Objective

Metrics

Narrative

Provide technical assistance to 15 organizations annually.

Approach Narrative: Technical assistance to partners is a core component of accomplishing the Council’s mission. Assistance will primarily be devoted to three areas, MSCG projects, workshops, and strategic planning.

MSCG Projects: Council Staff have historically engaged in other MSCG projects as a partner or by providing assistance and led the National R3 Implementation Workgroup (IWG) that helped set the strategic priorities for the R3 funds. The Council plans to continue to engage as a partner in MSCG projects to advance the strategic priorities. In addition, the Council will continue to work with all potential MSCG applicants (e.g., AFWA regional R3 committees) to increase partnership and limit duplication of proposals.

Workshops: State-level R3 workshops are a first step in initiating a statewide R3 collaboration, but also serve to keep those collaborations moving forward in future years. Workshops often serve to disseminate the best available information about R3 to stakeholders and improve coordination and partnership at the local level. The Council will continue to engage in state-level meetings to include assistance with planning, facilitation, and/or presenting.

Strategic Planning: The National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan was published in 2016 and the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide will be released in 2024. The plan prescribed the processes, strategies, and immediate steps that must be implemented by R3 stakeholders to move the needle forward on hunting and shooting sports. The guide will follow up on those recommendations with best practices, resources, and direction built after eight years of plan implementation. R3 capacity has grown significantly, and many organizations have developed their own strategies and plans to advance R3 efforts within their workforce through assistance from the Council. The Council is well-poised to serve as a consultant in this process and continue to help organizations with strategy development, planning, and training.

The availability of technical assistance will continue to be advertised through all updates Council staff provide at regional and national meetings. To request assistance, organizations will reach out to the Council through email, by phone, in the R3 Community, at regional or national meetings, or during new R3 practitioner one-on-one calls. Requests are funneled to either the Director of Operations or Director of Research and Partnerships, who schedule a follow-up call with the requesting organization. During that call, the Council diagnoses the needs, core objectives, scope of work necessary to accomplish those objectives, potential time commitment, additional partners necessary, whether travel is required, and how the specific request for assistance fits into the overall R3 structure and processes in the organization seeking support. Once those diagnostics have been run, the Council assesses organizational capacity and schedules the dates for providing support. To date, the Council has not had to deny any organizations who have requested technical assistance virtually or in person and have been able to fulfill all requests. If demand begins to exceed capacity during the performance period of this grant, assistance will be provided on a first come, first serve basis.

Manage the online R3 Community and increase member contributions by 10% annually.

Approach Narrative: Established in 2016 by the Council, the online R3 Community stands as an important online network that has engaged over 3,000 professionals (since inception) dedicated to R3 initiatives nationwide. Presently, a significant portion, one third to be precise, actively contribute by generating valuable content and engaging with fellow community members. The Council is committed to overseeing and hosting this platform, fostering discussions on R3, and facilitating the progression of the R3 movement. In 2023 members made 1,897 contributions to the R3 Community. Contributions are actions taken by R3 Community members including; Cheers, Comments, Posts, Answers/Votes, Post Shares, RSVPs, Direct Messages, Chat Messages, Courses Started, Courses Completed, Lessons Started, and Lessons Completed. The Council will continue to manage the R3 Community by sustaining active involvement with the existing membership through the provision of pertinent information, addressing queries, maintaining up-to-date event calendars, offering resources such as webinars and virtual discussions, posting position announcements, and increase member contributions by 10% annually.

Manage the National R3 Clearinghouse and increase the number of digital assets by 1,000 annually.

Approach Narrative: The National R3 Clearinghouse, developed under Council leadership by the IWG, functions as a comprehensive repository for hunting, target shooting, angling, boating, and other outdoor recreation materials. It is designed to enhance access to information and resources for agencies, NGOs, and industry professionals working on R3 initiatives. The platform allows open access for uploading and downloading content, features organization-specific collections, and provides robust search capabilities, including enriched text searches in PDF and text formats, filter-based searches, and topic-specific searches. The Council manages backend processes, facilitates engagement, and works to expand the number of available assets, currently totaling over 10,000, with new contributions added daily and an annual goal of 1,000 additional assets.

Assets are uploaded to the Clearinghouse through four primary methods, involving contributions from both the Council and partners:

Solicited Contributions: The Council actively solicits assets from federal and state agencies, NGOs, industry, and academia. These assets are handled by Council staff, who are responsible for formatting, uploading, tagging, and filing them for use in the Clearinghouse.

Unsolicited Contributions: Partners, including those from federal and state agencies, NGOs, industry, and academia, can independently upload assets directly to the Clearinghouse. These unsolicited assets are reviewed, tagged, and filed by Council staff to ensure consistency and relevance.

