The evolution of Rare Pride: Using evaluation to drive adaptive management in a biodiversity conservation organization

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Abstract

Rare Pride is a social marketing program that stimulates human behavior change in order to promote biodiversity conservation in critically threatened regions in developing countries. A series of formal evaluation studies, networking strategies, and evaluative inquiries have driven a 20-year process of adaptive management that has resulted in extensive programmatic changes within Pride. This paper describes the types of evaluation that Rare used to drive adaptive management and the changes it caused in Pride's theory-of-change and programmatic structure. We argue that (a) qualitative data gathered from partners and staff through structured interviews is most effective at identifying problems with current programs and procedures, (b) networking with other organizations is the most effective strategy for learning of new management strategies, and (c) quantitative data gathered through surveys is effective at measuring program impact and quality. Adaptive management has allowed Rare to increase its Pride program from implementing about two campaigns per year in 2001 to more than 40 per year in 2009 while improving program quality and maintaining program impact.

Introduction

In spite of decades of work and massive financial commitment, efforts to conserve global biodiversity have achieved spotty and inconsistent successes because “we have yet to fully discover the secrets of effective conservation” (Salafsky, Margoluis, Redford, & Robinson, 2002). Carleton-Hug & Hug (2010, this issue) argue that a majority of environmental education groups fail to incorporate high-quality, systemic evaluation into their programming. Salafsky and his colleagues argue that adaptive management (AM) is a strategy to learn how to do conservation better through the use of formative research, project monitoring, and impact evaluation. This paper uses an historical analysis of a number of in-house studies done over 20 years to understand how a biodiversity conservation organization focused on environmental social marketing used the results of its evaluations to drive the evolution of its primary conservation program, resulting in substantial programmatic changes and the adoption of AM at the program level.

Rare is an international biodiversity conservation non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Arlington, Virginia, whose mission is to “conserve imperiled species and ecosystems around the world by inspiring people to care about and protect nature.” Pride is Rare's flagship program that utilizes the entertainment–education strategy and social marketing (SM).3 The Pride strategy is designed to inform and motivate people to adopt both a conservation ethic and specific behavioral practices that are less environmentally damaging.

Pride is used to reduce threats to biodiversity that are caused by human behaviors, for example, illegal “bush-meat” hunting, destructive fishing practices (e.g. use of cyanide or explosives), and the use of fire to clear land. Pride campaigns are implemented by campaign managers (CMs) working for lead agency partners (LAPs) and consist of 15–20 multi-media SM activities (e.g. puppet shows, billboards, posters, radio spots, songs, video programs, religious sermons and other civic engagement activities) produced over a period of one to two years. The campaigns are branded by the use of a “flagship” species, a local charismatic animal or plant species, that is chosen to provide an empathetic symbol of the local biodiversity, and that is used in all of the messages and activities. Between 1988 and 2007, Rare trained 120 CMs who have implemented Pride campaigns in almost 50 countries.

The concept of a “learning organization” was introduced to management theory in 1978 to overcome the shortcomings of prior management philosophies, which tended to focus on short-term problem solving rather than on long-term systemic evolution of the organization (Preskill & Torres, 1999). Learning organizations develop systems of “evaluative inquiry” as part of a learning strategy to develop insights into their work, continuously assess their processes, and to adapt their strategies to evolving circumstances (Senge, 2006). AM is the systematic integration of these “learning strategies” to test an organization's underlying assumptions about what makes it effective in order to learn to be better at what it does and to adapt to changing circumstances. AM is conceived as a spiral, never-ending, self-reflective and evaluative process that drives program and management policy refinement (Salafsky, Margoluis, & Redford, 2008). The perceived benefits of AM are that management actions and decisions are based on experience and that it engenders a culture of continuous improvement (Smith, Felderhof, & Bosch, 2007).

International conservation organizations have broadly accepted the principles of AM (Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP, 2007)).4 Following CMP's Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation, evaluation is designed into the 5-step program cycle beginning with Step 2 where the monitoring plan is developed, Step 3 where it is implemented, Step 4 where monitoring results are analyzed, and Step 5 where learning is shared to inform future program development, thereby “mainstreaming” evaluation into the program model (Sanders, 2003).

There are relatively few published examples of AM from conservation organizations. This is explained, in part, by “deeply entrenched social norms and institutional frameworks,” including such factors as the desire for “control by managers” and the need to follow “current management guidelines” that tend to promote “activity” and “comfort” over “reflection” and “learning” (Allan & Allan, 2005). Further, most published papers on AM in conservation organizations examine a particular conservation challenge in a given location. AM has often been used in situations where resource harvest quotas need to be adjusted in dynamic ecological and market environments. This paper assesses the application of AM to a learning portfolio5 of Pride programs that have been widely adapted to many different conservation challenges in a diversity of ecological and social circumstances.

Section snippets

Evaluations that drove adaptive management at Rare

Initial research done by Rare involved quantitative surveys that were designed to measure the impact of Pride on audiences. Retrospectively, the aggregated results of this impact research have been used in conjunction with qualitative studies designed to assess organizational performance. These evaluations are summarized in Table 1. They include a meta-analysis of the survey data from all completed Pride campaigns, a series of qualitative in-depth interviews with Pride partners, in-house review

Historical development of Pride

Rare was established in 1973 to undertake conservation education and outreach programs with campaigns such as “Save the Whales” and manatee conservation. The SM methodology, now known as Pride, was conceived in the late 1970s in Saint Lucia in the Caribbean by one of the present authors and his colleagues in the St. Lucia Forestry Department (Butler, 1988).6 The population of the Saint Lucia Parrot (Amazona versicolor) had declined to about

Rare as learning organization

Rare has been committed to “learning” since 1988 as demonstrated by the extensive audience survey research that was conducted in the first Pride campaign. This initial research was quantitative and was designed to assess programmatic impact. Since 1996, qualitative research has added the dimension of understanding how to improve Pride based on the past experiences of its CMs, LAPs and staff. Rare has also employed internal evaluation using business tools and networking with influential groups

Jenks is President and CEO of Rare. He holds an MBA from Georgetown University and has worked in the field of tropical conservation and rural education since 1992.

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  • Cited by (0)

    Jenks is President and CEO of Rare. He holds an MBA from Georgetown University and has worked in the field of tropical conservation and rural education since 1992.

    Vaughan is a research consultant. He holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Behavioral Biology from the University of Minnesota (1988) and taught at Macalester College, St. Paul. He has worked in program evaluation since 1992.

    Butler is Senior Vice President for Global Programs at Rare. Butler developed the Pride methodology while working as a forestry officer in St. Lucia.

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