ifPeople presents GIS work at leading Open Source mapping conference

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The Open Source mapping and geospatial technology community will converge on Minneapolis next month for one of the largest conferences of its kind. The conference brings together experts using GIS and mapping in civil society organizations, academia, business, and government in a learning and collaborative environment. It also serves as the user conference of the most successful Open Source GIS software, used by ifPeople in its projects. This year, ifPeople will present how it has leveraged Open Source Internet mapping to reposition a non-profit organization and improve service deliverly.

Open Source Geospatial '05 Conference to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota is a combined meeting of the Open Source MapServer users, the Geospatial conference, and EOGEO (technology for civil society). The conference offers exciting content and features spatial technologies used for desktops and Internet applications. Given the focus on Open Source technologies, there are many international projects and projects with social missions. Among those projects being presented this year is ifPeople's work with Highland Valley Elder Services to create a “Caring Community”. Join ifPeople's Christopher Johnson on June 17, 1-3pm (Presentation Session 6), where he will present the case study “Evolution of the role of civil society organizations in building community: The “Caring Community” and Internet-based GIS” (see overview below).

Presentation Overview

Facing the organizational changes brought about by state and federal funding cuts over years, the Caring Community was a practical response to the need to be more efficient as well as an organizational innovation.  According to Gallant, “Our best recipes are those that empower elders to discover their own strengths, their own talents and their own solutions.”  Since 80 percent of elder care is provided informally through family, friends, and neighbors, Highland Valley Elder Services decided that’s where the resource should go.

Highland Valley's director, Robert Gallant, has promoted a vision of how service organizations could be more effective by focusing on enabling their constituents through the use of technology since before the creation of the Internet. Today, with the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for mapping and the convenience of the Internet, that vision is a reality. The central idea Robert has promoted is that organizations should not be a centralizing bottleneck in delivering service or information to the community, but instead should provide tools so that “people take charge”.  This model is built on principles that 1) All care is local, 2) The best care is that which flows from what people want, and 3) Citizen input to programming is critical.

In the field of elder care, 80% of service is provided by friends, family, and other “informal” providers. But the information available about providers reflects almost exclusively formal providers, overlooking the most important resources for elder care.  The “Caring Community” was created in order to improve the service available to elders. The Caring Community is a citizen-directed comprehensive and coordinated local service delivery system that leverages an interactive Internet-based map built with Open Source GIS tools. The system allows citizens to register as part of the Caring Community and submit their needs or offers for others to find via the interactive map. A search interface allows people to search by area or type of service and to discover detailed information about what is available near them.

The Caring Community mapping system allows for building social capital by helping people connect for the services they need.  By increasing the information available about the community and the “local heroes” active there it makes more services available to the elder population. The system is also addressing the needs of older people whose service plans are being cut for lack of state and federal funding, who are now being encouraged to put themselves on the Caring Community map and shop for replacement services via the Web site.

About Highland Valley: Highland Valley Elder Services, Inc. is a private not-for-profit AAA (Federal) and the Aging Service Access Point (State) for 24 towns in western Massachusetts.  The catchment area covers 500 square miles of rural, suburban, and urban communities. 

About ifPeople: ifPeople delivers world-class solutions to responsible enterprises that enable them to manage business processes, foster effective teamwork, and improve efficiency and productivity. ifPeople creates and implements appropriate information technology solutions and our consulting services provide support in collaboration, marketing, and sustainability strategy. The company is a recognized leader and innovator in the fields of sustainability, social responsibility, and information technology. ifPeople is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and also has an office in Argentina. http://www.ifpeople.net

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