Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Regional Conservation Program

View from a path in Lands End park in San Francisco, looking over coastal water with the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance

Project Brief

The Challenge

Since 2001, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has provided grants to conserve native habitat and species across 10 San Francisco Bay Area counties. The Moore Foundation turned to Blue Earth Consultants to better understand the impact of its grant-making portfolio.


ERG's Solution

Blue Earth Consultants assessed the effectiveness of current stewardship activities and identified critical stewardship needs for 47 Moore Foundation land protection grants, which together address 105 protected areas, conservation easements, and restoration sites. We also evaluated the impact of funding spent on 36 enabling intervention grants (grants that support collaboration, research, and capacity building) to advance protection and conservation of Bay Area habitats. To provide the basis for the evaluation, we conducted web-based research, a thorough review of grantee documents, online surveys, in-person site visits and interviews, in-depth analysis of seven enabling intervention grant case studies, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Blue Earth documented the evaluation in a report, the San Francisco Bay Area Conservation External Evaluation, along with a summary.


Client

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation