Convene and Develop

Your proposal was accepted, and now it is time to get to work. Your 3-Year Program Plan is due 6 months from your acceptance date. Do you have everyone on your team needed to develop your program plan? Now is the time to finalize your steering committee, enlist new program partners, and recruit collaborators. You may also want to consider setting up a dedicated funds account to help track donations, grant awards, and fund distribution for projects needed to reach your program goal.  Monthly calls and in-person planning or stakeholder meetings can be helpful in the program plan development process. 

Program Resources:
Program Partner Letter of Institutional Support
Dedicated Funds Account Form
SAFE Program Handbook

Submit Plan

Congratulations! Your team has completed the final draft of your SAFE Program Plan, now what? Submit your program plan to your WCC liaison and copy AZA SAFE at SAFE@aza.org. Your WCC liaison will coordinate the review process which takes about 6 weeks to complete. Your plan will be sent to the Conservation Education, Marketing, Public Relations, Wildlife Conservation and other committees (as needed) for review. During this time, you may receive questions from your WCC liaison to help reviewers through the process.

Program Resources:
SAFE Program Handbook

Implement

Your Program Plan has been accepted and now it’s time to implement! Your objectives and actions outlined in your plan help to steer decision-making and allocation of resources over the next three years. During this time, it’s expected that your program will grow in program partner and collaborator numbers. If at any point you have questions, please reach out to your WCC liaison or the AZA SAFE Coordinator. 

Meet

Your team is encouraged to meet at least once in person annually. To help engage more members of the AZA community, participation in report-out sessions at the AZA Mid-Year and Annual Conferences is encouraged. 

Program Resources:
Conferences & Meetings
SAFE FAQs
SAFE Program Handbook

Report

We want to help track your progress and share your stories! Semi-annual reports should be submitted to AZA and your SAFE WCC liaison before the Mid-Year Meeting (February 15- Mid-Year Report) and Annual Conference (August 10- Annual Report). These reports are used to keep communication flowing, address challenges that arise, and provide content that can be shared and amplified over AZA media platforms.

Program Resources:
SAFE Mid-Year Report Template
SAFE Annual Report Template
SAFE Program Handbook