NNIPCamp October 2014: Ecosystem Mapping

Eleanor Tutt and Bob Gradeck began the session by describing their early attempts at diagramming their local data ecosystem in St. Louis and Pittsburgh, respectively, as part of the Civic Tech and Data Ecosystems project with NNIP, Living Cities, and Code for America. As a group, Bob and Eleanor encouraged an audience member to pick an issue in their city, and talk about data creators, consumers, and supporting organizations as the two session leaders drew a diagram on the board. The participants were then encouraged to diagram their own ecosystem for a particular issue working alone or in a small group. The exercise seemed to help participants better-understand all of the components of the ecosystem, and also gaps and overlap that may exist. This exercise can serve as a good formal workshop as soon as San Antonio as soon as the ecosystem mapping model is more-firmly established and tested.