Barrier 2: Agency lacks capacity (expertise, staffing, resources) to identify, understand, engage with, and serve the needs of broader constituencies

Some agencies lack sufficient, or the right types of, expertise (e.g., social science, marketing), skills, staffing, and funding to support activities that will improve the ability to identify, understand, and engage with constituents that are more diverse. Without this capacity, agencies will not be able to fully understand, effectively engage, and provide programs and services to broader constituencies.

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Strategy 1: Identify ways to increase the expertise, staffing, and resources that will support activities to engage and serve broader constituencies.

Step 1: Commit existing or acquire new resources to gather social science data or conduct new research to identify and better understand agency constituents’ interests.

Tactic 1: Understand what social science skills are needed.

Work with other states and social scientists to better understand the types of social science information needed and the level of expertise required to achieve the agency’s social science information needs. Learn what type of social science data and resources are needed to identify and understand broader constituencies.

Tactic 2: Reallocate existing resources to support social science research and analysis.

Agency leadership can demonstrate their commitment to engaging with and serving broader audiences by allocating resources to activities that will increase and improve engagement with and service to broader constituencies. Some agencies have reclassified upper level biologist positions that require a M.S. or Ph.D. into social scientist positions. Others acquire social science data and support through contracts with the private sector or academia. Develop or provide training for staff to identify cultural barriers and behavioral barriers to engaging with the agency.

Step 2: Understand the cultural norms and values that influence the relevance of fish and wildlife conservation and/or outdoor recreation to broader constituencies.

Tactic 1: Identify and understand agency constituents.

The best methods to find and engage with various constituencies should be identified. Identifying and understanding agency constituents is crucial to improving engagement. Methods used to engage and serve current constituents (e.g., hunters and anglers) may not be appropriate or effective with other constituencies. The International Association of Public Participation and the Institute for Participatory Management and Planning are two resources agencies can use to improve public engagement.

Tactic 2: Understand the interests of constituencies.

The agency should Learn how and why understanding the cultural norms, interests, and behaviors of diverse constituencies is important to conservation of fish, wildlife, and their habitats. How social science information can be used to reduce conflict among stakeholder groups, improve constituent satisfaction, and improve conservation outcomes should be demonstrated.

Tactic 3: Routinely assess human demographics to detect changes in values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Human demographics at state (or provincial), regional, and local scales should be regularly assessed to understand how changes in peoples’ values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors impact fish, wildlife, their habitats, and the agency’s management of them. This insight should be used to understand what programs and services broader constituencies desire.

Tactic 4: Provide social science information to staff and the public to inform decision-making.

Information about constituent values and opinions should be provided to agency staff and the public so the agency can better understand and adapt to changing societal needs. Published literature on attitudes and opinions of broader constituencies should be reviewed and strategic foresight methodologies (e.g., domain maps, environmental scanning, scenario creations) should be used to generate desired future conditions that can guide current decision-making and employee development (e.g., U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station works with agencies, tribes, and others in Minnesota).

Tactic 5: Provide social science training to appropriate staff.

Provide training or access to social science information to appropriate staff. Some trainings include the Human Dimensions Foundations of Natural Resource Conservation offered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, behavioral economics training at the Center for Behavior and the Environment, the Center for Advanced Hindsight, and several states’ Natural Resource Leadership Institutes. For agencies that acquire their social science information from external sources, staff should be provided with access to social science journals such as Human Dimensions of Wildlife and Society and Natural Resources so they can stay up-to-date on research results. Training should be provided to staff on how to design and implement effective stakeholder engagement activities (e.g., customer service training, emotional intelligence).

Step 3: Assess the current and desired level of engagement of all constituencies and the interest to engage broader constituencies in conservation.

Tactic 1: Review and evaluate current constituent engagement and assess satisfaction with that engagement.

An evaluation can help the agency understand which constituencies are currently engaging with the agency and how satisfied they are with the types and level of their engagement. This could be accomplished by conducting an internal survey of staff to determine which constituencies are served and in what manner. A survey of those constituencies could then assess their level of satisfaction.

Tactic 2: Identify and prioritize the constituencies the agency needs to engage with the most.

Under the public trust doctrine, agencies have an obligation to engage with and serve all members of the public. Practically, agencies cannot engage with every individual and must prioritize and apply their resources to issues most important to stakeholders such as those who significantly impact or are impacted by fish and wildlife or its management (see Riley et al. 2002 for a discussion on adaptive impact management). Influencers within key constituent groups should be consulted to help understand needs and perceptions.

