Expanding cultural education by making connections with maps
Having decided to use ArcGIS Online to build a mapping tool to promote and deliver its services, The Mighty Creatives utilised Esri UK’s ArcGIS Online Launchkit to get up and running quickly. This gave the charity the skills and confidence to make digital mapping a central element of its service offering.
Provided staff with the skills needed to create their own maps without external advice or expertise
Gave the team the confidence to exploit digital mapping as a tool to promote the charity’s services
Visualisation of its own data gave the charity new insight into operational information and processes
The Challenge
The charity, The Mighty Creatives, believe that creativity is vital to every child’s development and that, unfortunately, there are too many limited opportunities for children and young people to be creative and to play. Their mission is to change this and to achieve their goal they bring together schools, arts organisation, communities and businesses forging partnerships and enabling collaboration.
To support this creative drive, The Mighty Creatives needed a visual, easy to use, way of enabling organisations to easily discover other organisations working across the East Midlands.
The Mighty Creatives identified that ArcGIS Online from Esri UK could be used to create the solution they needed, but were unsure how to get started. The team had limited experience in geography or digital mapping and without any technical skills they lacked the confidence to move forward.
Furthermore, there were many important questions:
- What data should we use?
- How should that data be formatted, imported and managed?
- How should we present the data in an interesting form?
- How can we make the system easy to access?
- How will the new tool work with our existing CRM system?
Within the first half an hour, the Esri Consultant swept away our confusion, so we could clearly see what we could do with ArcGIS online and where to start
Laurie Parsons – Development Coordinator (Arts Alliances) – The Mighty Creatives
The Solution
The Mighty Creatives found the answers in the form of an ArcGIS Online Launchkit from Esri UK. An Esri UK Consultant carried out the two-day program at The Mighty Creatives’ office, helping to get the new tool live in the shortest possible time. The Launchkit included support with the installation and configuration of the ArcGIS platform, demonstration of the capabilities of ArcGIS online, and advice and training on how to implement the new tool.
The Consultant put an additional focus on several key areas that were important to The Mighty Creatives:
- Understanding how to present geographic information so that the visualisation accurately represents the underlying data, without distortion
- The capabilities of different packages, such as ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS online, and which tools to use in different situations
- How to use StoryMaps to create engaging online content and get across the story they wanted to tell
After the Launchkit was completed, The Mighty Creatives quickly built its first online mapping tool. Since then a further five searchable maps have been developed and the team have now started building tStoryMaps. Future plans are increasingly challenging and sophisticated, including for example, demographic analysis to identify geographic distributions of demand and match these with local supply.
Working closely with our Esri consultant through the Launchkit instilled confidence in our abilities to create digital maps and use them to promote our service
Laura Bates – Development Manager (Arts Alliances) – The Mighty Creatives
Benefits
Self sufficiency
The Esri UK Launchkit rapidly provided The Mighty Creatives with the skills needed to create their own maps without the need to call in external advice or expertise. This also gives them the foundations to take on future challenges.
Confidence
An organisation largely composed of artistic, creative and educational professionals with a lack of confidence in their knowledge of technology have now developed the confidence necessary to use and exploit digital mapping as a tool.
Insight
Through its own maps, The Mighty Creatives could see it its own information in a new light, prompting the team to question current processes, reflect on them and see new ways to operate.
Teamwork
Building the mapping tool was a shared learning experience, requiring input from across the team. This promoted buy-in from all parts of the organisation and made a positive contribution to the working environment.
Like many charities The Mighty Creatives needs to carefully manage its expenditure, so it can optimise its reach and impact; the investment in and ArcGIS Online Launchkit was therefore a relatively significant outlay. However, the charity believes that the experience has been exceptionally valuable and is helping the organisation forge new partnerships and drive collaboration.
