Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society will work with research evaluators from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA), as well as experts in market forecasting and metrics development, to develop an assessment tool that will enhance the Society's understanding of how the general public values visits to zoos and aquariums. A variety of methods and tools such as a symposium, focus groups, and case studies will be used to test this new metric and assess its full potential. The results from these studies will be tabulated and disseminated to the AZA community through workshops, handouts, and presentations to allow organizations to adopt this new evaluative tool. Expected outcomes from this research include determining the value of zoos and aquariums to the community and their role in culture, increasing literacy in the profession regarding the long-term community benefit, and increasing effectiveness of park evaluation, and providing practical strategies for assessing exhibit and program planning in relation to long-term community benefits.