DAY 1:  TECHNICAL CAPACITY BUILDING

FOCUS: Building technical skills & knowledge for individuals and staff within organisations

RATIONALE: Professional conservation staff have a shared need for increased capacity in a wide range of technical skills and knowledge to achieve their goals. Organisations need to see capacity building as a long-term (continuous) conservation investment rather than taking a project-based approach. In order to achieve this end there is an urgent need to develop and evaluate processes and tools that allow technical skills to be acquired in a targeted, cost-efficient and sustainable way.

PRESENTATIONS: Conference presentations will address examples of the production of tools, kits and other training initiatives aimed at enhancing technical capacity for staff within conservation organisations and statutory agencies (including students and  volunteers). The case study presentations will focus primarily on the capacity building process itself, but will utilise examples from a range of generic subject areas. These will include: (i) field skills e.g. species monitoring & taxonomy, management of habitats and invasive species, community engagement, community enforcement, (ii) data management skills e.g. database development, data standards and sharing, GIS, websites, (iii) data analysis skills e.g. trends analyses, hotspot & Red Listing, optimal protected area identification, quantifying ecosystem services and impact of climate change, (iv) captive breeding and re-introduction, and (v) planning skills e.g. developing, prioritising and evaluating evidence-based and cost-effective conservation actions.

DAY 2:  INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING

FOCUS: Building strong institutions for conservation

RATIONALE: In addition to the range of technical skills required by individuals within conservation institutions (conference day 1), there is also a need for capacity building at the organisational level. Strong institutions are characterised by long-term investment in capacity building and the presence of key processes and structures that facilitate conservation actions that are both effective and sustainable.

PRESENTATIONS: Conference presentations will provide generic examples of developing and enhancing: leadership, governance, visioning and prioritisation, finances, fund-raising, marketing, access to resources, partnerships & networks, long-term planning, communication, influence and reach, and increasing membership.

DAY 3:  DESIGN & DELIVERY OF CONSERVATION CAPACITY

FOCUS: Identifying needs, audiences and appropriate delivery mechanisms

RATIONALE: In addition to developing technical and organisational capacity (conference days 1 and 2), there is a need for a strategic ‘design’ approach in capacity building initiatives. This includes methods to identify the precise training requirements for specific audiences and target groups, and ensuring these are delivered at an appropriate spatial  scale (local, regional, national). Conservation organisations and training providers also need to evaluate and share information on the most cost-effective and highest impact delivery methods, as well as promoting  long-term, strategic commitments to capacity building that alters the current emphasis on project-based approaches.

PRESENTATIONS: Conference presentations will provide information on successful examples of ‘traditional’ capacity delivery as well as more novel approaches. They will also offer insights from the ‘lessons learnt’ from previous capacity initiatives. Specifically, the case studies will include methods and evaluation of: partnership capacity approaches, short and longer (e.g. residential) training courses, higher education provision, distance learning, online training techniques, data sharing, and experiences from dedicated capacity building training institutes.

DAY 4:  TRAINING EVENTS & WORKSHOPS FOR DELEGATES

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CONFERENCE CROSS-CUTTING THEMES

1. Identifying the causes and consequences of barriers to developing the skills required to undertake effective conservation
2. Developing cost effective and sustainable solutions to identified problems
3. Presenting examples of best practice in conservation capacity building
4. Reviewing potential methods for evaluating the conservation outcomes of capacity building actions
5. Ensuring that capacity building is a major part of local, national and regional biodiversity strategies

MAJOR ELEMENTS

The programme will contain the following core elements:

• Keynote Speeches: plenary sessions providing overview and vision for the major themes of the conference
• Conference Papers: delegate presentations on specific issues within the conference's major themes
• Solution Workshops: facilitated sessions where delegates have an opportunity to generate solutions to capacity building problems
• Training Events: workshop style meetings where delegates will have the opportunity to undertake training (tools, techniques, software, etc)
• Specialist Group Meetings: workshop sessions of taxonomic specialist groups to discuss taxa specific capacity building issues
• Exhibition: presentations by companies showing latest conservation tools, techniques, data, etc
• Poster Session: presentation of delegates' work and projects
• Conference Visit: A group visit to local national park

CONFERENCE OUTPUTS

• The conference proceedings published as a book covering the major conference themes
• A website providing a 'one-stop-shop' for training and educational resources

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK