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Collaboration between experts and stakeholders from science and practice for tackling real-world, context-sensitive societal challenges.more

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NetMap tool

Net-Map is an interview-based mapping tool that helps people understand, visualize, discuss, and improve situations in which many different actors influence outcomes.

Strength of the method:

  • Determining linkages, levels of influence, and goals allows users of the tool to be more strategic about how they act in complex situations (e.g. conflict over resources).
  • Visualisations and ‘game elements’ help to induce discussions and make it fun.

To be considered:

  • This method was developed in the context of community-based projects and is connected with intentions to do (policy) network analysis
  • You may opt for this tool when you want to focus on actors (whereas the constellation analysis also involves natural, elements, technical elements, and signs/symbols), and when the proposed community-based procedure of NetMap is more suitable than a positioning exercise with the core team of researchers (see actor constellation).
  • Please consider that at the time when the tool description was written, sensitivity due to debates on decolonialisation was at a different level than nowadays.

Read about the rationale of the brief factsheets (in comparison to method profiles of the td-net toolbox) here:

Goal:
  • Individuals and groups can identify actors, how they are linked, how influential they are and what their goals are.
  • Individuals and groups can clarify their own view of a situation, foster discussion, and develop a strategic approach to their networking activities.

Location in td process phases:

In the beginning of a td process to better understand the actors interacting in the research area, in ongoing td activities to clarify the linkages between and influence of different actors

Bridging thought styles:

The tool helps to induce discussions on different viewpoints between participants and on different ways of having and using power. By making viewpoints and power relations explicit, it makes them a topic for a group discussion. That way, it also fosters the sense of ownership of the network analysis amongst the group members.

Time required to implement the method:

Several days

Preparation required:

  • Decide who to interview (individually or in groups)
  • Prepare the interview guideline
  • Prepare the material to sketch the network
  • Decide when and with whom the sketches are discussed and validated (we encourage group discussions)

Expertise required:

Group facilitation skills

Convener & participants:

Convener: Facilitator/researcher

Participants: Stakeholders, researchers

For a detailed description of the method (online, open access), please visit:

Resource compilation in which it appears:

Provided by:

Eva Schiffer

Recommended by:

td-net
Language(s):EN / PT