Project-Based Contributions: The Council partners on various projects and leads efforts to house resources in the Clearinghouse, creating specialized collections for R3 professionals. These assets are often used in regional and national toolkits to enhance R3 initiatives.

Grant-Specific Contributions: Recipients of MSCG awards collect and upload assets that meet specific goals and content targets for R3 professionals. Although the Council maintains publishing control, grant recipients may be granted temporary access to the Clearinghouse to upload, review, tag, and file assets according to the grant’s guidelines.

Throughout these processes, the Council ensures relevant assets are available to the community that maintain adherence to upload guidelines. The Council provides one-on-one training, implements necessary taxonomy changes to align with grant objectives, and conducts reviews to ensure the content meets the Clearinghouse’s purpose of supporting R3 professionals in their programs and initiatives.

Feedback for improvement is solicited annually through a stakeholder survey conducted by the Council. Additional feedback is gathered through updates presented at the National R3 Symposium, the Association for Conservation Information Annual Conference, regional fish and wildlife association meetings, and other R3 professional gatherings as requested. This ensures that the Clearinghouse evolves in response to user needs. The Council also provides training on using the Clearinghouse both in person and virtually, and a committee of representatives from federal and state agencies, NGOs, and industry regularly reviews and updates the taxonomy, based on end-user input, to maintain the platform’s relevance and utility.

The Council tracks usage of the Clearinghouse through built-in analytics, monitoring not only asset uploads but also the broader engagement, including downloads, views, and general interest in the assets. This tracking provides insights into how the platform is being utilized and informs ongoing enhancements.

Produce 10 case studies annually.

Approach Narrative: The Council consistently provides information to practitioners on results of R3 projects and processes around the country but did previously have a standardized template to disseminate this information and ensure that it lives in perpetuity. To further serve the needs of the community, the Council developed a case study template and identified projects to highlight starting in late 2022. The result was easily digestible case studies that highlight best practices in real-world form to better inform practitioners and enable replication of successful efforts. These studies have been released on a rolling basis in short PDF form and 30 will be available to the community before the end of 2024. The feedback received has been overwhelming positive and there is clear demand from the community for the Council to continue to highlight projects in this format moving forward. As such, the Council will continue to identify projects across the country, ranging from access initiatives to on-the-ground programs, to feature through 10 case studies annually

Host five webinars annually.

Approach Narrative: The Council has hosted virtual events ranging from detailed overviews of development of state-level R3 plans to highlighting effective strategies to communicate about hunting. These have been well-received and will be retained in perpetuity which allows them to be easily distributed and referenced years after the live event. The Council will continue to host virtual events (e.g., webinars and coffee talks) with a goal of five annually. These events will be advertised on the online R3 Community, hosted via Zoom, and recordings will be available through the R3 Community and YouTube. As appropriate, the Council will partner with organizations to host larger events advertised outside of the R3 Community (e.g., How to Talk About Hunting Webinar Series with Responsive Management, Cornell University, and Hunter’s Leadership Forum).

Participate in 12 regional and/or national meetings to help facilitate R3 annually.

Approach Narrative: Council Staff will attend and take an active role in 12 regional and national meetings (i.e., conferences, trade shows, informational/business meetings) annually to increase awareness of R3 initiatives, provide guidance and uniformity across regions and platforms, and disseminate best practices. Specific actions will include, but are not limited to, engage in all AFWA Region R3 Committees; present in all regional Director’s meetings; increase partners invested in R3 (e.g., industry, nonendemic organizations, new NGOs on the landscape); organize symposia, presentations, seminars, and press conferences; and facilitate relationships among industry, agency, and NGO stakeholders.

Support 10 R3 practitioner trainings annually and provide content via a learning management system.

Approach Narrative: The Council has identified training and has had requests for R3 practitioners to be a significant need given the number of new positions, turnover in existing roles, and the rapid pace at which R3 is evolving. With the increasing stratification of R3 professionals within organizations, there is a need to provide scaffolded and differential training opportunities for practitioners with different levels of responsibility, skills, and experience. Entry-level training should be provided with objectives and resources to meet participants needs, while experienced R3 professionals who oversee teams or supervise sections have a different set of skills and experiences and need more rigorous engagement and training. The Council will provide in-person training, including but not limited to, partnering with USFWS and Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (RBFF) for in-person foundational training annually ahead of and throughout the National R3 Symposium and engaging with states/organizations as needed to provide on-the-ground training sessions to staff and/or volunteers. As a supplement to the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide the Council designed and will host virtual training modules through an online learning management system.

Administer an annual stakeholder survey.

