A mapping initiative designed to highlight socially conscious organizations in Ottawa will soon be open to public input.
In late March, about 25 volunteers met at the offices of HUB Ottawa on Bank Street for the first in a province-wide series of “mapathons” to begin mapping out the social good happening in the province.
But in the next few weeks, the gates of the “socialsca.pe” online map will be thrown open and Ottawa residents will be able to add the names of individuals and organizations that are making a difference in their communities.
These include small, community initiatives such as Just Change Ottawa and Soup Ottawa, two groups that finance social projects, as well as large non-profits like the United Way, according to Jesse Cressman-Dickinson, the “community catalyst” specialist at HUB Ottawa.
“Social good covers a huge space,” says Cressman-Dickinson. “We’re looking at projects that cover sustainability. It covers a huge, huge, area.”
She says it’s important for organizations to not only think about profits but to take environmental and societal concerns into account as well. She calls this the “triple bottom line.”
The Toronto based website, “socialsca.pe” received provincial funding to create interactive online maps that will make it easier for people in a community to find out what socially minded initiatives are available. It’s part of a $4 million effort by the provincial government to encourage socially minded enterprises.
Renji Butalid, who facilitated the Ottawa “mapathon,” says local groups are critical to the success of the plan as they are the ones that know what is happening at the ground level.
“We don’t have access to any information, we just facilitate the process,” he says.
He says the goal of the project is to “paint a picture” of social enterprises in Ottawa, adding many organizations already have the data and that just needs to be put in one accessible spot online.
Lee Rose, a community organizer at the Centretown offices of the Community Knowledge Exchange, an organization that helps connect different socially minded organizations, met with Butalid in early March in Toronto and together they brought the initiative to Ottawa.
Rose said that HUB Ottawa was the perfect place to hold the “mapathon” event.
HUB is an open-concept office space in the downtown core designed to get young entrepreneurs and different organizations connecting with each other. It’s a cross between a boardroom and a clubhouse, with couches and meeting rooms sitting side by side.
Rose says he splits his time between his office and “the hub.”
“You can’t make a connection in a cubicle,” he says.
Dan Monafu, the founder of Soup Ottawa and participant in the “mapathon,” says the interaction of the public is critical for the success of the program as local residents will know which groups are actually making a contribution in the community.
“It gives things back to the people,” he says. “They can flag inactive groups. Crowd sourcing helps keep things honest.”
He says the technology is not complicated and people shouldn’t have too much trouble understanding how it works.
“If you’re trying to find out about something, you do a Google search. Hopefully the map will help people make connections.”
Rose acknowledges that this mapping project might not do anything to affect services for people on the ground, but it will help different groups organize and get together.
“If you keep thinking outside the box, you end up recreating a lot of stuff,” he says. “The (mapping project) is about how we can use existing data and resources in new and interesting ways.”