Mapeo Support Materials
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  • Introduction
  • Overview
    • About Mapeo
      • Mapeo tools
      • Peer-to-peer & Mapeo sync
      • How Mapeo is being used
    • Is Mapeo right for me?
    • FAQs
  • Quick start guide
    • Getting started
    • Mapeo Mobile
    • Mapeo Desktop
  • Complete Reference guide
    • Welcome – Introduction
    • 🗒️Essentials for a successful Mapeo project
      • Planning a Mapeo project
        • What is the project goal?
        • What outputs do you want?
        • What information to collect?
          • Data types within Mapeo
        • Who should be involved and how?
        • What are the parameters?
      • Security & risk assessment
      • Creating user protocols
    • ✔️Will Mapeo work out-of-the-box for me?
      • Default configuration
      • Default background map
    • ⚙️Customization options
      • Translating Mapeo & default configurations
      • Custom configurations
        • Creating custom configurations
          • Planning configuration & data structure
            • Categories
            • Icons
            • Details fields
          • Coding configuration
            • Adding icon files
              • Creating and exporting SVG files using Adobe Illustrator
              • Creating and exporting SVG files using Inkscape
            • Creating details fields
            • Creating categories
            • Defining geometry defaults
            • Adding a project key
            • Adding project name and version
            • Building configuration file
              • Via the command line
              • Using GitHub Actions
          • Testing and iterating
      • Custom background maps
        • Creating custom background maps
          • Generating map files in .mbtiles format for the experimental Background Maps feature
    • 📱Mapeo Mobile installation & setup
      • Installing Mapeo Mobile
      • Choosing Mapeo Mobile settings
      • Experiments: Turning on experimental features
        • Directional Arrow
        • P2P (peer-to-peer) App Updates
        • Background Maps
        • Security
          • App Passcode
          • Obscure Passcode
      • Importing configurations into Mapeo Mobile
      • Adding custom background maps to Mapeo Mobile
      • Updating Mapeo Mobile
    • 📱Mapeo Mobile use
      • Activating GPS and viewing current location
      • Creating observations
      • Viewing observations
      • Editing and deleting observations
      • Sharing data externally
      • Syncing data via Wi-Fi
    • 💻Mapeo Desktop installation & setup
      • Installing Mapeo Desktop
      • Choosing Mapeo Desktop language
      • Importing configurations to Mapeo Desktop
      • Adding custom background maps to Mapeo Desktop
      • Updating Mapeo Desktop
    • 💻Mapeo Desktop use
      • Mapeo Desktop for managing Mapeo Mobile data (Observations mode)
        • Synchronizing data
          • Synchronizing via Wi-Fi
          • Synchronizing with a file
        • Viewing observations
        • Editing and deleting observations
        • Exporting data & sharing externally
      • Mapeo Desktop for creating territory data (Territory mode)
        • Navigating around the map
        • Creating and editing territory data
        • Changing background maps in Territory mode
        • Importing and using external geospatial data
        • Exporting and syncing data
      • Synchronizing data with Mapeo Desktop
    • 💡Mapeo trainings
      • Defining goals and format
      • Structuring a training
        • Best practices for planning a training
        • Structuring the agenda, content and activities
          • Suggestions for the different sections of a training event
          • Tips and suggested activities for training key features of Mapeo
          • Materials and resources available for the training event
      • Preparing equipment and supplies for a training
        • Recommended equipment and supplies
        • Tech preparation before doing in-person training
    • 🔧Troubleshooting
      • I can't start Mapeo
      • Mapeo closes automatically
      • I have problems with the GPS in Mapeo
        • GPS is not activated in Mapeo
        • My GPS signal is very weak
      • I have problems with the camera in Mapeo
        • I get a black screen when using the camera
      • I want to update Mapeo Mobile permissions
      • I have sync issues
        • I want to connect to Wi-Fi
        • I want to create local Wi-Fi networks
          • With a portable router
          • With a smartphone
        • The device I want to sync with does not show up on my Synchronize screen
        • I get an error when I try to sync with another device
        • I can't sync with the sync file
        • The person I want to sync with has deleted valuable data
      • Sharing files between devices
      • Saving and printing Mapeo reference materials
      • How do I back up Mapeo Desktop data?
    • Glossary & quick reference sheets
      • Glossary of Mapeo related terms
      • Overview of Mapeo Desktop Territory mode screen
  • For developers
    • Mapeo architecture overview
    • Mapeo repositories
    • Localization
  • Support
  • Additional references
  • Digital Democracy website
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  1. Complete Reference guide
  2. Essentials for a successful Mapeo project