Approach Narrative: The Council’s main role in the conservation and shooting sports community is facilitation. As such, input from the stakeholders it serves is vital to adjusting strategies and services to better meet the needs of the ever-evolving community. In 2019 and 2020, the Council conducted an annual stakeholder survey to take a pulse on the R3 community, identify gaps, and take action to help move the National R3 Initiative forward. In 2022 and 2023, the Council contracted Responsive Management to redesign the survey, manage the delivery, and analyze the data to ensure objectivity. The result has been a higher response rate and valuable feedback on Council performance, priorities, and platforms that helped shape the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports 2025 –2030 Strategic Plan, this grant proposal, and continually impact decisions in the day-to-day operations of the Council. It is imperative that the Council continue to conduct this survey on an annual basis to inform operations and ensure the needs of the R3 community are being met. Responsive Management will develop the online survey questionnaire cooperatively with Council staff based in part on previous stakeholder surveys as well as the research team’s familiarity with outdoor recreation and R3 efforts. The Council will provide a list of stakeholders (~4,000 emails), all of whom will be contacted in November of each year with an invitation and link to take the online survey. The analysis of data will be performed using IBM SPSS Statistics as well as proprietary software developed by Responsive Management. The annual Stakeholders’ Awareness of and Attitudes Toward the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports report will include trend analysis, in which results from each year will be presented side-by-side for comparison (the survey questionnaire and scope of stakeholders surveyed changed substantially in 2022, so the 2019 and 2020 data will not be included in trends). Findings of the survey are reported at a 95% confidence interval.

Engage 15 stakeholders representing NGOs, agency, and industry in the Annual Review Committee (ARC) annually.

Approach Narrative: The Council convened the IWG in 2018 to further the implementation of the National Hunting and Shooting Sports Action Plan. After two phases and over 5,500 collective hours from IWG members, R3 Implementation Priorities were identified, five products were produced (National R3 Clearinghouse, Marketing Best Practices, Mentoring Self-Assessment, Statewide Collaborations Best Practices, and Hiring and Building a Team Guidance), and membership reported that participation in the group was helpful to their professional role. After review of the original charge and progress by Council Staff and IWG membership it was determined that the IWG’s work was complete, but there was a need for a new group. The Council convened The Assessment Group (TAG) and TAG Review Panel that were charged with several R3-related tasks, most notably the assessment and updating of the National Hunting and Shooting Sports Plan. Through facilitation from the Council, TAG released the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide in 2024. This guide is the result of a two-year project with feedback from 117 stakeholders and over 4,000 hours of collective effort. To ensure the guide stays up to date with the best available information sourced from the community, the Council will engage 15 stakeholders annually by convening the ARC. This group will also serve to identify additional gaps in R3 research and products and will provide feedback on the MSCG Strategic Priorities when requested by AFWA and USFWS. The ARC will be convened quarterly as follows:

National R3 Symposium (In-person): The ARC will do a comprehensive literature review of R3 resources created during the prior 12 months. Those resources will be evaluated based on their relevance to R3 practitioners, clarity of content, necessity, and quality. Based on the evaluation, resources will be recommended for one of the following:

• Used to modify the content in the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide
• Linked to the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide
• Uploaded to the Clearinghouse
• Developed into a webinar
• Not shared at all

Following the meeting, ARC recommendations will be implemented by the Council.

Fall Quarterly Meeting (Virtual): The ARC will discuss updates to the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide and the Clearinghouse and any necessary communication strategies to share those updates with R3 practitioners. Gaps in existing resources will be identified. Those gaps will then be collected into an “R3 Wish List.”

Winter Quarterly Meeting (Virtual): If invited to do so by AFWA and USFWS, ARC will use the R3 Wish List to inform their review of and any recommendations for the MSCG R3 Strategic Priorities. Review of R3 Strategic Priorities and the timeline associated with that will be dictated by AFWA and USFWS.

Spring Quarterly Meeting (Virtual): The ARC will start collecting R3 resources as MSCG results are being released and discussed at regional meetings. Further communication strategies are designed during this meeting to enhance national communication about key R3 learning and data that has recently been released, R3 priorities being identified in each region, and large trends in R3 practitioner needs.

Improve Council website relevance and increase visitation by 10% annually.

Approach Narrative: A major portion of Council services that are provided to R3 practitioners are provided through its website. The stakeholder feedback received through the stakeholder surveys identified the website as a valuable resource to R3 professionals and other stakeholders. In 2024, the Council transitioned the website to a more secure and powerful platform as the demand for the platform increased. The website hosts a wide range of valuable content including, but not limited to, R3 coordinator contact information for every state and non-profit, research, Hunting and Fishing License Dashboard, case studies, shooting range and hunting license information, descriptions and delineations of AFWA regions, and serves as the portal to the online R3 Community and the National R3 Clearinghouse. In addition, TAG identified the Council website as the desired location for digital hosting of the National Hunting and Shooting Sports R3 Practitioner’s Guide. With substantial demand for the website and the content therein the Council plans to continue to improve website relevance and increase visitation by 10% annually. The Council will enhance search engine optimization scores and systematically boosting overall visits, unique visits, page views, time spent on pages, and page load speeds. Through continuous monitoring and analysis of the website’s analytics, the Council will leverage insights to guide enhancements and make informed decisions based on data. This includes refining content, optimizing keywords, and elevating the overall performance and user experience of the website. Additionally, the Council will evaluate the website’s functionalities and performance, including plugin and theme capabilities, to ensure compliance with the latest standards. Ongoing tasks will include monitoring web traffic, updating content, and ensuring the website’s security.

