Mapping for Change

Mapping for Change is a not-for-profit SME part-owned by University College London and strongly linked to the ExCiteS research group. MfC was established in 2008, built on over 60 years’ combined experience of its founders. Our work incorporates citizen science, civic participation, participatory mapping and RRI to address social and environmental justice, and sustainable development. Our peer-reviewed methodological approach adopts the inclusion and development principles: nothing about us without us; nobody gets left behind, and every voice counts. We have designed and developed tools, technologies and methodologies that are transformative in their application within communities. These have allowed us to deliver successful ‘EXTREME’ CITIZEN SCIENCE and MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE projects at various scales across the UK, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.

We have used PARTICIPATORY SENSING, PERCEPTION MAPPING, MONITORING and MODELLING, ANALYSIS and VISUALISATION to support DECISION-MAKING, POLICY and action at a local and international scale.

Recent project examples include:

D-NOSES - a H2020 project to empower communities blighted by odour pollution to drive change using an innovative citizen science approach and an adaptation of the MfC engagement model, where we successfully changed municipal environmental monitoring policies, co-developed and built the Interntiaional Odour Observatory
WeGovNow, a H2020 RI project focusing on civic participation in local government using emerging technologies for effectively supporting co-production by civic society and collective proposition development. The EC’s Innovation Radar analysis identified MfC as one of the key innovators in developing the technical solution that addresses existing market needs in this domain
CAP4Access, a FP7 CAPS research project that sought to make cities more accessible for people with limited physical mobility by challenging social attitudes, raising awareness and delivering assistive mobile applications.
Since 2010 MfC has supported and run over 50 community-based air quality research programmes using citizen science, directly engaging more than 2,000 people in the UK, Barcelona, Katowice and Kampala, reaching many more indirectly. We have distributed over 5000 monitoring kits to measure, map and increase awareness of air pollution through initiatives like Science in the City, Science for My Health and Planting Healthy Air.

The impact of this work can be seen in public engagement and awareness; an improved sense of citizenship and local action, and changes to policy. At the policy level, we have contributed to national air quality regulations in Uganda, changed practices of public transport providers and supported local authorities in London, and have been noted in UK policy documents and the media.