Description: This manual provides users with an overview of the Open Standards and detailed step-by-step guidance designed to allow any practitioner or team to learn about tools and methods to implement the first two steps of the Open Standards. The manual is well-developed and thorough, although some materials predate some newer concepts and approaches in the Open Standards, such as addressing human wellbeing and climate change. It is a little weak in threats ranking as it does not provide guidance on the more thorough (but complex) stress based ranking method. Full citation: Foundations of Success 2009 Conceptualizing and Planning Conservation…

Description: . This module was developed as part of an online learning experience to help WWF partners and staff learn how to apply Step 1 – Define of WWF’s Standards for Conservation Project and Programme Management (WWF Programme Standards or PPMS). These standards closely parallel the Open Standards but are tailored to WWF. The manual is well-developed and thorough though it predates some newer concepts and approaches in the Open Standards such as addressing human wellbeing or climate change. Treatment of target viability and the relationship between stresses and direct threats may be better sourced from elsewhere. Full citation: WWF,…

Description: This handbook, tailored to The Nature Conservancy’s use, is one of the earliest manuals developed for implementing the Open Standards. The handbook is designed as a detailed “toolbox” to help you explore and apply the Open Standards step-by-step. It is well-developed and fairly comprehensive, though it predates some newer concepts and approaches in the Open Standards , such as addressing human wellbeing or climate change. To see ratings for individual chapters, you can filter your search from the guidance page. Full citation: TNC (2007) Conservation Action Planning Handbook: Developing Strategies, Taking Action and Measuring Success at Any Scale. The…

The Conservation Actions and Measures Library (CAML) is an open-source library of Miradi results chains for the most common conservation actions. CAML is based on the idea that we can be more efficient and effective by learning from one another. CAML entries are organized by the IUCN-CMP classification of conservation actions and contain generic results chains, as well as standard objectives and indicators. These serve as starting points for teams to develop specific results chains for their conservation programs. They can also form the basis for selecting common indicators to assess action effectiveness. Check out the CAML Library to see currently…

Description: These presentations are a “harmonized” set of presentations for Steps 1 and 2 of the Open Standards developed by staff from Foundations of Success, The Nature Conservancy, and WWF. They have been vetted overall as excellent, but generally still need learning objectives made more explicit, and with more comprehensive notes to guide presenters. The treatment of human wellbeing targets and climate change needs attention, as these are not always covered. Citation: Conservation Coaches Network (2012) Harmonized Open Standards Presentations.

Description: Conservation is inevitably a social undertaking. As such, many conservation teams feel compelled to address human wellbeing when developing their conservation projects. Prior to 2012, Open Standards users had little guidance on addressing social aspects and human wellbeing in the context of the Open Standards. This document, developed collaboratively by representatives from several organizations and updated in 2016, is a companion document to the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. Full citation: Conservation Measures Partnership. 2016. Incorporating Social Aspects and Human Wellbeing in Biodiversity Conservation Projects. Version 2.0.  Available from: https://conservationstandards.org/library-item/addressing-human-wellbeing/.

Miradi – a Swahili word meaning “project” or “goal” – is a user-friendly program that allows nature conservation practitioners to design, manage, monitor, and learn from their projects to more effectively meet their conservation goals. With over 10,000 users worldwide, the program guides users through a series of step-by-step interview wizards, based on the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. Click here to go to the Miradi website, where you can download the desktop version, and explore the online version. Miradi helps teams to: Define their project scope Design conceptual models and spatial maps Prioritize threats Develop objectives Identify…