In July 2017, a delegation of the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes faculty, professors of practice, postdoctoral research associates and students attended the Partnerships for Conservation workshop sponsored by the International Congress for Conservation Biology in Cartagena, Colombia.

During the meeting, attendees from the center and Conservation International (CI) exchanged ideas following scientific presentations. Samantha Cheng, the center’s new Associate Director of Conservation Evidence, launched a new tool called Colandr, a computer-assisted program for conducting evidence synthesis, as part of the Science for Nature and People Partnership. Founding Director Leah Gerber contributed to the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions International Advisory Board.

During the meeting, leading conservation scientists acknowledged the center’s novel model as a boundary organization and its exciting partnership with CI. Based on this suggestion, Gerber and Daniela Raik, Senior VP and Managing Director of CI’s Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science, are writing an editorial about the partnership to be submitted to a leading conservation journal.