Title: Towards an Open Dar Es Salaam
Author Editor: Joshua Goldstein
Source: Promoting Information and Communications for Development (IC4D)
Publisher: The World Bank Group
Date (published): 28/11/2011
Date (accessed): 03/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Jeff Jesse, a Tanzanian student leader who has been collaborating with the World Bank team at the Open Development Technology Alliance, suggested an exciting idea over on the Daraja blog:
Why don't we open Dar Es Salaam, we could even call it Open Dar Es Salaam, where the City can come to young people to make maps, and then hackers can make new mobile and Web apps to help with different problems like education or trash collection. We have tons of talent here and people who want to do something good for the community.

Jeff's post reflects the excitement felt by many following a recent community mapping exercise in Tandale, an unplanned community in Dar Es Salaam. In Tandale, community residents joined Ardhi University School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) to use low-cost GPS devices and free and open source software stack to mark the location of roads, streets, street lights, trash dumps and upload urban infrastructure information to Open Street Map (OSM), a free and open online mapping platform. The training, provided by youth leaders involved in Kenya’s Map Kibera project, took only a few days in the field and computer lab."

Title: Mediating voices and communicating realities: Using information crowdsourcing tools, open data initiatives and digital media to support and protect the vulnerable and marginalised
Author: Evangelia Berdou
Pages: 83 pp.
Publisher: Institute of Development Studies
Date (published): 14/04/2011
Date (accessed): 06/09/2011
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"Increased access to the internet combined with the lowering cost of digital media, such geographical positioning systems and video cameras, are supporting a wave of social and technical innovations aiming to empower citizens in developing countries to access information and organise themselves to affect positive social change.

These developments have gained momentum in the last three years, through the use of 'open' information and communication technologies (ICTs), which include open source software programmes and digital data repositories that can be freely used and modified. These resources are seen to support new architectures of participation that are enabling citizens in the South to produce and access critical information for the lives and livelihoods in settings where formal development actors have failed to do so.

This collaborative research project provides a basis for critically evaluating these claims through a detailed case study of the Map Kibera project, a citizen mapping and media project, in Kibera, Nairobi and a examination of similar initiatives in Haiti, Peru and Georgia.

The research, which was supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), examines whether and how open ICT projects designed to support the poor can make a difference in their lives and livelihoods. In the context of the study the benefits of these initiatives are understood in connection with the actors and partnerships that drive their development, their governance arrangements, the provisions and capacities of community stakeholders for meaningful participation and for translating information into action.

The study also sought to facilitate learning between technologists involved in the design and implementation of these initiatives, researchers and development practitioners. This was based on recognition that this latest wave of innovations offers great opportunities for the development of practices that are informed by an in-depth understanding of technology, insights from participatory approaches to development and scholarly work on citizen action and mobilisation."

Title: Living Proof: The Essential Data-Collection Guide for Indigenous Use-and-Occupancy Map Surveys
Author: Terry Tobias
Pages: 486 pp.
Publisher: Ecotrust Canada and Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC)
Date (published): January 2010
Date (accessed): 03/00005/2010
Type of information:
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
In land claims and resource development negotiations, Indigenous people increasingly bear the burden to prove their connection to the land. Living Proof is a methodology for Indigenous communities to assemble their resources to produce high quality use-and-occupancy maps that will stand up in court and be accepted by business.
“First Nations people are still being denied access to realizing the wealth and full utility of their traditional lands, so it is vitally important to record the knowledge of those who have been out asserting their Aboriginal Rights on the ground,” says Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of UBCIC. “Living Proof is extremely valuable in helping us record knowledge in a way that can be used not only for its own sake, but also for negotiation concerning the recognition and reconciliation of our Indigenous land rights.”
Living Proof is based on the research and knowledge of over 100 practitioners and communities in Canada, Alaska and Australia. They provided project advice, case studies and maps, making the guide not only solidly grounded, but also accessible and easy to use.

Chapter 1 Using Your Maps - Tsleil-Waututh Case Study
Chapter 2 Jumping In - Use-and-Occupancy Mapping
Chapter 3 Understanding the Basics - Map-Biography Method
Chapter 4 Looking at Maps - Sample Map Biographies
Chapter 5 Charting a Steady Course - Research Principles
Chapter 6 Rules of the Game - Understanding Data Quality
Chapter 7 Getting Started - Advice for Early Decisions
Chapter 8 Keeping Research on Track - Project Management
Chapter 9 Designing the Research - Map-Survey Parameters
Chapter 10 Clarity of Communication - The Questionnaire
Chapter 11 Things You'll Need - The Map Toolkit
Chapter 12 Recording Spatial Data - Marking Features on Maps
Chapter 13 Documenting the Process - The Research Record
Chapter 14 A Structure for Success - The Interview Procedure
Chapter 15 The Interviewer's Bible - The Data-Collection Manual
Chapter 16 A Necessary Roadtest - Interviewer Training + Pretest
Chapter 17 Holding it Together - The Interview Relationship
Chapter 18 Getting Community Approval - Verification of Map Data
Chapter 19 A Tricky Business - Place-Name Mapping
Chapter 20 Good Methodology Travels - Australian Case Study
Appendix 1 - Benchmarking Best Practices
Appendix 2 - Tasks of a Use-and-Occupancy Map Survey
Appendix 3 - Conventional Coding Systems
Appendix 4 - Avoiding Large-Polygon Problems
Appendix 5 - Community Meetings to Define Survey Parameters
Appendix 6 - Map-Toolkit Supplies
Appendix 7 - Adding Value to Base Maps
More Voices: Practitioner Quotes
Glossary
References: Recommended Reading
Sources: Maps and Photography
With Thanks
Index

via http://www.comminit.com/en/node/314346/307

See also:
Mapping a vision for their lands
The Globe and Mail, April 04, 2010