by Wai-Ming Lee, Esri and MapAction

1. Paper maps to infographic
products?
The changing face of maps during a
humanitarian deployment
Wai-Ming Lee
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3. Who is MapAction?
• Getting help to where it is needed most
• UK based charity founded in 1999
• First operational deployment 2003
• 45 deployable volunteers
• 20 operational support team
• 7 board of trustees
• 5 full-time (equiv) employees
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4. Me
• Work for Esri UK – 10 years
• Manager of Online Operations
• Hunting Technical Services – 6 years
• Volunteer for MapAction – 6 years
• Star sign:Virgo, Chinese zodiac: Ox
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5. Deployments
• Madagascar - Flooding, 2012
• Comoros - Flooding, 2012
• Brazzaville – Explosion, 2012
• Sahel – Food insecurity, 2012
• Japan – Tsunami & Nuclear, 2011
• Libya – Humanitarian, 2011
• Pakistan – Floods, 2010
• Haiti – Earthquake, 2010
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6. ‘Aid in the wrong place is
no aid at all’
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8. What is the purpose of our
maps?
To represent and transform raw data to information
within a spatial context in order to assist in more
informed decision making.
To make sense of the ‘facts on the ground’
To enable information exchange.
It is a tool to help meetings
along!
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9. Coordination meetings
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11. The first maps
• ‘Traditional’ - paper
• Used software to create (ArcGIS 8.0)
• Limited audience
• Support and display purposes
• Novelty
• Limited base data
• Not much in-field data collection
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14. Every MapAction map has..
• A grid system
• A scale
• A compass rose
• A title
• A legend
• Scale indicator
• Data source credits (very important!)
• Locator map (overview)
• ‘Pleasing colours’
…leads to a better map?
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16. What are the MapAction maps used
for?
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17. Where are the worst effects of
Risk assessment
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18. Who What Where?
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Where are the responders?

19. Situation overview
What changes have happened to
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the earth’s surface?

20. What changes have happened to the
Damage assessment
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earth’s surface?

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Logistics & Transportation

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Prediction Inundated areas using a DTM backdrop

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30. Issues faced by MapAction
• Time constraint
• Poor meta-data for source information
• No ground truth possible
• Non-spatial data (tables etc)
• Different digital file formats
• Non-interoperability
• Technology/electricity dependent
• Unknown projections/coordinates of data
• Non-sharing of vital data / information
• Clients not knowing what they want
• Maps are powerful and they can present ‘white lies’
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31. It must be true as it is on the map!
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34. Our maps are changing….
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35. Where have people moved to?35Are
IDPs and refugees
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they safe there?

36. How big was the explosion? Where’s
Situation and distribution
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UXO? Sector for searching?

37. Views of the Port of Misrata, Libya.
Viewpoints and overview Depth and length and LOS.
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38. Planned field camp placement after
Situation and distribution foot recce.

39. Our maps, they’re changing…..
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40. Multi uses:
Is it for PLANNING, ADVOCACY or
ANALYSIS?
Different audiences now.
United Nations OCHA Advocacy and Visual Media (AVMU) unit
Style Guide.
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41. Representing Data
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45. Our maps, they’re changing…..
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46. MapAction Maps - Reloaded
• Web Services
• Interactive Please!
• Self-service
• Smart Phones and tablets
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47. An interactive map
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48. Other examples
• http://www.esri.com/services/disaster-
response/severe-weather/latest-news-
map.html
• http://asademo.esri.com/flexviewer1_3/
• http://www.esri.com/services/disaster-
response/earthquakes/latest-news-map.html
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49. My thoughts?
Q&A
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50. Thank you!
minglee@mapaction.org
wai_ming_lee @twitter
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