Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) is a boundary institution consisting of two conservation organizations—the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC)—and a university research center, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California Santa Barbara (NCEAS).

WCS, TNC, and NCEAS entered into the  collaboration with a shared vision for impact — practical solutions to some of the most vexing problems at the nexus of conservation, human wellbeing, and economic development, but across different missions, cultures, resources, strengths, and capabilities was inherently challenging. The partners recognized that these challenges would only increase with the addition of new partners.

Impact Catalysts (through its predecessor firm, Root Cause) worked with SNAPP to address several key questions related to its governance structure, the roles and responsibilities of the new Executive Director, and the budgetary policies/management and fundraising responsibilities required for long-term financial sustainability. We interviewed SNAPP’s board and management team,  benchmarked comparable partnerships, and facilitated a SNAPP board meeting to examine options and choose a path forward. We took the key decisions made at the board meeting and developed them into a management and governance framework to be implemented by SNAPP.

In 2016, SNAPP engaged us to review the organization’s business model and develop a set of scenarios that would result in a financial sustainability plan for the partnership. We facilitated a two-day retreat of staff from the three partner organizations at which three scenarios were debated and a path forward was chosen.