Sensemaking
The current focus of our mapping is sensemaking.
Rather than, for example, catalysing connections in the field. (This can come later through complementary activities.)
The current intention of this phase of ecosystem mapping is to: provide more/better ways to understand this ecosystem and its relation to broader social change ecosystem.
This work could take many forms e.g.
- Visualizations
- Written analysis
- Collecting novel data e.g. text collection to do topic analysis or concept clustering
To this end, the principles of our current approach are as outlined below.
Principles of our mapping approach
- Wiki over database
- Getting a grasp of an organization is the priority over categorization (that can come later), i.e. focus on capturing and distilling key info over filling in pre-determined fields.
- Use links for categorization if you want (à la Wikipedia)
- Focus on quality of profiles in terms of summary and drawing out the things interesting to us…
- e.g. their philosophy/theory of change
- e.g. what they actually do
- e.g. "impact" or potential impact - whether they are "getting stuff done" and doing so in sustainable way (?)
The next step will then be to engage in reflection and discussion to clarify key themes and questions and contribute to sensemaking
- e.g. what tribes are emerging
- what other features do we care about? …
Meta-goal: share early and often
We will share our work early and often. We want to attract attention, stimulate conversation, and encourage feedback and engagement – all this is part of collective sensemaking.
What is a map?
- A broad visual of the landscape of what you're focusing on, and the ability to navigate around it, e.g. https://twitter.com/exgenesis/status/1562059107233894402/photo/1
- A map may consist of:
- Nodes, e.g. ideas, projects, communities, or goals
- Proximity of mapped elements/nodes
See related-efforts for examples of related mapping efforts.
Our work
Reports
- 2020: "State of Sensemaking" Ecosystem Summary report: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryeEOcmxaMzlZRZ-ZFXNMp6VUoML4IofETkEYwdkQBo/edit#heading=h.ttxb831vocov
"Literature Review" – in progress
Visualization brainstorms
- Nov 2023: https://app.excalidraw.com/l/9u8crB2ZmUo/At9xepR5sQS
- 8 Dec 2023: https://link.excalidraw.com/l/9u8crB2ZmUo/9aEPCn1DhfJ
- Next steps: Focus on sketching a few maps of more narrow scope, instead of trying to put everything on one big map. See https://github.com/life-itself/ecosystem/issues/213.
Current Questions
How do we identify "centers" of the field/"tribes"?
- Data-driven; gut instinct; or ask people in some way (or combination)
- What is a "center"? E.g.
- A community: a group of people that gather in some way whether in person or online, and who are united by some shared values and interests
- …
What are the "nodes" in the map?
E.g.:
- Thinkers
- Hubs
- Communities
- Projects
- Organizations
- Concepts
What supports sensemaking…?
Of an organization or project?
- Quick sense: what are they trying to do and how are they doing it?
- Cf "What information do we try to capture about orgs in the second renaissance wiki?", https://github.com/orgs/life-itself/discussions/950
Of an emerging field?
- Identifying "centers", or communities, within a field may serve as scaffolding to support sensemaking of the broader landscape
What do we mean by 'sensemaking'?
Sensemaking is broad. Can we define our focus/intention further?
Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments, we will be glad to hear them. We welcome you to get in touch.