| Summary: | Conservation is an inherently social process—people collectively endeavor to enact conservation. Yet training and competency in social science research methodologies are less common in conservation research compared to the natural sciences. Globally, formal education and training in the social sciences are often unavailable or inaccessible to conservation practitioners; non-formal education may help fill this gap. To identify potential opportunities, we (a) implemented a global survey of practitioners to identify their knowledge gaps and social science training needs, and (b) conducted a gap analysis of available social science training resources. Conservation practitioner responses (n=90) revealed demand for support with data analysis, research ethics and human rights considerations. Gap analysis compiled 449 resources, including 266 English-language and 183 non-English languages resources into an open-access online database hosted by the Conservation Social Science Partnership. Resources were categorized as communication, data collection, ethics and human rights, intervention, impact evaluation, and analysis. Most resources available open-access (90%) and half were specific to conservation practice. Together, results reveal a need for (a) organization leaders to prioritize social sciences in conservation, (b) a greater diversity of accessible training resources in alternate mediums and languages, (c) resources tailored to conservation contexts, and (d) additional ethics and human rights and data analysis resources.
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