As we move into the final 7 weeks of feature development for the Mapsimise platform release, I’ve had the opportunity to sit down this week and take a look at lots of different business models and business types that might benefit from using or having access to a mapping tool. Last week I looked at “Crime Data”, but this week I’m taking a look at how public and private “Not-for-profit” organisations can benefit from great technology. Let’s start off by defining “Not-for-profit”.
It is fair to assume that “Not-for-profit” describes a type of organisation that does not earn profits for its owners. All or any money earned by or donated to a Not-for-profit organisation is used in pursuing the organisation's objectives and keeping it running. This can be defined in several ways and you can read more here:
Typically, Not-for-profit organisations are tax-exempt and have “charity status” and as such, they are not required to pay most taxes. You can find out more by clicking on the following link. Although on the flip side, making profit from public services is allowed but today we are mainly looking at the “Not-for-profit” sector. If interested, you can read the Open Public Services White Paper:
So first, let’s look at some of the activities of charities, what the definitions of some of those activities are and why geospatial tools and related data can help deliver services.
It is widely known that one of the outlined definitions for a charity activity is “the prevention or relief of poverty” so data and statistics by region or location are going to play a role in understanding where help is needed. If given areas are economically poor, struck by disaster or by the outcome of war, then data can be easily plotted on a map to give statistical data for a country or a region. Most data sets around poverty or economic growth are freely available, and with geospatial tools this type of data can be visually overlaid onto a map with tools like Mapsimise.
Another engaging area of charitable work is the pursuit of the advancement of education, again, using economic and education statistical data, a map can easily be created. One of my voluntary roles only a few years ago was the position of CEO from a preschool provision. As an organisation we had a long waiting list to place children of a preschool age. Imagine the scenario of mapping all available preschool centres nationally with updates on available places, using Mapsimise a public shared map could be created for parents to search by location. Another example might be the combination of connected data for primary or senior schools, that not only links and display a Geo catchment area for parents but delivers linked information of Ofsted reports by school. It is easy to see how you can bring data to life with geospatial tools.
The above two examples give a simple view of how geospatial ennoblement of data can give a precise and extended view using mapping tools.
Other charitable pursuits may include the preservation of property, or of sites. English Heritage would be an example and the map below shows relevant data and sites.
Geospatial technology can benefit nearly all industry types. If a “Not-for-profit” or a Charity, had data on supporters, donors and volunteers all this data could be mapped and visually represented. If such an organisation was involved with projects, the location of the projects could be easily mapped to give a global view of activity.
Think for a moment about the number of projects the Red Cross is involved with, having the ability to see all the data in one place connected with supports and volunteers along with supporting data for the location would help give real insight and help team execute given activities.
Geospatial tools become hugely beneficial when they can connect to data sources, one of the downside up to now is having to manipulate and upload data, but with tools like Mapsimise which has built in common data sources and the ability to upload both KML from common tools like Excel, businesses can now adopt such technology with a rapid return on a cost effective investment.
The possibilities are endless for presenting and working with data, and we will be providing more content on given topics over the weeks and months, but you can sign up for our early adopter programme here which guarantees 4 months free use.
About Mapsimise
Mapsimise is a geospatial software tool and platform, based on Google Maps technology which enables organisations of any type to visualise and map data via connectors or by upload to build an effective representation of their data.
Although GIS capability is not new, Mapsimise is, as the approach taken is to bring connected data and geospatial together offering minimal setup and configuration for end users.
Bio – Alistair Dickinson CEO Mapsimise
After 21 years helping organisations with technology, I’ve seen and worked on many projects. As CEO of Mapsimise I’m still very hands on working with all team members and not sat in an office making spreadsheets and crunching numbers. I’m happy to work on the support desk, take calls and discuss how our tools and technology can help businesses like yours. You can find me on Linkedin, Twitter or email me directly. I’m very jeans and t-shirts and still wear Nike Air trainers to the office which I’m told is cool…
