Social Science Working Group
Society for Conservation Biology
Draft Strategic Plan, 2025-2030
August 2024
We are seeking your valuable feedback on the 2025-2030 strategic plan for the SCB Social Science Working Group. Your insights are crucial in shaping a plan that aligns with our collective goals and ensures a strong future for our community of conservation social scientists. Please take a moment to review the document and share your thoughts. Your input is greatly appreciated via this secure and anonymous Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Sm9GcrSr86Z9mlQmJ4eN_TFwEZT-GQsHo8BKkrzygQg/edit
Thank you for your time and contribution.
Introduction
The Social Science Working Group (SSWG) of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is a global professional community interested in the social dimensions of biodiversity conservation. Since its inception 20 years ago, the SSWG has grown rapidly and has been successful in defining the conservation social science field, establishing an interdisciplinary and global epistemic conservation social science field community, legitimising and mainstreaming the social sciences within SCB, elevating standards for conservation social science field research and practice, and applying conservation social science field insights to conservation practice and policy. We have grown our membership, with members from close to 60 countries, offering a home to a diverse array of social scientists, natural scientists, and conservation practitioners.
Every five years the SSWG develops and adopts a new strategy. With this new 2025-2030 strategy, the SSWG Board of Directors want to look ahead to what we have yet to achieve, and where we want to position ourselves in the next decade. This strategy comes at a pivotal time, where the conservation community strives towards reaching key milestones in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and CBD 2030 targets, fulfilment of which requires the conservation social sciences to take a central role and to be employed to achieve effective and equitable conservation outcomes.
The vision, goals, and objectives outlined in this strategic plan are designed to focus, sustain, and enhance the impacts of conservation social scientists on conservation science and practice worldwide. Having already established an organisational home for conservation social scientists, this strategic plan focuses on securing our position as a key voice in scientific debates on conservation policy; further diversifying our vibrant and respected global community of conservation social scientists; and catalysing the development of the next generation of leaders in conservation social science. At the same time, the plan highlights the need for organisational development of the SSWG to develop and sustain these targeted programmatic activities.
By achieving the goals and objectives articulated in this plan, the SSWG will substantially further its mission – to strengthen conservation social science and the application of social science to conservation practice. In this way, we will contribute to advancing the science and practice of conserving the Earth’s biological diversity, the mission shared by all members of the Society for Conservation Biology.
Goal 1: Science. To elevate standards of practice among conservationists who use the conservation social sciences to advance the science and practice of conserving Earth’s biological diversity and peoples relationships with it.
Over the next five years, SSWG intends to more directly set standards for the conservation social sciences, and showcase examples of those standards of research, practice, and conservation impact. We also acknowledge that SSWG could better identify and promote conservation narratives and success stories based on and led by CSS. In our role as a professional society, SSWG should highlight exemplary work through its early career award. However, it is also important that SSWG promote its most esteemed members through SCB’s reward structure, including through conference awards, the Smith Fellows program, and overarching societal awards.
Objective 1.1: Set standards for conservation social science academia and practice based on evidence.
We position ourselves as a professional society aiming to set the standard for conservation social science research through the following activities:
- Activity 1.1.1: Gather and publish evidence for principles of good conservation social sciences, possibly drawing on systematic literature reviews and collaboration.
- Activity 1.1.2: Create guidelines for the application of conservation social sciences, including culturally responsive standards and ethics, based on our research under activity 1.1.1.
Objective 1.2: Showcase examples of research standards and conservation impact.
- Activity 1.2.1: Share success stories – showcasing how social science enhanced outcomes for communities and biodiversity, through our blog, ‘The Social’, our website, and other social media platforms.
- Activity 1.2.2: Provide acknowledgement and/or awards for professionals modelling exemplary standards of practice.
Objective 1.3: Establish a knowledge hub and position ourselves as the ‘go to’ working group for information on the Conservation Social Sciences.
Activity 1.3.1: Develop online and in-person training on the following:
- Create a database of existing MOOCs on the conservation social sciences, and conduct a gap analysis of requirements based in part on a members poll.
- Develop a pre-recorded online (MOOC) training series on a specific soft or technical skill e.g. guidance on specific software, facilitation, literature review, impact evaluation, or field methods.
- Production of simple, brief, easy to follow introductions to different social science theories to encourage greater awareness and communication between ecologists and social scientists, and within the different social science disciplines.
- Continue to offer in-person training at international and regional SCB conferences attended by SSWG board staff.
- Throughout activity 1.3.1 – try to provide training in different languages and for audiences with diverse linguistic needs.
Activity 1.3.2: Update and maintain our online directory of available training resources.
- Review and update our current database of online resources.
- Determine whether our website is fit for this purpose, or whether we need a separate website to host relevant CSS resources.
- Source volunteer(s) responsible for maintaining, updating and organising the resource page/website.
