Building a roadmap for data-driven conservation

The Wildlife Trusts operate one of the UK's largest conservation networks.

While each trust operates independently, they share a common mission: restoring biodiversity, protecting wildlife, and helping people connect with nature. Achieving those goals increasingly depends on the ability to collect, manage, analyse, and act upon data effectively.

The challenge was not simply technical.

Different trusts operated with different systems, processes, levels of digital maturity, and organisational priorities. Improving data practices would require more than new technology. It would require cultural change, stronger governance, clearer processes, and a shared vision for how data could support conservation outcomes across the federation.

Too many digital transformation projects begin by selecting technology.

We took the opposite approach.

The project began with a comprehensive discovery phase that focused on understanding how people worked, how decisions were made, and how data currently flowed through the organisation. Through workshops, stakeholder engagement, and a Theory of Change process, we worked closely with teams across the federation to establish a shared understanding of success and identify the barriers preventing more effective use of data.

This helped ensure that future recommendations were grounded in real organisational needs rather than assumptions about technology.

The next phase focused on understanding the current state of data across the organisation.

Through interviews, research activities, systems reviews, and infrastructure analysis, we assessed how data was collected, managed, integrated, and reported across the federation. This work helped identify strengths, gaps, duplication, and opportunities for improvement.

Rather than proposing large-scale disruption, we looked for practical improvements that could be implemented incrementally. By applying Agile principles throughout the engagement, we focused on identifying achievable changes that could deliver value quickly while supporting longer-term transformation goals.

The result was a clearer understanding of both immediate priorities and strategic opportunities.

A strategy is only valuable if people can act on it.

The final phase brought together research findings, stakeholder feedback, and technical insights into a practical roadmap designed to help The Wildlife Trusts progress towards their 2030 ambitions. Recommendations covered governance, systems, processes, culture, and ways of working, creating a framework that could be adapted to the needs of individual trusts while maintaining alignment across the federation.

To help build momentum, we also supported the creation of a dedicated working group responsible for driving change, sharing learnings, and maintaining focus on agreed objectives.

Alongside the strategy work, we collaborated with Go Free Range to develop a prototype asset management tool that mapped physical infrastructure across wildlife sites, including fences, trees, benches, and boundary structures. Wardens could identify maintenance issues and prioritise actions more effectively, helping demonstrate the practical value of better data collection and management.

The prototype served as a tangible example of how harmonised data can improve operational decision-making while supporting wider conservation goals.

More importantly, it helped build confidence in the benefits of data-driven approaches and provided an early demonstration of what future transformation initiatives could achieve.

The project provided The Wildlife Trusts with a clear and actionable roadmap for strengthening data practices across its federation.

By focusing on people, processes, governance, and culture alongside technology, the strategy created a foundation for long-term digital transformation rather than a short-term technology project. The recommendations continue to support ongoing work towards the organisation's 2030 Strategy, while the working group and pilot initiatives help maintain momentum and encourage continuous improvement.

Most importantly, the project reinforced a simple principle: better conservation outcomes depend on better information, and better information depends on the people, processes, and systems that support it.