1. How Does it Work, What Did We Learn?
A Cluster Review of Pew’s Canadian Wilderness Protection Strategy
November 11, 2009
Scott Scrivner
Senior Officer, Planning and Evaluation

2. Campaign Background: What is Canada’s Boreal Forest?
Northern band of forests and taiga– at 1.4billion acres, nearly 60% of Canada’s land area
One of the largest intact forest and wetland ecosystems remaining on earth
Over 95% of the boreal is publicly owned
August 31, 2018

3. Campaign Background: Program and Evaluation History
1992: Pew Launches its domestic strategy to conserve old-growth forests and ecosystems.
1997: An evaluation identifies important contributions from the program, including highly successful, but limited-scope efforts in British Columbia.
1999: Strategy paper for North American public lands protection includes a 10-year campaign to protect Canada’s boreal forest.
Goal: protect 100 million acres of Canadian wilderness by 2010
2006: Canadian wilderness campaign reaches a mature state, mid-course evaluation launched.
2007: Evaluation completed.
August 31, 2018

4. Designing the Evaluation: Understanding a Complex Campaign
Large investment, many moving pieces
Campaign strategy included three distinct elements:
Canadian regional campaigns:
Ground-level efforts to win protection at the territorial and provincial level.
Canadian national campaign:
Collaborative approach to engage government, industry, First Nations and others to build broad support for protection from within Canada.
International advocacy effort:
promote awareness among consumers and key constituencies
Spanned multiple cultures, linguistic divides, government levels, and sectoral interests
August 31, 2018

5. Designing the Evaluation: Recruiting the Evaluation Team
Match skill sets to campaign context and evaluation needs
Expertise with evaluation theory and method
Experience with advocacy campaigns and their role in facilitating policy outcomes
Knowledge of Canadian wilderness protection policy
Prior management of complex evaluation projects
Demonstrated ability to clearly present research results and meet deadlines
No conflicts of interest
Benefits to teaming
Extensive search: 50+ contacts, 6 months
The team was worth it:
Gary Bryner, Professor of Public Policy, Brigham Young University
David Gardiner, President, DGA
David LaRoche, independent consultant
August 31, 2018

6. Designing the Evaluation: Choosing Methods and Level of Effort
Qualitative assessment: access, candor and interpretation
Supporting analysis
Assessment of public land protection records
Legal analysis of First Nations’ land claims
Media analysis
Blend of representativeness and richness
90+ interviews of partners, decision makers, informed observers and opposition.
In-depth case studies in the Northwest Territories, Quebec, Yukon
Adequate resources, measured in time and dollars
130 person-days from senior evaluators
9 calendar months of fieldwork and reporting
>$200,000
Substantial program and P&E staff time
August 31, 2018

7. RECALL: Campaigns and the People Who Run Them
Campaign(er)s are interested in:
The effectiveness of different tactics
how the campaign is perceived by partners, constituencies, and target audiences
their performance, particularly in new forums or when deploying novel tactics
which aspects of their efforts are seen as most valuable by target audiences
how best to respond to changing circumstances and opportunities
using evaluations of progress to date to inform course corrections
perspectives from insiders on how much they left on the table
August 31, 2018

8. Advocates Want To Know:  What worked, what didn’t and why?
Selected Insights:
Multipart campaign structure
Strong gains from having both ground-level protection campaigns and a national overarching coordinating effort.
Canada’s First Nations and wilderness protection efforts
Previously untapped and effective ally
Overlapping interests, complementary areas of expertise
Tradition- and science-based case for protection won broad support
August 31, 2018

9. Advocates Want To Know:  How is the campaign perceived by partners, key constituencies?  What is seen as most valuable by target audiences and why?
Selected Insights:
Evaluation structure helpful for providing access to candid perspectives
Analysis informed by right mix of key partners, observers, decision makers and other campaign audiences
External evaluators, managed by independent non-program unit
Yielded understanding of campaign audiences, opened communications
Valuable role of GIS mapping, science and First Nations
Challenging to coordinate the multiple campaign elements
August 31, 2018

10. Advocates Want To Know:  How has the strategy performed, particularly in new arenas?
Selected insights:
Assessing progress toward goals: protection for 60 million acres of boreal wilderness
Other campaign accomplishments set the foundation for additional gains
Challenges remained
The Canadian context:
Canadian stakeholders, policy and protection frameworks
Canada’s conservation and advocacy culture
August 31, 2018

11. Advocates Want to Know:  Could modifications make the campaign more effective?  How to best respond to changing circumstances and opportunities.
Selected Lessons and Opportunities:
Stronger use of science; link climate change and boreal protection
Develop campaign-wide communications strategy
Create overarching campaign organization and coordination
“The evaluation helped us to get better at what we do.”
Campaign’s senior officer and project director
August 31, 2018

12. Additional Details: the Evaluation, the Campaign
Evaluation Findings and Process
“Lessons Learned: Protecting the Boreal Forest”, Trust Magazine, Spring 2008
“Evaluation and Program Analysis”, Pew Prospectus 2008, pg 36-37
Pew’s Canadian Wilderness Protection Campaign
International Boreal Conservation Campaign
Canadian Boreal Initiative
Boreal Songbird Initiative
August 31, 2018