The capacity of the Earth’s systems to continue to support life, as we know it, is declining. Continuous learning is required for natural resource management (NRM) agencies to respond flexibly and adaptively to complex and growing social-ecological challenges. How to embed continuous learning in NRM, however, remains under-researched despite the critical role the public sector plays in local, regional, national and global well-being. The aim of this research is to contribute theoretical and practical insights into the factors necessary for NRM agency work units to embed organisational learning and become learning organisations. It identifies the important features of a learning organisation, the enablers of and barriers to organisational learning in NRM agency work units, and how organisational learning may be assessed in an NRM work unit in order to guide its development as a learning organisation.

Two qualitative case studies utilising semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis, were conducted in NRM agency work units in South Africa, the first selected as an exemplar of organisational learning and the second for additional data and potential comparison. Analysis of the data confirmed the first work unit was a learning organisation, with features including interactive informal learning and regular double-loop learning. Three key enablers were identified: organisational learning mechanisms, which are regular informal or formal learning activities; human-centred leadership that balances adaptive and administrative needs; and a supportive learning environment characterised by psychological safety, collaboration, experimentalism, systems-thinking, and affective commitment. Barriers to organisational learning, evident in the second work unit, where the features of a learning organisation were absent, included command and control leadership, risk aversion, micromanagement, reductionist thinking, mistrust, and low psychological safety.

Analysis of the empirical data yielded concepts and insights that have been used to develop and extend existing theory with potential for broad-ranging practical application. The findings and relevant literature were used to create and field test an assessment instrument to ‘Test Our Organisation Learning’ (TOOL), designed to guide the development of NRM agency work units as learning organisations. Recommendations for further work include conducting additional case studies, further field-testing of the TOOL, and research into the success factors for ‘cultural islands of learning’, and the ideal organisational learning mechanisms to use in different contexts.

Although protected areas represent a pivotal response to escalating anthropogenic threats, they face many pressures, inside and outside their boundaries. Amid these challenges, effective conservation is guided by evidence-based decision making supported by dynamic processes of learning and knowledge exchange. Although different models promote knowledge exchange, embedding research scientists within conservation agencies is best suited to supporting evidence-based conservation. Based on available literature and our experiences on several continents, we considered the benefits, challenges, and opportunities associated with embedding research scientists within conservation agencies and the research required to better understand the effectiveness of the embedding model for evidence-based conservation. Embedded researchers provide long-term commitment to building social capital among academic and nonacademic stakeholders" act as skilled gatekeepers who increase 2-way flow of knowledge between scientists and managers" attract, coordinate, and support management-relevant external research projects" drive the design and maintenance of long-term monitoring" and align their research with information needs. Notwithstanding the many benefits, research capacity of conservation agencies is declining worldwide. A significant challenge is that the values, structures, functions, and effectiveness of the embedding model of knowledge exchange remain poorly evaluated and documented. Also, embedded researchers have to balance their desire for creativity and flexibility with the standardization and quality control required by their public sector agencies" may be perceived as not credible because they are not truly independent of their agency" and have to couple scientific productivity with skills for transdisciplinary research, social facilitation, and stakeholder engagement. Systematic research on embedding and other models of knowledge exchange, across different world contexts, is required to better understand the benefits, costs, and institutional arrangements associated with different models.