Goal 2: Leadership. To elevate conservation social science professionals into leadership positions within SCB and beyond.
We envision a SCB with the consistent representation of SSWG “alumni” and conservation social science professionals among its restructured governance and operations.
Objective 2.1: Facilitate and promote internal and external leadership opportunities, proactively increasing a diversity of perspectives and representation.
- Activity 2.1.1: Create a leadership program for board members and training modules as part of our professional development opportunities, encouraging them to seek positions within SCB’s Administrative Board.
- Activity 2.1.2: Support students entering into interdisciplinary research through mentored experiences and pathways aligning with the conservation social sciences.
- Activity 2.1.3: Commit to better support and management of SSWG volunteer strengths and support/introduce them into leadership roles within SCB Working Groups through “visitor access to SSWG board meetings”.
Objective 2.2: Establish a network hub for conservation social science professionals.
- Activity 2.2.1: Continue with and scale up the number of mentors and mentees in the SSWG mentor program.
- Activity 2.2.2: Become an active convener between organisations interested in drawing on the social sciences and conservation social scientists and practitioners.
- Activity 2.2.3: Share relevant training opportunities, professional societies, and job opportunities via social media and a monthly roundup.
- Activity 2.2.4: Develop a regular programme of networking opportunities, in person and online, to maintain our vibrant community and encourage our membership to engage, grow, and interact.
Goal 3: Representation. Supporting diversity, inclusion and equity within SSWG activities and across the CSS.
The SCB restructure and transition of SSWG into a Global Program provides new opportunities to leverage and raise funds that will better serve a broader, more diverse group of conservationists around the globe and assert SSWG’s professional society role (See Goal 5 on leveraging funds). We envision the development of scholarship, internship, and small-grants programs to support under-funded conservationists in under-resourced geographies to support diversity, inclusion and equity of conservation and champion the conservation social sciences within and outside of SCB. We also envision subsidising volunteer efforts – particularly to help those from professional cultures where voluntary, unpaid service is less common and a more significant burden.
Objective 3.1: Supporting diversity, inclusion and equity within SSWG activities and across the Conservation Social Sciences
- Activity 3.1.1: Develop a funding structure and offer subsidised volunteer efforts for SSWG volunteers from lower-income countries or other underrepresented communities for 6 months with SSWG.
- Activity 3.1.2: Develop a small grants program for early-career researchers from lower-income countries or other underrepresented communities to attend SCB conferences, attend pre/post-conference training and publish in SCB journals.
- Activity 3.1.3: Emphasise mission and goals beyond North America, Europe and Australia by producing content in multiple languages as available to SSWG.
- Activity 3.1.4: Offer expense-free learning opportunities, particularly in lower-income countries and other underrepresented communities, via webinars and workshops to: students, academics and researchers, but also grassroots practitioners in the field who are not attached to universities or larger institutions.
- Activity 3.1.5: Actively build closer relationships with subsections of SCB to help enable greater participation in SSWG activities by those from underrepresented backgrounds (e.g. LACA, Asia, Africa chapters), through for example, joint training, webinars, and dissemination of funding opportunities.
Goal 3: Representation. Supporting diversity, inclusion and equity within SSWG activities and across the Conservation Social Sciences
- Activity 4.1.1: Increase the visibility and engagement of the SSWG membership with SCB by putting forward SocSci profiles, doing interviews on the SCB website, writing blogs for SCB and promoting the SSWG blog, ‘The Social’.
- Activity 4.1.2: Build collaborations with Universities globally: Supporting the integration of social science into curricula, development of pre-recorded online course modules (see MOOC model under activity 1.3.1), and directories and descriptions of conservation social science academic programs, in multiple languages as available to the SSWG board.
- Activity 4.1.3: Ensure growing presence of SSWG and the CSS at major SCB conferences, including ICCB, and regional chapter events.
- Activity 4.1.4: Establish a programme of SSWG run conferences and events, including a bi-annual conservation social science conference.
- Activity 4.1.5: Promote the conservation social sciences in academia: Publish a special issue on conservation social sciences, consider supporting the creation of a CSS journal under SCB, and actively encourage SCB journals to prioritise interdisciplinary work.
Goal 5: Sustainable capacity. To strengthen the organisational capacity and funding of SSWG to achieve its goals, in line with the new SCB structure.
As we want to scale up our efforts and activities in the coming years, SSWG may want to consider how we can generate income to support these activities aside from depending on SCB membership and journal income.
Objective 5.1: Ensure financial sustainability through fundraising activities to support SSWG operations and activities.
- Activity 5.1.1: Determine our financial needs over the coming years.
- Activity 5.1.2: Plan a programme of paying social events, training, webinars, and conferences for developed countries to supplement our SCB income and enable us to scale up our activities.
- Activity 5.1.3: Explore the option of registering SSWG as a non-profit, opening up opportunities for other competitive grants.