
Your organization collects data every time a team goes to the field, but is this data fully utilized, or is it lost within a PDF document? Would you like to visualize your NGO’s core information on a map in order to get a better sense of where the needs are and, therefore, to plan your activities accordingly? Do you want to implement a new activity but only have the name of the village and are unsure where that village is?
The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” could not apply better than to GIS applications: using a map, you can visualize at a glance where needs are and where resources are, and then to analyse how best to link the two. Having a geographic overview of a situation can dramatically improve evidence-based decision-making. From printed base maps (where infrastructure data provides a good overview of a region) to sector-specific dynamic maps (to quickly visualize the evolution of a situation through time), geographic information is vital for a good understanding of a situation. In order to be able to produce maps, you need to find the existing geographic data and ensure your sector data is in a usable format. You also need to conduct analysis relevant to each sector. A GIS strategy allows you to define standard procedures that optimize workflow and ensure that GIS products reach the people who require the information. CartONG assists humanitarian organizations in their GIS work with any or all of these steps.
Learn more about how CartONG can help you with your GIS and mapping projects below:
You can also visit the Information Management and Capacity building pages as they are related.
CartONG is participating in the "ACTIV ECSI" project, which aims to strengthen the commitment of the Savoie department's inhabitants for a more united and sustainable world by developing innovative ECSI (Education for Citizenship and International Solidarity) actions and tools and new partnerships. The project is jointly carried out by the collective "La Fabrique du vivre ensemble" (of which CartONG is a member) and the FOL Savoie.
Read more »In September 2021, CartONG launched a new initiative to develop volunteering internally and build new partnerships around volunteering activities with NGOs, associations, companies and local institutions. This project aligns with our 2020-2023 Associative Life and Volunteer Involvement Strategy and is co-financed by the FONJEP, which was mandated by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), and CartONG. We plan to provide 25 pro bono support missions from remote to NGOs and local associations, as well as conduct 2 volunteer missions in the field. 10 participatory mapping workshops (or “mapathons”) will also be organized in companies and at local institutions to raise awareness among employees about volunteering with CartONG. We will also offer training and new frameworks to facilitate the exchange of skills between volunteers.
In 2023, CartONG is participating in the European project Mindchangers, which aims to train a new generation of European citizens aware of and committed to sustainable development. Within the framework of this initiative, CartONG is launching a brand new project combining mapping and awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): CartODD.
CartONG and Action contre la Faim have signed a partnership agreement of 3 years to further their collaboration. The partnership agreement that will run from 2020 to 2023. It aims to provide ACF's teams with better support in the area of program data management (or Information Management).
Read more »Doctors of the World France requested CartONG’s support in June 2022 to assist in the implementation of participatory mapping workshops as part of a project to raise awareness on the impact of water on the health of communities in two precarious neighborhoods of Mayotte. The dynamics of each neighborhood were difficult for Doctors of the World's teams to understand, so the project evolved towards a participatory approach with the inhabitants.
The aims of our intervention were to improve knowledge about the neighborhoods while creating a community mobilization with the inhabitants of the neighborhood.
CartONG launched a new project entitled "MapInclusive" in January 2022. Funded by the European Union through the KA210-ADU Erasmus+ program called "Simplified Partnerships in Adult Education", this new initiative aims to accompany migrant people in France and Greece towards learning new digital skills through digital mapping activities.
To carry out this European project, CartONG is working hand in hand with the Social Hackers Academy (SHA), an Athenian NGO. For 18 months, digital mapping activities will be offered to migrants in France and Greece: in particular, participatory mapping workshosp (called "mapathons") adapted to their needs and skills, but also workshop cycles to discover a variety of digital mapping tools. This approach will be supported by the creation of facilitation and training materials, as well as a toolbox.
These activities have several objectives: accompany the participants in their discovery of digital tools offering a relaxed atmosphere, allow them to understand and use maps, and finally propose a framework encouraging intercultural exchanges.
CartONG is supporting Plan International Germany in setting up a data collection tool to identify service infrastructures in the Lake Chad Basin and an online map to display the results of the said data collection. A very important component of this project is for young people to take ownership of the tools so that they can be autonomous in managing the data collection and updating the online map on their own.
Read more »The RESILAC (Inclusive Economic and Social Recovery of Lake Chad) project and consortium identified during its start-up phase the need to improve the management of its information. CartONG is supporting Groupe URD in charge of the operational M&E system (système de suivi et d'évaluation des réalisations) on the information management component. In 2019, CartONG conducted a diagnostic in information management (all combined technologies) in order to formalize the needs of stakeholders, identify existing constraints and opportunities and propose solution scenarios.
Read more »CartONG is participating, on behalf of the French Development Agency, to the scientific impact evaluation of the PRIQH2 project implemented by the Tunisian Rehabilitation and Urban Renovation Agency (ARRU). This evaluation is co-lead by the United Nations University and BJKA consulting. CartONG brings its expertise in GIS and spatial analysis of urban evolution to the table.
Read more »The "Strengthening CSOs' Information Management" project aims to professionalize French-speaking Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the use and implementation of methods, tools and processes related to the different stages of the data analysis chain.
Co-financed by AFD for 3 years (early 2020 - late 2022) and implemented with the support of 10 partners, this project will make it possible for CartONG to continue its work in support of the sector by promoting the pooling and dissemination of new resources, both practical (tools, tutorials, training modules, etc.) and strategic (studies, etc.) to all humanitarian and development actors.
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