CSF's Annual Flagship Course

Join a global network of environmental leaders.

Our life-changing annual course empowers participants with the language of economics and finance to help solve conservation challenges around the world.

Each year, course graduates join a network of nearly 7,000 CSF alumni from over 3,000 organizations in 131 countries. Our course is for professionals at the forefront of global conservation issues, and our past alumni come from government, NGOs/CSOs, academia, the private sector, and multilateral institutions. By taking this course, participants will be connected with peers from all over the world in learning how applied economics and finance can help them to address some of today’s most pressing issues and urgent environmental challenges. 

This annual course is currently offered in English and Spanish. Click here to learn more about our Spanish edition. 

  • World-Class Teaching

    Our talented instructors include university professors, CSF staff and experts from the Conservation Finance Alliance, all with a deep understanding of real-world conservation challenges.

  • Inclusive & Diverse

    Conservation and sustainable development practitioners from every country and background are invited to enroll. Previous training in economics is not required. Participants must be comfortable reading and speaking in English.

  • Stay up to Date

    This program is hosted at least once per year in a virtual or in-person format, and registration typically opens 4 to 6 months ahead of time. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear about our 2026 course.

Benefits

In this course, participants gain:

  • An essential foundation in basic economic concepts and language.

  • Insight into the drivers of environmental problems, including market and institutional failures.

  • Tools to evaluate the costs and benefits of natural resource management approaches and development decisions, including values of ecosystem services.

  • Skills to incorporate economic incentives in order to formulate more effective strategies and policies for conservation, including sustainable finance solutions.

  • The ability to articulate environmental values in a language that communities, businesses, and governments can understand.

Testimonials

This course is life-changing, but don't just take our word for it!

2025 Course Highlights

In August 2025, 28 leaders from 19 different countries and 26 organizations travelled across the world to Stanford University’s campus in California for what would become a transformative, energizing, and inspiring experience for everyone involved. 

Back in-person for the first time in five years, CSF’s longest-running program brought together economists, entrepreneurs, Indigenous leaders, natural resource managers, policymakers, government officials, fundraisers, and conservationists, each determined to strengthen the economic case for protecting nature.

Hear from our 2025 participants themselves about what they have gained from participating in this course in our short reflection video.

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