here is the link to the document, which is part of a comprehensive set of documents penned by Annette Stewart as part…

This document relates Open Standards concepts and tools with those of the “Collective Impact” framework, which provides guidance for organisations tackling complex “adaptive” problems (such as conservation challenges) involving multiple partners. Since its initial publication in 2011, the model has been widely used and is credited with providing support to many successful initiatives.  The Open Standards community has often struggled with the implementation phase of projects, where efforts can dissipate or inadequate monitoring thwarts efforts for results-based management and adaptive learning. Leveraging the Collective Impact principles has the potential to strengthen project implementation. Here is the link to the document,…

This report describes the emerging Environmental Impact Investing market, a potential source of funding at the scale required to effectively protect global biodiversity. It illustrates how use of the Open Standards builds the project management and impact measurement skills needed to access this market. It also outlines the IRIS Metrics, which provide an industry standard for reporting the impact of projects, helping investors to compare performance across different organisations. Here is the link to the document, which is part of a comprehensive set of documents penned by Annette Stewart as part of her 2016 Fulbright Scholarship. Also see below the…