University of Kent

This study is being conducted by Dr Simon Black, who has worked as a senior manager in a number of organisations and has extensive experience in consultancy and management development. His previous research won the EFQM European Award for Doctoral Theses in 1994 and he has since published internationally and has presented at conferences on subjects as diverse as business improvement, leadership and strategic planning.

As a conservation professional, Simon is currently working on immunogenetics in the Leverhulme funded echo parakeet project, with recent fieldwork in Mauritius, and examination of the conservation genetics of isolated populations of kestrels. He is also running an in-depth study of Moroccan Royal Lions and has produced a new studbook that that was presented at the European Association for Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) Conference in Copenhagen in 2009.

Recognising this combination of business management and conservation experience, the University of Kent has recently awarded funding to enable the development of ideas to integrate business management into conservation practice. Simon is carrying out a survey of conservation managers to establish potential needs and priorities.

Aims of the Project

We are looking for the involvement of NGOs/conservation managers to identify the need for integrating mainstream management skills to support conservation effort. The aim of this survey is to identify cost-effective support services, management techniques and training specific to the work of conservation professionals, fieldworkers, scientific directors, administrative staff, strategic policy makers and key decision makers in conservation NGOs.

Topics to address might include:

How can we develop clear and simple objectives and plans?
How can we use field data more effectively?
Can communication between field staff & headquarters be more effective?
What does “leadership” mean for conservation managers?
How can we manage field teams more effectively?
Can cost information be used to accurately identify conservation priorities?
How can we align short-term constraints with long-term goals?
How can the results of different conservation projects be compared?
How can we solve problems, make decisions and improve performance?
How can we get the most out of volunteers?
How can we overcome cultural differences in international organizations?
What methods can we use to develop staff and improve their skills?
How do we define roles effectively in an NGO?
How effective are our team/organization’s conservation efforts?

Your commitment would be to respond to a short questionnaire, although Simon would also be happy to discuss more specific issues directly with you on an individual basis, if you so wish. If you would like to be part of this survey please contact Simon directly at S.Black@kent.ac.uk or Tel 01227 823667.