Identify and Engage Partners
STEP 2: IDENTIFY AND ENGAGE PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS AS APPROPRIATE
Outcomes or Products
• A set of partners and stakeholders engaged in the connectivity assessment project.
Prerequisites
Where partners or stakeholders are relevant to a connectivity assessment, their identification may be part of the overall scoping process (Step 1), or you may begin engaging them once the scope is more fully determined. In some instances, they may even be identified prior to scoping if they are to be part of the scoping process.
Description
In assessments that are intended to directly inform management or conservation activities, partners and stakeholders may be an important part of the overall connectivity assessment process. Where relevant, the project team should identify and engage partners or stakeholders as appropriate.
Skill Sets or Expertise Needed
- General planning background
- Project development experience
- Communication skills
How to Conduct This Step
Determine whether partners or stakeholders play a role in your assessment. In applied assessments, one of the reasons for engaging partners and stakeholders is to ensure their buy-in to the end results through their participation in the assessment process. Roles for partners and stakeholders include informing or helping to determine the thematic and geographic scope of the connectivity assessment, the overall modeling approach, and potentially the interpretation and application of the results. Examples of circumstances in which partners and stakeholders may be important include the following:
- The connectivity model results will be used to inform or direct on-the-ground management activities intended to preserve or enhance wildlife corridors in a landscape with multiple owners/land managers
- The connectivity model results will be used to inform the siting of infrastructure such as roads or renewable energy projects
- The connectivity model results are intended to inform conservation organizations or others’ conservation-related activities
Identify potential partners or stakeholders by identifying major or key land owners and managers within your assessment area, and other organizations or entities who are active in conservation or resource management in the area. Even if you’re familiar with the area being assessed, it may be helpful to create a map of land ownership as well as talk with partners to ensure that all critical partners and stakeholders are identified. There is a wealth of guidance on engaging partners and stakeholders in natural resources assessment or planning processes; a few key resources are highlighted below.
