“This is unlike anything I’ve experienced before in this field’ and ‘I wish I could have been part of something like the African Conservation Leadership Network (ACLN) ten years ago!”

Reported members of the 2018 ACLN cohort that met for the second time in Naivasha, Kenya in September 2018 for a week-long session to improve practical organizational leadership and management skills.

In May 2018, the second cohort began the programme at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, where seventeen leaders from nine African organisations working in Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Zambia. Facilitated by the Maliasili team, the first week laid the foundations for personal learning and leadership - delving deeply into self-awareness and the impact of personality on leadership style.

Recently I listened to a conservationist tell the story of how he had founded a very successful conservation organization, only to be eventually fired by the board he had himself built up over the years. What had occurred was that his organization had established a strong track record of achievement and impact, and resulting growth in its funding, staff, and board. 

Human resources (HR) plays a critical role in shaping organizational culture. African CSOs face a complex internal challenge: how to balance the passion and commitment of individuals with an entire organization whose achievements are greater than the sum of its parts.

What’s needed to achieve conservation impact? In April, Maliasili brought together a unique group of leading African conservation organizations and funders to start talking about just that. Below provides the key recommendations coming out of the participants’ discussions at the Conservation Impact Forum (download the entire conference summary here).

Organizations need money to run, which is why fundraising is one of the foremost challenges and priorities they face. While there isn’t a simple solution to fundraising – unfortunately, it’s always going to be a challenging part of the job – there are ways to approach it to be more effective, efficient, and successful.

Here we lay out a simple set of five questions that provide the backbone of any strategy or strategic plan. If an organization can answer these five questions clearly, it has a sound underlying strategy, even if it is not written down anywhere.

This is a guest post by Maxi Louis, Director of NACSO and Karine Nuulimba, Programme Director of IRDNC - Both organizations are spearheading community based natural resource management in Namibia.