Don Tobias
Community and Rural Development Institute
Cornell University
183 MVR Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-1949, (607) 255-4011 fax

Tim Cullenen
Community and Rural Development Institute
Cornell University
43 Warren Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-9510

Concept mapping as a tool for collaborative community planning has been available for the last 15 years. Concept mapping is a methodology that allows for collecting and prioritizing discrete ideas generated by small or large groups. It is a way to address the age-old question of “not seeing the forest for the trees”. How do we collect information from groups and aggregate it in a respectful way without losing the insights of subgroups? Traditional qualitative approaches have been slow, expensive and criticized for weak research rigor. New advances in technology allow us to bring together groups more effectively and efficiently without the typical concerns.

This workshop will feature a range of approaches and tools for constructing concept maps. These tools build from simple logic models and search conference practices to the most sophisticated Web-based approaches. Using new software we have been able to link traditional process skills in participatory planning with high-level cluster analysis and regression methodology to produce visual representations of group efforts. These representations can be the basis for planning, policy development and evaluation efforts. We are now able to produce maps in a matter of hours for very diverse populations at different sites or times. This presentation will feature several examples and the lessons learned from applying this technology. Participants in this workshop will develop a better understanding of concept mapping practices, issues associated with managing mapping projects and how to access resources for funding mapping projects.

PowerPoint Presentation (PDF format, 576 kb)