Our Facilitators: The Masters of Planning

With a combined half century of experience in conservation project management, planning and financing, Martin Davies and Nick Folkard are very much at home amongst the prestigious roster of our Spring School facilitators.

In his 37 years at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Martin became an expert in project planning and finance acquisition, utilising the “logical framework” approach to find success. His passion for teaching led him to start his own company dedicated to the training of aspiring conservationists.  During his career Martin frequently worked with Michael Brombacher, present day head of Frankfurt Zoological Society’s Europe department. It was this friendship that brought Martin to the 2017 Frankfurt Spring School, where he was rated highly by students for his enthusiasm and teaching style. Despite falling from a roof and breaking his leg just a month ago, there’s no stopping Martin, he’s back again this year.

Nick Folkard took the helm of the Project Development and Support Unit at the RSPB in 2003 and has since ensured the triumph of the society’s numerous international efforts. Like Martin, he loves to guide the next generation of conservation project managers through the maze of project planning. With his years of experience and two working legs, Nick’s contribution to this year’s Spring School is invaluable.

We’re already halfway through an intense four-day course in which Nick and Martin are getting our students hands on with the logical framework method of planning. They believe that engagement and teamwork are essential for a rich learning experience. With a wall of flash cards to drive discussion, it’s guaranteed that everyone’s ideas are shared and that nobody is snoozing in their seat by the end of the day.

When asked “What would you most like students to take away from their time with you at Frankfurt Spring School 2018?”, Martin said that in conservation, if you can be clear about what you want to do and why you want to do it, then you’re significantly more likely to find success. Clarity and succinctness are essential in influencing others and achieving the funding needed to execute your plan, and in turn will make getting support for the next project much easier.
Nick stresses that the logical framework is a wonderful tool but ultimately just a means to an end, not the end itself. In your work, it’s so important not to lose sight of the true end: the conservation. If you can keep that in mind, you’ll do just fine.