Building Effective Joint Ventures

The Diversity Joint Venture for Conservation Careers (DJV) is a coalition founded in 2016 with the mission of strengthening the conservation workforce by increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion. The coalition comprises partners from nonprofit environmental organizations, state and federal governmental agencies, universities, and professional societies. DJV enlisted a capstone team to conduct an infrastructure and management assessment to recommend strategies for organizational effectiveness. The team completed an environmental scan of nonprofit coalitions and focused its literature review on coalition management and engagement best practices. To gather more in-depth information on the current practices and state of DJV, the team conducted internal and external interviews and surveys. The Capstone team utilized the information gathered through its research to provide recommendations and strategies for DJV to increase overall effectiveness; increase engagement; and strengthen its ability to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the conservation workforce.