Planning a Mapeo project

PreviousEssentials for a successful Mapeo projectNextWhat is the project goal?

Last updated 3 years ago

You may be keen to jump in and get started with data collection, however spending a bit of time upfront thinking through how the project will run, the methodology, team set-up, logistics of gathering data, and how the data collected or created with Mapeo will be used can save you a lot of time and avoid problems and issues later on.

This guide does not aim to give you a blueprint of how to run your project. There are so many different uses of Mapeo, some of these we (Digital Democracy) can imagine, some of them we can't, and each one has its own particular needs, priorities and local contexts. What works in one place might need to be set up very differently for another place, even if the desired outcome is very similar. And likewise what works somewhere at one time, might have to be adjusted for another time as local situations, politics, etc. change.

Hopefully spending time thinking through the questions below will enable you to create a process tailored to your needs and project, and give it the best possible chance of success.

We are going to run through the following questions:

  • What is the aim of your mapping, monitoring or data collection, what is your goal or desired end product or result?

  • If you already know that you want to build an interactive story map, or produce a quantitative report or file a legal case, this can help shape your project design.

  • What project structure will best meet your aims, who should be involved, what roles do you need, who is making decisions and who are you accountable to?

  • This refers to your geographical context, infrastructure, accessibility to areas, budgets and equipment availability, time constraints, security risks, etc.

  • We think Mapeo is great :) but we know that it has limits and it isn't the right tool for every job. We want to make sure that if you choose Mapeo you understand what it excels at doing and also its weaknesses, to make sure you are set up in the best possible way for success in your project.

Provisos

Mapeo was co-developed with community land defenders in the Amazon. We have tested, piloted and received feedback on it from people around the world using it for a variety of purposes, and we hope it can serve a wide range of needs. However it is built with the needs of land and rights defenders at its heart, and therefore this guide, and many of the materials produced for Mapeo are also built with these needs at the forefront.

In part because of its design process, and the partners with whom Digital Democracy has worked, we often refer to community and collaborative processes. Mapeo can definitely also be used by individuals, and a variety of different teams, but many of our partners are using it in local, frontline community contexts, and so the language of this guide centers them. We also understand that communities are not homogenous and mean different things in different places, and hope that you can read between the lines where necessary to extract the useful parts of this guide for whatever it means to you.

This guide draws on work from our team over the last two decades in indigenous and community land rights and defense. However indigenous and marginalized communities have been defending their land for centuries. There are many projects and initiatives from which the development of Mapeo and the methodologies suggested here have been guided, received inspiration and learned. This reference guide does not aim to provide an exhaustive list of such projects, but at the end of the guide there is a Reference Section which highlights some materials from other sources and initiatives which may be of help to you in planning your project.

All the examples included in the guide are just that, examples. We hope they are helpful and provide some context and illustration to the processes described, but are not intended to be taken and copied as 'out of the box' methodologies. As we hope this planning section will describe, context is everything, and methodology should be carefully considered and adapted to best fit the needs of the project and particular community context.

🗒️
Why collect information?
What outputs do you want?
What information do you need to collect in order to meet this aim?
Who should be involved?
What are the parameters or limiting factors you are working with?
Is Mapeo the right tool for you?