Using Concept Maps to Communicate Strategy

If you browse through articles posted on this blog since 2008 you'll see how geographic maps have been used to show where volunteer-based, non-school, learning, mentoring and tutoring programs are most needed in Chicago, based on indicators such as poverty, poor schools, violence, health disparities, etc. In the next few blog articles I'm going to post concept maps that show commitments and strategies that need to be adopted by leaders from business, government, philanthropy, entertainment, sports, and the non profit sector, if the map is to be filled with high quality programs.

I've been using CMaps, a free concept mapping tool, since 2005. This was introduced to me by Ariane Lee, a former Peace Corps volunteer, who worked for me for one year. Once she introduced CMaps to me, I began to create a variety of maps. In these maps you can follow a train of thought, from one node to another. In this strategy map, the blue box at the top can be filled by any leader who makes this commitment. As you follow the train of thought, you'll see small boxes at the bottom of each map. The box on the left leads to other web sites with related information. The box on the right, leads to additional concept maps, that provide deeper thinking related to that specific node.

In this particular map you can see a box to the left, indicating that there is an animated version of this map. It was created by interns from IIT, during six week internships in Jan-Feb and May-June, 2009. The voice over was provided by a Northwestern University graduate, who was serving a one-year fellowship. I encourage you to listen to it. The information it provides will help you navigate the map. Some of the links are broken and this needs to be updated, but the information is still useful.

This strategy can be adopted and applied to Chicago, or to any other city in the world. It can be adopted by a University or a Hospital and focus on the area around that specific university or hospital. If you'd like my help in thinking through your strategy introduce yourself to me on Twitter, LinkedIN or Facebook or email tutormentor2 at earthlink dot net.

NOTE: since posting this article in October 2014 I've posted several related articles. View them all-click here.

Chicago Health Atlas a valuable resource

This map view was created using the Chicago Health Atlas, one of the projects of the Smart Chicago Collaborative.

While a majority of the maps in the Mapping for Justice blog were created by Tutor/Mentor Connection, I've also used articles to point to other map platforms that provide indicators showing a need for extra investment and support of youth and families in neighborhoods highlighted on these maps. In this section of the Tutor/Mentor web library are more links to poverty and crime maps.

Our aim is to encourage, and inspire, a growing number of people to create videos, blog articles, books, slide presentations, etc. that use these indicators to show people beyond poverty where they need to be investing time, talent and dollars to help communities overcome challenges they cannot overcome by themselves. If youth learn to create map stories, and how to communicate these regularly as part of a call to action, they learn skills they can apply in adult lives, and provide talent that helps draw needed resources to various places shown on the map. If you're creating map stories with a goal of drawing resources to volunteer based tutor/mentor programs in different parts of Chicago, or in another city, please share your link.

Using Data to Support Fund Raising

All of the maps on this site are intended to support actions that draw volunteers, dollars, technology and ideas to all of the high poverty areas in Chicago where a wide range of volunteer-based tutoring, mentoring and learning organizations are needed in the non-school hours.

Below is a graphic showing the home page of the Boston Indicators Project, which I've been following since around 2004.

What I've liked about this site is that it has created a list of 10 indicators/issues which represent most of the major issues of concern to people in the Boston area. If you click into any of the issue areas you can dig deeper into a wide range of data, maps, articles, etc. to help you better understand the problem and potential solutions.

On the right bottom of the home page is a section focused on the Boston Giving Common, created by the Boston Foundation.

I created screen shots showing the progression of pages you find as you click into the Giving Common. First, you'll find ten categories, which align with the 10 issue areas on the Boston Indicators site. If you click any of these, such as youth development, you go to a page listing youth development organizations in the Boston area. If you click on an organization you go to a page with financial information, web site address, and a button that you can click to make a donation!

I don't know if this represents all youth serving organizations in Boston, or just a few.

I also don't see maps that show locations of different organizations, with layers showing different types of services, or different age groups served, which is what I've created on the Chicago Tutor/Mentor Program Locator.

I also don't see an explanation of a year-round strategy intended to draw a growing number of volunteers and donors to this web site so more will become supporters of different programs. I also don't see a use of MOOCs or engagement of youth as story-tellers, as part of a strategy to engage growing numbers of people to focus on each separate issue area.

Yet this is a great model of a high profile community organization acting to leverage it's own giving by encouraging others to support organizations in the region who require consistent, on-going and flexible operating dollars and a wide range of talent to have a growing impact on solving the problems that the indicators show face Boston. It has constantly been improving what it does since I first saw the site many years ago. I suspect it's leaders will be adding some of the features I've mentioned as the look for more ways to engage Boston area citizens, social benefit organizations and resource providers.

While I write about this, I also share my interest using my Twitter @tutormentorteam feed. And I've added the link to this section of my web library so others can find this and use it to inspire their own efforts. I've shared this with Chicago organizations and hope I'm invited into brainstorming conversations and planning groups who are looking for ways to mobilize all stakeholders in the region in long-term problem solving.

If you're aware of something like this in other cities, or something working even better to draw needed resources to all of the neighborhoods who need a wide range of services, share the link on your own blog and with me via a comment or a Tweet.

US Schools Highly Segregated

This Metro Trends Blog article shows that "Despite our country’s growing diversity, our public schools provide little contact between white students and students of color. Metro Trends has mapped data about the racial composition of US public schools to shed light on today’s patterns at the county level. These maps show that America’s public schools are highly segregated by race and income, with the declining share of white students typically concentrated in schools with other white students and the growing share of Latino students concentrated into low-income public schools with other students of color." Read the article.

Changes in race and poverty in US since 1980

This interactive map can be used to help build and understanding of where poverty is concentrated in the US and how this has changed since 1980.

Browse the articles on this site to see how map stories can be created using map platforms like this. Such stories can be used to build public awareness and mobilize leaders and resources to fill high poverty areas with a wide range of youth and family supports.

Browse sections of the Tutor/Mentor Institute blog and you'll see more examples of maps and graphics. Use these as examples that can be duplicated by volunteers, leaders, media in Chicago and other cities.

Forbes map shows where wealthiest US families are located

I use maps to show where organized volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs are located, and where they are most needed, based on indicators like high poverty, violence, health disparities, etc. My efforts intend to catch the attention of donors who have the ability to provide on-going operating dollars to support high quality programs in all neighborhoods.

Today I was encouraged to take a look at an interactive map on the Forbes.com web site showing locations of 180 billionaire families. See the map here.

Imagine how much more we could do to help young people in high poverty areas is just one of these familes in each part of the country adopted the Tutor/Mentor Connection strategy and commitment, shown on this animation, and this concept map.