An Introduction to the Maliasili Initiative 

Conservation work is delivered, with few exceptions, by different types of organizations. The formation, design, and management of organizations is therefore central to the delivery of conservation work and attainment of conservation objectives. This session will explore some of the core pillars relating to organizational performance, drawing on wider fields such as management, leadership development, and behavioral psychology, and recent insights and practices from both non-profit and business. The objective of the session will be to provide a broad perspective on the skills, insights, and mindsets involved in leading and managing effective organizations. Topics discussed may include strategy, team development and management, organizational structure, and leadership.

Maliasili Funding Report: https://mailchi.mp/maliasili/putting-people-first-9156428?e=0b61c5feb7 

Resources

People interested in learning more about the Maliasili work and approach, our website has a lot of information, but our current strategic plan lays out a high level summary. 

Greening the Grassroots report: https://www.maliasili.org/greeningthegrassroots 

Strategic-Intimate Balance: An article that goes deeper into the theory and practice of balancing strategic and intimate engagements

Paired Walks: The overview of Paired Walks and why Maliasili uses them as a key facilitation tool. There are some embedded links about the science behind the brain waves!

Strategic Planning: Here are a few links to some strategic planning tools

• • Strategic Planning Foundations

  • Strategic Planning Workbook

People can sign up for the bi-weekly Maliasili Reader here — which is regular guidance, tools and advice on organizational development. Past Reader content can be found here. The website has a lot of other resources, as well as many examples of strategic plans that we have facilitated for our partners. 

Kigali Call to Action: One of the outcomes of the African Protected Areas Congress that was happening while we were in Bellingham. This is a significant step forward to the inclusion of IPLCs and the importance of rights based conservation. I thought it would be of interest to the Fellows from Africa and beyond.