Evolving The Nature Conservancy’s Planning Methods Planning Evolution Team Conservation Coaches Rally November 2010

1. Evolving The Nature Conservancy’s Planning Methods Planning Evolution Team Conservation Coaches Rally November 2010

2. Planning Evolution Team

3. What Are They Doing? Improving Planning Methods at All Levels and Scales in TNC • Questions Plans Should Answer & Improving Plan Implementation • Multi-Objective Planning • Improving Strategies • Integration of Strategic & Spatial Planning

4. What Aren’t They Doing? • Recommending changes to Excel Workbook/Miradi • Creating new planning software • Writing new planning methods manuals • Developing a new TNC conservation goal

5. Context: Where is TNC Headed? By 2015, The Nature Conservancy will work with others to ensure the effective conservation of places that represent at least 10 percent of every major habitat type on Earth. 2015 Goal Conservation Approach The mission of The Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. The Mission

6. PET Work to Date • Two in-person meetings (May, October) • Interviews with 100 staff • Review of planning literature • Review of business plan questions, guidance, pilot projects • Preliminary findings & recommendations • Feedback from Conservation Coaches Network

7. A Few Points We Heard (in the interviews) • Goals & objectives often poorly defined • More guidance on setting priorities within laundry lists of places to work and strategies to implement • Need right expertise on planning teams at right times and more manager engagement • Future plans need to use more diverse sets of data & decision support tools that are intuitive and easy to use • Strategy selection is opaque, not comparative, and CAP methods are rarely used for this purpose • Rigor without complexity is needed in methods

8. Best Interview Quote "It's not just about changing planning methods, but it's about how to get the right information, to the right people, at the right time, in a format that is right for them.”

9. Preliminary Recommendations • Greater investment in strategy selection & development – transparent, comparative, future looking • Multi-objective planning should become a core methodology • Spatial (ecoregional) and strategic planning processes should be integrated in most cases • Business planning and CAP should also be integrated into one process that addresses questions for which managers need answers • Conservation planning needs more flexibility of methods & applications depending on situation

10. (1) Investing in Strategies: Comparing Strategies through Return on Investment Analyses (ROI) Carbon Sequestration ROI for Northeastern United States Land management option on agricultural or forest land with largest potential tons CO2e at various price points (20 yrs for agricultural land and permanently for forest land)

11. (1) Investing in Strategies: Looking into Future via Scenario Analyses TNC Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Collaboration Model landscape scenarios Generate land cover maps for alternative scenarios Expert evaluation and feedback

12. (1) Investing in Strategies: Looking into Future via Scenario Analyses

13. (2) Multi-objective Planning as Core Methodology: Marine Spatial Planning TNC Caribbean Program and Global Marine Team Project

14. Marine Multi-objective Planning

15. (2) Multi-objective Planning as Core Methodology: REDD Strategies in Berau • OBJECTIVES: • Improve management of protected areas • Improved forest management • Set aside production forest • Retire/Rezone oil palm

16. Locations & Strategies to Cost-effectively Reduce Emissions by 30% in Berau, Indonesia:

17. (3) Integrating Spatial and Strategic Planning: “Integrated Landscapes” (Central Appalachians) • Combines Ecoregional and CAP methods • Addresses regional-scale strategies (e.g., climate change, energy development) that no single Operating Unit could tackle • Focuses on both place-based and strategic priorities concurrently • Integrates local, landscape, regional, and national strategies and actions • Facilitates work with state, federal, and industry partners

18. (4) Integrating Business Planning & CAP: Questions that Conservation Business Plans Should Address • Priorities for Conservation Action • Conservation Targets . What biodiversity or ecosystem services are the potential priorities of this conservation business plan and why? • Outcomes and Strategies • Theory of change and Solution. What is our proposed solution, including logical pathways, intermediate outcomes and proposed conservation strategies? • Financing and Resourcing Outcomes • Costing Outcomes and Strategies. How much will it cost all parties to achieve the intermediate outcomes and/or sustain conservation outcomes over the long-term? • Measuring Outcomes • Measurable Results and Indicators. What are the key indicators that we will track or monitor to know whether we are making sufficient progress? • Managing for Results • Managing for Results. How should we adapt our strategies or alter our investments based on progress achieved to date? • Learning and Sharing Knowledge • Contributions to Conservation Practice. What major innovations or solutions realized in this strategy could be effective elsewhere?

19. (5) Conservation Planning is More Flexible, Less Prescriptive “Apps” for Setting Priorities Financial Toolbox Ecoregional and Regional Assessment Multi-Objective Planning (e.g., Dbd, MSP) Viability Toolbox Social Science Toolbox Global Habitat Assessment & Data ROI Ecosystem Services Toolbox (e.g., InVest) Climate Change Toolbox (e.g., Climate Wizard)

20. What is Really Different? • Emphasis on multi-objective planning, not just biodiversity goal • Greater emphasis on selection & development of strategies, theory of change, & measuring effectiveness • Improved financial & resource analyses • More flexible approach to conservation planning (different “apps”) • Greater emphasis on questions that managers & directors need to answer

21. Next Steps for Planning Evolution Team • Feedback & Revisions from Coaches Rally • Detailed Recommendations with examples on: • strategy selection-development • multi-objective planning • integrating spatial-strategic planning • integrating business planning & strategic planning (CAP) • Improving implementation of plans • different “apps” (methods) for steps of conservation approach • Peer Review inside and outside TNC • Final Report to Executive Team, Conservation Leadership Team, Board of Directors (June 2011)

22. It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. ~ Charles Galton Darwin Evolving TNC’s Conservation Approach PRIORITIES RESOURCES OUTCOMES STRATEGIES Designing for Conservation Impact MEASURES ACTION & MANAGEMENT LEARNING TNC Conservation Approach Managing for Conservation Results “We’re Gonna Make A Change, For Once In Our Lives, It's Gonna Feel Real Good, Gonna Make A Difference, Gonna Make It Right ….”Adapted from Michael Jackson ‘s “Man in the Mirror” ……for the Conservation Coaches.

23. Design of Breakout Sessions • Breakout Sessions: • Integrating Business – Strategic Planning Questions (Craig, Kirsten) Capitola • Strategy Design & Selection (Gwynn, Andrew) New Brighton • Integrating Spatial & Strategic Planning (Eddie, Zach) Rio del Mar • Open Session for Feedback on Planning Methods (Anita, Robin) Santa Cruz • Ideas to Improve Stakeholder Engagement Strategies (WWF) Santa Cruz • Developing Communications Strategies (WWF) La Selva Café Style Feedback Sessions – participants select three of six sessions to attend. Each session will last 30 minutes, then 5 minutes for participants to move to next session. Each session will start with 5 minute introduction about recommendations of each topic. Timing of Sessions: 9:15-9:45 9:50-10:20 10:25-10:55