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ESA Strategic Plan

-Adopted in 2024

In 2023 and 24, a working group of ESA Governing Board members under the leadership of then President-elect Stephanie Hampton revisited the strategic plan that had been adopted in 2019, with an eye toward better refining ESA’s priorities and setting an agenda for future success while staying true to the mission, vision and values articulated by the earlier plan.

Mission

The Ecological Society of America advances the science and practice of ecology and supports ecologists throughout their careers.

Vision

The Ecological Society of America envisions a future where people embrace science to understand and foster a thriving planet.

Values

  • Integrity: ESA is a trusted source of scientific knowledge that serves as a foundation for understanding and action.
  • Inclusion: ESA provides the community of ecologists of diverse backgrounds, heritage, and career paths with a supportive home that advances their aspirations.
  • Adaptability: ESA responds creatively to continuous change in our natural and social environments.

Strategic Goals

Prioritize equity and inclusion to ensure a diverse membership

  • Enhance ESA’s commitment to the equity, inclusion, and engagement of ecologists beyond academia and across all sectors.
  • Strengthen the inclusion and engagement of students and early-career ecologists.
  • Advance the equity, inclusion, and engagement of ecologists from underrepresented professions and geographies, races, ethnicities, genders, ages, and other dimensions of human diversity.

Nurture a vibrant and inclusive community of knowledge and practice

  • Ensure the long-term vitality of the science of ecology through professional development, education, and training.
  • Foster the advancement and exchange of scientific research, discovery, and application.
  • Advance ecological knowledge for environmental decision-making and resource management.
  • Advocate for financial resources and policies to support ecologists and the science of ecology in solving urgent and important environmental challenges.

Ensure operational excellence and the stability of ESA as an inclusive society

  • Pursue sustainable pathways to further advance open science.
  • Prioritize sustainable and scalable revenue diversification.
  • Increase effectiveness and transparency of governance.