English 
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 and Action contre la Faim have signed a 3-year partnership agreement to further their collaboration. The partnership agreement that will run from 2020 to 2023 details the general principles of collaboration between our two organizations around common goals and mutual commitments as well as more operational aspects.
In particular, it aims to develop the use of cartographic products within Action Contre la Faim by making CartONG’s mapping service available to ACF’s operations. In particular, our team of cartographers will be able to provide emergency support to ACF in the event of a humanitarian crisis, in what is called “rush mode format” as we can already do for other partners such as MSF or ACAPS.
More generally, this partnership also aims to provide ACF's teams with better support in the area of program data management (or Information Management), either through capacity building for their teams or strategic advice and support.
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.
During the first of implementation (2019), CartONG implemented the following activities:
For the second year (2020) of our involvement on this project we:
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report.
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.
In alphabetical order, the 10 partners of the project are:
2020 was mainly marked by the release of an ambitious and in-depth study aimed at assessing and formalizing the practices and needs of francophone CSOs in program data management which will serve as basis for the rest of the project. The study was also the subject of various restitutions (webinar, video recap, presentation to some CSOs) and numerous disseminations within CSOs’ networks.
In addition to this study, the project has allowed the co-financing and dissemination of numerous technical and methodological resources including two comparative studies of solutions and a dozen tutorials, with a reorientation of the content of some of the resources due to the pandemic and its impact on data management practices in the humanitarian and development sectors. A first day of experience sharing bringing together more than twenty CSOs was also held at the beginning of the summer and should be repeated every six months for the full duration of the project.
In 2021 many deliverables will be released including a study on the skills and profiles within CSOs in charge of data management and a self-diagnosis tool. The IM Resource Portal was launched in June 2021 as part of this project.
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report.
CartONG, in consortium with MapAction, has been selected by UNICEF for a long-term agreement, to provide GIS & IM support to their operations around the world from 2020 to 2022. Working with UNICEF’s headquarters, country offices and partners in different parts of the globe, we focus on helping with geospatial data collection and management, mapping, knowledge management and capacity building.
To know more about this activity please read our 2020 Annual Report.
The request for mapping support in the Gulf of Guinea was inspired by the work done in support of the AFD Sahel regional team. CartONG's support will include the creation of a database, the production of around thirty maps and a mapping training for the AFD referents of each country.
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report.
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 (also called Information Management or IM). 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.
Following this diagnosis, CartONG continues to support the RESILAC project teams in 2020 and 2021 in the implementation of certain recommendations: design of a dashboard to help monitor and manage the project, design of a database at the level of individual beneficiaries to centralize the support provided by the project through these various activities, distance training to the teams in data management etc.
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report.
In 2020, CartONG supported the Solidarités Lebanon mission to launch and reinforce their GIS capacity. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the envisaged field mission was replaced by remote support. CartONG conduced an user requirements assessment to define the best mapping products for the in-country operations. 3 types of maps were identified as a priority for the mission: i) coordination maps to display Solidarités International’s activities, ii) maps of the different refugee sites with sector dara, as well as iii) detailed maps outlining flood analysis risks.
In parallel, CartONG’s team assessed the local GIS capacity in order to tailor a GIS training course adapted to the staff’s current level in GIS. This resulted in three online GIS sessions on QGIS, data management, and mapping.
Finally, part of the support was centered on the creation of different Standard Operating Procedures in order to accompany Solidarités International’s GIS Officer in Lebanon on more methodological aspects.
In 2021, CartONG continued its support, in particular to coach Solidarités International’s GIS Officer.
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report.
CartONG worked with SCET and EPFAM on a preliminary assessment that will be included in a regional action plan designed to improve tourism development in Mayotte. As part of this diagnosis, CartONG facilitated a participatory mapping workshop in October, with SCET during a short field mission. This workshop was organized to consult some of the inhabitants of Kawéni about their leisure activities. During the workshop, the participants were encouraged to share information about what they are doing during their free time and to locate leisure activities on a map. The workshop was also an opportunity for the local community to receive a short introductory training to Mobile Data Collection, the data then collected has been integrated in an online interactive map. Further consultation activities have been on hold due to the pandemic.
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report.
CartONG supported the CliMigra_Form program, which is deployed through a partnership between the University of Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint Denis (France) and the University of Paris Khartoum (Sudan). This project aims to develop training in participatory and citizen inquiry on two topics specific to the Sudanese context: climate and migrations. CartONG conducted 2 remote training sessions for a team of French and Sudanese social science and geography researchers and students, in order to help them understand how participatory and subjective mapping methodologies may be used as a way to collect both qualitative and quantitative data during a field research. Additional guidance on participatory and subjective mapping methodologies will be provided in 2021.
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report.
Plan International Germany is involved in a project for “Support for Civil Society Organisations piloting initiatives of the AU-EU Youth Cooperation Hub” to support peace and security and strength stabilization efforts in the Lake Chad Basin. 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. CartONG has therefore put in place technical solutions with simplified steps so as to allow young people to carry out the said mission.
A 2-day remote workshop was organized for each country in January 2021 to train young people in the use of these tools and CartONG’s support continued well into 2021. CartONG will also ensure the maintenance of the solution during the whole duration of this three-year project.
To know more about this activity, please read our 2020 Annual Report and the related news we recently published.
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