3. Who is MapAction?
• Getting help to where it is needed most
• UK based charity founded in 1999
• First operational deployment 2003
• 45 deployable volunteers
• 20 operational support team
• 7 board of trustees
• 5 full-time (equiv) employees
19/06/2012 3
4. Me
• Work for Esri UK – 10 years
• Manager of Online Operations
• Hunting Technical Services – 6 years
• Volunteer for MapAction – 6 years
• Star sign:Virgo, Chinese zodiac: Ox
19/06/2012 4
8. What is the purpose of our
maps?
To represent and transform raw data to information
within a spatial context in order to assist in more
informed decision making.
To make sense of the ‘facts on the ground’
To enable information exchange.
It is a tool to help meetings
along!
19/06/2012 8
11. The first maps
• ‘Traditional’ - paper
• Used software to create (ArcGIS 8.0)
• Limited audience
• Support and display purposes
• Novelty
• Limited base data
• Not much in-field data collection
19/06/2012 11
14. Every MapAction map has..
• A grid system
• A scale
• A compass rose
• A title
• A legend
• Scale indicator
• Data source credits (very important!)
• Locator map (overview)
• ‘Pleasing colours’
…leads to a better map?
19/06/2012 14
30. Issues faced by MapAction
• Time constraint
• Poor meta-data for source information
• No ground truth possible
• Non-spatial data (tables etc)
• Different digital file formats
• Non-interoperability
• Technology/electricity dependent
• Unknown projections/coordinates of data
• Non-sharing of vital data / information
• Clients not knowing what they want
• Maps are powerful and they can present ‘white lies’
19/06/2012 30
31. It must be true as it is on the map!
19/06/2012 31
40. Multi uses:
Is it for PLANNING, ADVOCACY or
ANALYSIS?
Different audiences now.
United Nations OCHA Advocacy and Visual Media (AVMU) unit
Style Guide.
19/06/2012 40