Increase the Council’s social media presence and increase followers by 10% annually.

Approach Narrative: The latter half of the Council’s mission involves educating the public about the significant contributions hunters and shooters make to wildlife conservation. To work toward this objective, the Council leverages various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and LinkedIn to disseminate messages to a diverse audience. Ensuring the effectiveness of these efforts, the Council has devised a comprehensive social media strategy with five primary goals: 1) educating the public on the contributions hunters and shooters make towards wildlife conservation, 2) ensuring support for and active participation in hunting and the shooting sports, 3) spotlighting the good work and major achievements of the Council and its staff, 4) promoting Council and partner R3 initiatives, events and opportunities and 5) informing R3 practitioners of professional development opportunities and highlight the good work of these dedicated professionals. These strategies will be implemented through the creation of high-quality content, encompassing posts, photos, videos, direct messaging, and user-generated content, all strategically shared on the appropriate social media channels resulting in 10% annual growth.

Produce annual American’s Attitudes Towards Hunting and Shooting Sports report.

Approach Narrative: To date, there have been inconsistent investigations into American’s Attitudes Towards Hunting and Shooting Sports. Responsive Management has conducted this research since 1995 under nine different funding organizations with data gaps as large as eight years. Responsive Management and Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation recently released the first data on this in two years and noted the first decline since 2011 for shooting sports and 2016 for hunting. There is a need for these data on an annual basis for both activities if the Council and others are going to continue to initiate efforts to impact public support. The Council reallocated funds to contract Responsive Management to conduct a 2024 Americans’ Attitudes Towards Hunting and Shooting Sports study which was released at the 2024 National R3 Symposium and noted another decline in approval. The Council plans to work with Responsive Management annually to ensure attitudes data are available. Each year in January the questionnaire design will be developed (many questions will remain consistent with previous years), March through April the survey will be fielded with a multi-modal approach (phone and online) with a goal of over 2,000 completes, data analysis will occur in May, and a final report will be delivered June. The Council will use funds from this proposal to cover the cost of the project fully in 2025, 2026, and 2027. Subsequent years will be partially covered by this award and matching funds (pending availability) will be sought from other sources to complete the project.

Support the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Regional R3 Coordinator position.

Approach Narrative: The Council dedicated substantial effort to regional coordination over the past few years. Progress was made and a Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Regional R3 Coordinator was hired as a Council employee in August of 2023 under a cost-share position with SEAFWA and RBFF as partners. All partners committed to this position through July of 2026 to determine proof of concept. The Council will support this position through that time and then continue to host it if SEAFWA identifies funding to move the position into a permanent role. In addition to supporting the SEAFWA Regional R3 Coordinator, the Council will continue to strategically assist other regions in planning for regional coordination.

***Host one National R3 Symposium annually.

Approach Narrative: The Council hosted the first National R3 Symposium in May 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska, sparking nationwide momentum to advance recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) in hunting, shooting sports, angling, and boating. Due to COVID-19, the Council held virtual forums in 2020 and 2021, with the in-person event resuming annually from 2022 to 2024. As the only event solely focused on R3, the symposium draws hundreds of agency, NGO, and industry leaders – from practitioners to CEOs. The Council will continue hosting it annually in rotating locations to maximize national reach.

***Determine sustainable funding model for real-time license dashboard by December 31, 2025

Approach Narrative: The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports is actively exploring a sustainable funding model to support the ongoing development and maintenance of its real-time hunting and fishing license dashboard. This critical tool provides timely, accurate participation data to help agencies, industry partners, and conservation organizations make informed decisions and track trends. To ensure long-term accessibility and impact, the Council seeks collaborative funding solutions that reflect the shared value this resource brings to the broader outdoor community.

***Shared Positions

Approach Narrative: The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports continues to provide support for shared R3 positions in partnership with state fish and wildlife agencies and is actively seeking opportunities to expand this model. These collaborative roles strengthen capacity for recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) efforts by embedding dedicated staff within agencies to drive strategic planning, program implementation, and partnership engagement. By investing in shared positions, the Council helps accelerate on-the-ground impact while fostering a more unified national approach to R3.