Community Idea Launchpad: SavMaps

Data on local social service programs and community resources can often be hard to locate – especially for those in need of aid and their case workers. While literally hundreds of different organizations offer community programs and public services in the Coastal Georgia region, the sheer number of program providers makes it hard to keep track of, much less keep that data updated in a single place for purposes of analysis and planning.

So, for our August Open Savannah brigade Community Launchpad (see "What is a Community Engagement Launchpad?" (https://medium.com/open-savannah/civic-engagement-not-civic-participation-69289b76750b)), we'll be partnering with Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition (http://coastalgaindicators.org/) to build an interactive mapping web app that allows users to locate the nearest resources to their current location, filter the map by types of resources, and even overlay Census Data to find possible trends in the geographic distribution of aid organizations. Following on the heels of SavBook.io (https://savbook.io/) –– a handy mobile web app we built in March in a single evening that will soon be featured on Chatham County's website –– our aim is to complete the entire project by the end of the evening. We'll also be using the data we entered for SavBook as a starting point to turn street addresses into latitude-longitude coordinates for plotting on the maps.

No special technology skills will be needed to participate. As long as you can enter data into a spreadsheet, you'll be able to contribute to the project in a meaningful and impactful way. We'll need a mix of designers, data people, GIS types, a couple of JavaScript developers, and plenty of creative problem-solvers, but, most importantly, we'll need community members with locality knowledge from across the area to make the project a success. All contributors will be credited for their work by having their names listed on the landing page for the web app.

As usual, we'll have Mellow Mushroom, sodas, beer and other snacks to keep us fueled throughout the evening. Please direct any special dietary needs you may have (other than vegetarianism) to yall@opensavannah.org as soon as possible.

Addendum: We're currently accepting applications of interest to serve as the Project Lead and/or Deputy Project Lead and/or Project Contributors for SavMaps. If interested in taking on a leadership role for this project, please fill out the quick form here. (https://vjqwgbmf.paperform.co)

*Note: This will be held in lieu of our regular biweekly Open Civic Hacknight previously scheduled for the same evening.