Revolutionizing Community Asset Mapping
About Impact Map
Impact Map empowers nonprofits to independently map and visualize community resources, enabling them to identify service gaps and improve accessibility.
About the Organization:
The Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab (SWR) is a government-supported initiative that aims to improve the well-being of children and youth in the Waterloo Region through innovative, community-driven solutions.
Problem:
Community organizations lacked a centralized, collaborative platform to visualize and share community assets, while existing GIS systems were expensive and required technical expertise. This created multiple challenges: duplicated efforts across organizations, inefficient resource allocation, difficulty identifying service gaps, and limited access for smaller nonprofits who couldn't afford sophisticated mapping tools. The situation particularly impacted smaller neighbourhoods where resources were already stretched thin.
My Approach:
Research & Discovery:
Organized 5 comprehensive feedback sessions with diverse stakeholder groups
Conducted user research with youth, community organizations, and rural municipalities
Identified key pain points in existing community asset mapping systems
Solution Design:
Led collaboration with an external contractor (GeoMate) as Product Owner
Designed an intuitive interface based on extensive user feedback
Implemented collaborative features for sharing and editing map layers
Created framework for future SWIRLIE chatbot integration
Stakeholder Management:
Facilitated cross-functional communication between technical team and community partners
Balanced diverse needs of multiple stakeholder groups
Ensured design decisions aligned with both technical capabilities and user needs
Implementation & Testing:
Coordinated prototype testing sessions with various user groups
Gathered and incorporated feedback through multiple iteration cycles
Developed comprehensive documentation for sustainable platform management
Results:
Designed an intuitive user interface based on extensive community feedback
Integrated organizational sharing capabilities, enhancing cross-team collaboration
Created a scalable platform supporting future SWIRLIE chatbot integration