This is a very valuable guide to integrating the Open Standards into the fabric of how conservation organizations do business. If we want to improve the effectiveness of our organizations and be able to make data-informed investment decisions, then we need to be able to connect the information generated using the Open Standards – about what we are conserving, how these ecosystems and species are doing, the threats they are facing, and the effectiveness of our strategies – with our organizations’ information about fundraising, finances, and human resources. Stewart outlines how to systematize the flow of information between these different…

This excellent, thorough, evidence-based application of Steps 1 and 2 of the Open Standards applies to a small wildlife refuge in the United States – the Anaho Island National Wildlife Refuge. Each step in the process is clearly explained with available literature and data used to support key decisions throughout the planning process. It may be most relevant as an example for government agencies that are legally required to thoroughly document their management decisions. Because the US Fish and Wildlife has a separate work plan, this is not included. There is also no explanation of how the refuge will practice…

Located in one of a very few Asian Tiger source areas, this inspirational tale of adapting actions, strategies, monitoring and even objectives based squarely on evidence by hundreds of people demonstrates the power of the Open Standards. Wild tigers and their ungulate prey in Lao PDR are threatened by illegal hunting so law enforcement and outreach strategies were rolled out over 10 years to combat population decline. Monitoring and control methods adapted as results demonstrated levels of success, for instance: camera trapping was replaced by opportunistic tiger scat collection and DNA analysis armed foot patrols were expanded in numbers and…

The contribution of Healthy Country Planning to empowering indigenous peoples and in getting people back on country is very exciting and this plan is an excellent example of that movement. This plan outlines concrete steps for the community to take back management of their traditional country and improve the communities’ well-being.  Published in 2010 at the start of the HCP process, it does lack some connections among strategies, results chain and intermediate objectives and indicators. These aspects have been gradually adopted and developed over the intervening years. See the Wunambal Gaambera Mid-term evaluation (2015) for progress five years on and…

This guide provides an excellent high-level overview of monitoring and evaluation design concepts. It clarifies that teams should consider their resources and need for precision and establishing causality when choosing their M&E design. This guide is not intended to be a step-by-step how-to guide for all practitioners. Rather, it strives to clarify key M&E topics in simple terms and highlight the key decisions teams should consider in designing their M&E efforts. This resource would be most valuable to team members responsible for carrying out monitoring and evaluation. Citation: Foundations of Success. 2019. Designing Monitoring and Evaluation Approaches under the Open Standards:…

A key foundation of any science is a common nomenclature that practitioners can use to describe—in a mutually intelligible way—the problems they are facing and the solutions they are using. For example, if a conservation project team faces the threat of “cattle” and another “grazing” and yet another “beef production,” they may not realize that they are all dealing with the same issue. As a result, cross-project learning is difficult, and the ability to meaningfully roll-up information across projects is greatly hampered. The taxonomies presented here began with a collaborative effort between the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and CMP to…

This case study shows the evolution of a management plan through several iterations using the Open Standards. One of 56 organizations spanning Australia, Territory Natural Resources Management (TNRM) picked up on the Open Standards in 2014. Their first two iterations, the 2005 plan and the 2010 plan, proved difficult to implement, so they turned to the OS to help structure planning, implementation and review, beginning with a review of the 2010 plan. The plan, encompassing almost 1.4 million square km (17.5%) of Australia, sought to: Guide and prioritise investments and activities in natural resources management (NRM) in the Northern Territory…