Conservation is an applied science about making decisions.
Students, researchers, environmental NGO managers, public servants, and professionals are invited to join Prof Hugh Possingham, The University of Queensland, for this 2-day decision-science short course on 26-27 November 2026.
About the course
This is designed to introduce ecologists to the decision-science tools that will deliver better on-the-ground biodiversity outcomes. It is what you should have been taught in your conservation biology course.
The short course will cover:
- an introduction to decision analysis and multi-criteria decision-making
- how to best achieve cost-effectiveness in conservation actions
- priority threat management
- theory of change
- optimal monitoring
- spatial action planning
Who should take the short course?
This short course is suitable for conservation and management researchers and professionals across all career stages working in terrestrial, freshwater, estuarine, or marine environments.
If you have a conservation prioritization or resource allocation problem that is relevant to your work but have hit a brick wall? This short course will be useful for you! Bring your prioritization problems along, and we will discuss and help solve your problem in real-time.
Some questions you could bring include (but are not limited to):
- where should I invest in habitat restoration?
- of all the actions that I can take for a threatened species, what should I do?
- what is the best research to do to deliver a conservation outcome?
- what places need protection first?
- what monitoring do I need to do to deliver outcomes?
- which species or populations should I invest in?
- what pests and weeds should I target for this management strategy?
There will also be guest speakers, Dr Tara Martin, University of British Columbia, and Dr Emily Massingham, The University of Queensland.
Short course registration
Thursday 26 November - Friday 27 November 2026
9am–5pm, with breaks in between
UQ St Lucia campus (venue TBC)
$400 (students) and $600 (others) for the full two days
Specific instructions, schedule and details of the short course will be sent to registered participants closer to the date.
Contact
For any questions, please email cbcs-workshops@uq.edu.au.
About Professor Hugh Possingham
Hugh is a decision scientist who has devoted his life to helping environmental not-for profits and governments to solve real world conservation problems. He has worked in universities, The Nature Conservancy (as global chief scientist) and in the Queensland Government (Chief Scientist). He is Australia's only ecologist and conservation researcher who is an elected Fellow of both the UK and US science academies.
Professor Possingham's LinkedIn profile
Guest speakers
Dr Emily Massinghan
Dr Emily Massingham is a Research Fellow at UQ's Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science and Program Officer at Wildlife Impact. Her research explores the interplay between social and ecological dimensions of conservation, focusing on how to engage communities and diverse actors in structured, equitable decision processes that lead to better outcomes for people and nature.