Participatory Mapping Toolkit: A Guide for Refugee Contexts

"This  toolkit  serves  as  a  practical  how-to  guide  for  participatory  mapping  in  refugee  contexts." 

From Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, this manual is designed to provide organisations with the necessary tools and processes for responding to refugee situations by leveraging open and free map data for humanitarian assistance. Following a literature review to evaluate available resources, the team wrote this basic "how-to" manual "so that anyone can pick it up and begin to map for humanitarian purposes."

Self-contained tools are available so that users can decide which meet their goals and quickly develop the exact skills they need:

• Section one introduces what participatory mapping is and how these methods can be a means of mainstreaming protection into operations. It explains participatory mapping, covers open mapping and openstreet map (OSM), discusses validation and accessing and using data, and recommends adopting codes of conduct and operational procedures for the ethical and principled use of information, especially personal data and links to the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action.

• Section two identifies important contextual factors including: Political Climate; Crisis-type; Technology; Literacy; and Accessibility that affect organisational response. In addition, it covers how to enter a community, how to work with partners, safety and security, and ensuring impact of data usage.

• Section three contains a series of tools and processes that span the lifecycle of mapping. Topics include:
• remote mapping - digitisation and editing
• field mapping - data collection
• quality assurance - data cleaning
• map creation - data use and analysis.

These tools draw on best practices for refugee protection and alternatives to camps, practices incorporated from the United States State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

For  more  complex  steps  and  examples  of  the  tools  and  processes  presented,  the manual's creators recommend  exploring the HOT Toolbox Wiki on Github.