Management Response to the 2012 External Review of WRI

This document is a management response from the World Resources Institute (WRI) to an external review conducted by Philanthropy Support Services (PSS) Inc. between January and March 2012. The response evaluates WRI's progress regarding its 2008-2012 Strategic Plan and outlines management's agreement with recommendations for the subsequent 2013-2017 planning period, focusing on global expansion, institutional innovation, and the balance between research and practical implementation.

• WRI successfully established in-country presences in China, India, and Brazil as part of its 2008 Strategic Plan. In China, WRI established a fully resourced office and a partnership with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In India, the India Resources Trust (IRT) was created with a USD 550,000 start-up grant. In Brazil, scoping and programmatic build-up were completed to allow for an institutional office opening in late 2012.
• WRI improved its communications capabilities by updating its website, adopting social media, and requiring all research publications to be accompanied by an influence plan. Each program now has a designated communications liaison to ensure a strategic approach to engagement.
• The Mainstreaming Ecosystem Services Initiative (MESI) achieved success with 23 large companies and industry associations, 4 government bodies, and several development agencies. Management is now refocusing the MESI strategy to prioritize ecosystem services for food and water security.
• WRI's forest work under the Forest Landscapes Objective (FLO), which ended in 2011, was noted to have a lower international profile and a lack of a clear, recognizable identity. To address this, WRI recruited a Director of Forests Initiatives and is developing a new Institute-wide forest initiative.
• WRI is shifting its institutional positioning from 'agenda-setting' to 'making the case' by increasing its 'do-tank' activities, which involve real-world testing and demonstration of solutions, while maintaining its original research capabilities.
• Management intends to scale up WRI's presence in Africa during the next Strategic Plan period, using the Equity, Poverty and Environment (EPE) work and the vulnerability and adaptation objective as foundations. A scoping exercise will be conducted to identify specific focus countries and regions in sub-Saharan Africa.
• WRI's staffing is becoming more international and diverse, with over 50% of staff being non-US nationals. Exit interviews indicated that 98% of departing staff would recommend WRI as a place to work.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Management Response to the 2012 External Review of WRI. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/wri-management_response-to-pss-report.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Management Response to the 2012 External Review of WRI. n.d. https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/wri-management_response-to-pss-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=World Resources Institute |title=Management Response to the 2012 External Review of WRI |url=https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/wri-management_response-to-pss-report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{worldresourcesinstitutendmanagement, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Management Response to the 2012 External Review of WRI}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/uploads/wri-management_response-to-pss-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }