Introduction

Activities involving participatory geographical information systems (PGIS) depend on social, economic, political, institutional and infrastructural factors which can be described as external or internal and enabling or disabling. This Unit analyses and summarises these concepts and the significance of such factors. The disabling factors tend to receive more attention than enabling factors, because they require more analysis and smarter approaches to try to reduce or mitigate them.

Unit objectives / expected outcomes

After the completion of the Unit the trainee will be able to:

• formulate the criteria for “successful” participatory mapping;
• list examples of external and internal factors;
• determine enabling and disabling factors and explain the logic behind such classifications.

Content outline, main topics covered and suggested sequencing

This Unit focuses on the topics listed below:

1. Introduction to Module M05 and Unit M05U01(PPT No.1, Slides 1 - 5) (10 min)
2. Success in participatory mapping (PPT No. 1, Slides 6 - 8) (10 min); (Exercise No. 1) (45 min)
3. External and internal factors (PPT No. 1, Slides 9 - 11) (10 min); (Exercise No. 2) (45 min)
4. Determining enabling and disabling factors (PPT No. 1, Slides 12 - 13) (10 min);
5. Specifying enabling and disabling factors (PPT No. 1, Slides 14 - 16) (10 min)

Components of the Unit

Exercises

• Exercise No. 1: Purposes and actors in participatory mapping; to identify the purposes and actors in participatory mapping (45 min)
• Exercise No. 2: Constraints to participatory planning and management; to identify constraints to participatory planning and management (45 min)

Handouts for Trainee (to be distributed in printed format):

• Significance of Enabling and Disabling Factors for Participatory Mapping (Handout4T)
• Article: Applications of Participatory Mapping and PGIS using Indigenous and Local Spatial Knowledge
• Article: Precision for Whom? Mapping Ambiguity and Certainty in (Participatory) GIS
• List of Additional Resources
• Unit Glossary (Included in the Module Glossary)

Handouts for Trainee (to be distributed in digital format)

• Article: Mapping the Commons: The Social Context of Spatial Information Technologies
• Article: Finding Common Ground in Land-use Conflicts using PGIS: Lessons from Ghana
• Article: The Issue of Access: An Assessment Guide for Evaluating Public Participation Geographic Information Science Case Studies
• Article: Seeking Good Governance in Participatory GIS: A Review of Processes and Governance Dimensions in Applying GIS to Participatory Spatial Planning
• Article: Snowball Method for Stimulating Interactive Discussions

Presentations

• PPT No. 1: Significance of enabling and disabling factors for participatory mapping. This PPT covers the material from the Handout4T (50 min; presented in portions)

Duration

2 1/3 hrs

Additional trainer resources

• Jatulan, William. 1998. Swot Analysis, in Participatory Methods in Community-based Coastal Resource Management, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Silang, Cavite, Philippines; Vol. 2:27-32, 1998.
• McCall, Mike. 2006. Precision for Whom? Mapping Ambiguity and Certainty in (Participatory) GIS; PLA 54:114-119, IIED, London, UK.
• McCall, Mike, Ashley, Holly and Rambaldi, Giacomo (2006). The Snowball. PLA 54:135-137, IIED, London, UK.

Equipment needed

Computer and digital projector, metacards (A5-size), colour markers, flipcharts, adhesive tape, large sheets of craft paper (1.2m x 1.6m), wall space

Additional downloads

• Download this page in MS Word format (additional information included)
• Download the complete unit