1. Situation Analysis
Understanding the Context for Strategy Development

2. Key Points to Introduce This Step
Situation analysis is intended to help develop more robust conservation strategies…
Articulate and test the logic of our thinking
Evaluate the strategic importance of factors that cause threats or impair key attributes
Identify key constituencies
Focus on your key objectives -- to abate critical threats or enhance target viability
Probe for opportunities, not just causes

3. Key Points to Introduce This Step
There is no one right way…
Some teams use box & arrow diagrams
Others use probing questions
Situation diagramming is a way of capturing a situation analysis

4. Critical Questions
Does the analysis focus on key objectives that address a critical threat or impaired viability?
Have all relevant types of factors been considered? (e.g., economic, political, cultural)
Have inconsequential, irrelevant or redundant factors been excluded?
Have key constituencies been identified, and the major factors that motivate them?
Who are the key decision makers
Who stands to gain
Who stands to lose

5. Common Issues & Recommendations
How much time to invest in this step
Enough time to probe key issues for strategy development, but don’t overshadow time allotted to any other CAP elements
Is a situation diagram the same as a “conceptual model”
Some teams use conceptual models to understand how a target functions ecologically; a situation diagram is a conceptual model used to help develop strategies
What’s the different between situation analysis & stakeholder analysis
Analyzing the stakeholders is a component of analyzing the situation as a whole.

6. Common Issues & Recommendations
Many issues about situation analysis remain to be resolved…
How can it be best conducted to ensure focus and foster good strategic thinking?
Under what circumstances are particular tools best suited?
Can or should there be a standard approach?
Meanwhile...
Facilitators and project teams should feel free to innovate -- use the approach that works best for them.
Coaches let’s glean lessons learned & share results

7. Helpful Hints Boxes & arrow diagrams
Level of detail a matter of judgement
Tools: sticky tarp and cards give flexibility
Capture results with photograph and transfer to document. E.g. Off-the-shelf software (e.g. Visio)
Appendix E of Practitioners handbook provides a set of probing questions
However you capture the discussion during the workshop, displaying the connections with a situation diagram can also be a useful outreach/communication tool
Find common ground with stakeholders
Explore stakeholders’ understanding of a situation
Communicate our understanding of a situation and how we expect strategies to improve it

8. Example of Situation Diagram

9. Consumnes River
The starting point for this situation analysis (on the right-hand side) is the natural system–Consumnes River Biodiversity and the specific conservation targets representing that biodiversity.
Coming in from the left are casual chains that are considered important.
Pink boxes represent direct and indirect threats. It’s likely that only direct threats would show up in a 5S workbook.
But you can see that in this project only two direct threats are objects of strategies, while three indirect threats are objects of strategies.

10. Example of Probing Questions

11. Does achieving the objective require influencing a key decision-maker or decision-making body?
What key decision maker or decision-making body will/can determine or influence the outcome?
What legal standing, authority or other influence do they have?
What constituencies might be adversely impacted by the threat? Can they influence the decision-maker?
What constituencies stand to gain from the threat? Can they be neutralized?
Are there other key players who could influence the decision or action?
What motivates each of the key constituencies?
e.g. $$$, ease, peers, recognition
What information about the threat or possible alternatives is essential to influence the key players?