Tactic 3: Conduct social science research.

Social science inquiries and stakeholder engagement activities should be designed and conducted to better understand statewide/provincial, regional, and local levels of engagement and interest in conservation and conservation-related activities. Conservation partners could be interviewed to assess what level(s) of engagement they see from their members.

Step 4: Assess the expertise needed to develop programs and practices that engage and serve broader cultures and constituencies.

Tactic 1: Identify the expertise needed to develop effective programs.

There should be an understanding of the value and benefits that the full suite of social science data and insight can provide to the design and delivery of desired and effective programs and services. This should apply to both current and new programs. Agencies could work with social science experts to identify the expertise and skills needed to develop effective programs and services for broader constituencies.

Tactic 2: Assess staff social science expertise.

Experts (e.g., educators, marketers, social scientists) should be used to help assess current social science skills and capacity of staff. This will help determine if in-house expertise needs to be developed or enhanced or if external sources of social science information needs to be used.

Tactic 3: Determine staff willingness to engage and serve broader constituencies.

Some agency staff may be unable or unwilling to commit to engaging broader constituencies. Identify ways to minimize their negative effects or influence on efforts to engage broader constituencies. Staff that engage with broader constituencies should be recognized and rewarded.

Step 5: Develop programs and practices that engage and serve broader cultures and constituencies.

Tactic 1: Create a strategic, comprehensive plan to engage and serve all current and future constituents.

A plan (e.g., stakeholder engagement strategy) should be developed to engage broader constituencies that explains the objectives and desired outcomes that will be achieved by engaging with and serving broader constituencies. This will demonstrate agency commitment to engaging and serving broader constituencies and provide high-level guidance on how to engage and serve them.

Tactic 2: Use social science information to identify currently unknown, underserved, or unengaged constituent groups.

Existing social science data and insight should be collected and reviewed to identify diverse, underserved and unengaged constituent groups. Some agencies may need to conduct new social science research or update existing data to identify broader constituencies.

Tactic 3: Identify constituent interests.

Social science data and insight should be used to understand constituent values and interests and the types of engagement or experiences they desire. Social scientists can help design engagement campaigns to attract potential conservation constituents.

Tactic 4: Develop programs and services for broader constituencies.

Social science expertise (including that of designers of youth and adult education programs) and the resources needed to design desired programs and services for broader constituencies should be identified and acquired.

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Agency capacity success story: marketing programs

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife empowered staff to communicate with diverse constituents in ways that resonate with their different relationships with nature. They worked with social scientists to train biologists on the concept of framing theory, and worked with communications experts to train staff on social media, crisis communications, and strategic communications so that biologists are aware that various constituents want to hear different types of conservation messages based on their value systems.

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Step 6: Implement programs and practices that serve broader cultures and constituencies.

Tactic 1: Market programs and services to broader constituencies.

Programs and services should be marketed to nontraditional audiences in ways that are most appropriate to them. This will help them understand the connection between conservation and participation in outdoor recreation with other important aspects of their lives (e.g., health and well-being, air and water quality, food security, environmental justice, or social justice).

Tactic 2: Provide programs and services to broader constituencies.

Programs and services to engage and serve broader constituencies should be implemented and the positive and negative effects of implementation should be evaluated and mitigated if necessary.

Tactic 3: Evaluate offered programs and services.

Social science methods should be used to routinely evaluate programs and services for current and broader underserved constituencies. Participation, user satisfaction, and alignment to program objectives should be monitored and adjustments made as needed. Focus groups of diverse constituents should be convened to understand their perceptions of the agency and solicit suggestions for providing them programs and services they desire.

Tactic 4: Partner with others that offer programs and services to broader constituencies.

Partnerships with other agencies, academia, and nongovernmental organizations that specialize in engaging with broader or diverse audiences should be initiated or strengthened.

Tactic 5: Address conservation challenges that are important to broader constituencies.

Conservation challenges that are important to broader constituencies should be understood. Social science applications (e.g., qualitative and quantitative inquiries, stakeholder engagement activities, marketing plans, message testing, program evaluation) to address long-standing, complex conservation challenges that are important to broader constituencies (e.g., human-wildlife conflict, invasive species, climate change) should be designed and implemented.

© Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

Agencies should communicate with diverse constituencies in ways that resonate with their different relationships with nature.

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