Building a systems framework to facilitate adaptive organizational change in state fish and wildlife agencies

Richard E.W. Berl; Michael J. Manfredo; Mark Gasta; Dean Smith; Leeann Sullivan; Cynthia A. Jacobson; Chad Bishop; Judy Camuso; Thomas Eason; John P. Hayes; Rick Jacobson; Curt Melcher; Jennifer Newmark; Pete Novotny; Sara Parker Pauley; Carter Smith; Catherine Sparks; Kathryn Stoner; J. D. Strong; Jeff Ver Steeg

doi:10.1111/csp2.591

Building a systems framework to facilitate adaptive organizational change in state fish and wildlife agencies

Richard E.W. Berl, Michael J. Manfredo, Mark Gasta, Dean Smith, Leeann Sullivan, Cynthia A. Jacobson, Chad Bishop, Judy Camuso, Thomas Eason, John P. Hayes, Rick Jacobson, Curt Melcher, Jennifer Newmark, Pete Novotny, Sara Parker Pauley, Carter Smith, Catherine Sparks, Kathryn Stoner, J. D. Strong, Jeff Ver Steeg

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

State fish and wildlife agencies in the United States are confronted with the realities of a rapidly changing society. With declines in historical sources of revenue and the growth of diverse voices with values that differ from those emphasized by traditional policies and user groups, agencies are faced with diminishing relevancy and are encountering institutional challenges that inhibit their ability to serve the broader public. Here, in collaboration with a group of fish and wildlife agency leaders from 11 states, conservation professionals, and academics, we employ qualitative methods and concepts from systems theory to develop an integrative model of a state wildlife agency. We use this model to identify leverage points to induce transformational change toward an ideal future state: one driven by a system of shared values toward wildlife and a mission to improve quality of life for all people. Our findings point to the importance of developing interventions that will lead to changes in agency culture, systems of governance, and policy and action, and enhance the accessibility of natural resources and opportunities for diverse publics to engage with and benefit from fish and wildlife. We offer recommendations for state wildlife agencies to engage in adaptive organizational change and for university programs to support agency needs.

Original language	English
Article number	e591
Journal	Conservation Science and Practice
Volume	4
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.591
State	Published - Feb 2022

Funding

We acknowledge the important contributions made by all of our collaborators in this project, without whom this effort would not have been possible and all of whom were invited to share in coauthorship of this paper. This project was funded by the Pathways to Success Conference Series and the Multistate Conservation Grant Program administered by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. We acknowledge the important contributions made by all of our collaborators in this project, without whom this effort would not have been possible and all of whom were invited to share in coauthorship of this paper. This project was funded by the Pathways to Success Conference Series and the Multistate Conservation Grant Program administered by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. We also thank our events staff at the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Colorado State University, Claire Nitsche and Wes White, for coordinating the logistics and details of both workshops, and Steven A. Gray in the Department of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University for support with systems change approaches and cognitive mapping. Figure?S1 was created using the Mental Modeler software (http://www.mentalmodeler.com/).

Funders	Funder number
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Colorado State University Pueblo

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10.1111/csp2.591

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Berl, R. E. W., Manfredo, M. J., Gasta, M., Smith, D., Sullivan, L., Jacobson, C. A., Bishop, C., Camuso, J., Eason, T., Hayes, J. P., Jacobson, R., Melcher, C., Newmark, J., Novotny, P., Pauley, S. P., Smith, C., Sparks, C., Stoner, K., Strong, J. D., & Ver Steeg, J. (2022). Building a systems framework to facilitate adaptive organizational change in state fish and wildlife agencies. Conservation Science and Practice, 4(2), Article e591. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.591

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abstract = "State fish and wildlife agencies in the United States are confronted with the realities of a rapidly changing society. With declines in historical sources of revenue and the growth of diverse voices with values that differ from those emphasized by traditional policies and user groups, agencies are faced with diminishing relevancy and are encountering institutional challenges that inhibit their ability to serve the broader public. Here, in collaboration with a group of fish and wildlife agency leaders from 11 states, conservation professionals, and academics, we employ qualitative methods and concepts from systems theory to develop an integrative model of a state wildlife agency. We use this model to identify leverage points to induce transformational change toward an ideal future state: one driven by a system of shared values toward wildlife and a mission to improve quality of life for all people. Our findings point to the importance of developing interventions that will lead to changes in agency culture, systems of governance, and policy and action, and enhance the accessibility of natural resources and opportunities for diverse publics to engage with and benefit from fish and wildlife. We offer recommendations for state wildlife agencies to engage in adaptive organizational change and for university programs to support agency needs.",

author = "Berl, {Richard E.W.} and Manfredo, {Michael J.} and Mark Gasta and Dean Smith and Leeann Sullivan and Jacobson, {Cynthia A.} and Chad Bishop and Judy Camuso and Thomas Eason and Hayes, {John P.} and Rick Jacobson and Curt Melcher and Jennifer Newmark and Pete Novotny and Pauley, {Sara Parker} and Carter Smith and Catherine Sparks and Kathryn Stoner and Strong, {J. D.} and {Ver Steeg}, Jeff",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Conservation Science and Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.",

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Berl, REW, Manfredo, MJ, Gasta, M, Smith, D, Sullivan, L, Jacobson, CA, Bishop, C, Camuso, J, Eason, T, Hayes, JP, Jacobson, R, Melcher, C, Newmark, J, Novotny, P, Pauley, SP, Smith, C, Sparks, C, Stoner, K, Strong, JD & Ver Steeg, J 2022, 'Building a systems framework to facilitate adaptive organizational change in state fish and wildlife agencies', Conservation Science and Practice, vol. 4, no. 2, e591. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.591

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Building a systems framework to facilitate adaptive organizational change in state fish and wildlife agencies

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