Agency Culture Barrier 2: Agency is not adaptive to the changing nature-based values and outdoor interests of broader constituencies
Research suggests that wildlife value orientations of Americans are changing (Manfredo et al., 2018). Adapting to these changes is necessary to successfully manage all wildlife for all members of the public. It can be challenging for an agency to adapt when constrained by long-standing institutional policies, procedures, and traditions. To successfully change, an agency will need new tools and competencies to improve its adaptability to changing societal values.
Strategy 1: Develop practices and processes that are responsive to changing nature-based values of constituents.
A key characteristic of an adaptable institution is its ability to continually learn and re-evaluate system understanding. This often requires an agency to find the sweet spot between implementation and revision of policies and procedures. Institutional transformation begins when adaptive processes are formally internalized as part of operations. Innovation, validating assumptions, and developing skills for reflection can help make an organization adaptive and flexible (Bainbridge et al., 2000).
Step 1: Investigate current trends in constituent nature-based values and commit to serving all constituents.
Tactic 1: Use information and research on the nature-based values of constituents to understand current trends.
Social science research and surveys can help an agency better understand the current values of constituents and any trends. Information should be available at the needed jurisdictional scale. If it is not available, new research should be conducted at the appropriate state, regional, or local scale.
Tactic 2: Engage with local community leaders and underserved groups to learn what is important to them.
Listening to local communities and understanding constituent values and needs are critical steps to developing an adaptable and flexible institution. Conducting public forums and listening sessions can inform an agency’s understanding of subpopulations or affinity groups that make up broader constituencies. Once identified, commonalities among disparate groups can be identified, leading to new opportunities for partnerships. Academic institutions often have expertise and experience with understanding the needs of underserved groups.
Tactic 3: Educate staff regarding the nature-based values of constituents.
Agency responsiveness and flexibility can be enhanced through continuing education and training, particularly when staff are challenged with new approaches. Developing a “best available science” library could be a helpful way for the agency to document current understanding and disseminate information regarding the nature-based values of constituents. Academic and community leaders should be invited to help inform agency staff of shifting trends and public opinion and ways in which new audiences can be engaged.
Step 2: Conduct an assessment of agency practices and processes to understand if they are adapting to societal change.
Tactic 1: Assess how adaptable the agency is in processes and practices, including staff adaptability, and use process improvement tools to address any deficiencies.
Many agencies have few structures and processes to evaluate their ability to adapt to changing values. Processes that could be evaluated include the extent to which an agency identifies and responds to customer needs, the efficiency of its financial or internal systems, and how well an agency delivers services and information to its constituents. Agencies may need to look to the business sector to find ways to evaluate their adaptability. The Malcolm Baldrige Assessment is a tool used to improve the competitiveness and performance of an organization and could be used to examine an agency’s adaptiveness, demonstrated through characteristics such as staff flexibility and openness to changing environments.
Agency culture success story: survey
The Missouri Department of Conservation uses a standardized questionnaire to survey public opinion about conservation and participation in outdoor recreation.
Step 3: Incorporate needed improvements to practices and processes that increase responsiveness to changing nature-based values.
Tactic 1: Create a culture of adaptability to changing societal values.
An agency should be responsive and committed to maintaining current partnerships but also identify modifications that would make the agency more adaptable. Committing, at all levels, to increasing the adaptability of the agency will help create a more resilient environment that will help the agency respond to changing societal values. Responsiveness and flexibility can be enhanced by using new and creative ways to disseminate information and deliver new programming and materials based on current needs. An adaptable agency could develop mobile apps that younger audiences can use to access and participate in the outdoors, rather than relying on traditional means such as the agency magazine.
Tactic 2: Support and reward staff who make practices and processes more adaptable to reach broader constituencies.
Agency staff who serve broader constituencies should be supported and rewarded. Staff can learn from and network with organizations who serve diverse constituencies through job shadowing or internship programs. Agency teams that build new partnerships should share their experiences with others across the agency. Staff that develop creative ways to connect with new groups should be acknowledged and supported even when outcome targets are not achieved. If monetary rewards are not feasible, other rewards such as peer recognition, work environment improvements, and celebrating successes by hosting fun group activities can make employees feel acknowledged, appreciated, and rewarded.
Tactic 3: Conduct surveys, both internally and externally, to gauge the responsiveness of the agency to external change.
Data from internal and external surveys could help an agency adjust practices to meet changing environments. It is important to gain the perspective of agency staff along with broader constituencies to understand whether there is a disparity in perceptions.
© Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Agency staff in Texas administer “First Day Hikes” to engage with the broader outdoor interests of constituents.
