The Brief
To redesign Start Network’s online mapping tool which flags humanitarian crises in need of relief funding.
The Client
Start Network is a collective of 42 international aid organisations and NGOs, including Action Aid, Oxfam and Care International, who advocate radical change within the aid system. Through innovative approaches to crisis analysis, financing and collaborative problem solving, Start Network aims to more effectively tackle the humanitarian challenges of today.
The Start Network map allows aid organisations to quickly and effectively search for crisis funding alerts across the globe, so that funding is allocated efficiently and effectively.
Our Solution
Following research into Start Network’s objectives and a number of user interviews, we quickly decided to start again from scratch and design a new interface. This way we could construct and arrange the data searches to match users’ needs.
We then undertook an R&D sprint in which we studied hundreds of interactive maps, scanning for features that worked well and could be applied to Start Network searches. We realised that there was so much data contained in the map that it must be made configurable to the user, allowing them to choose the information relevant to their query.
Once all features were identified and organised, we created a clickable prototype and high fidelity designs before building the map itself.
The Tech
We worked with Agile Collective on this project, who specialise in Drupal, our client’s preferred CMS. The front end uses Mapbox to display the world map and loads the country shapes from Natural Earth Data.
The Impact
The new map allows network members and interested parties to customise their searches, efficiently collecting the data that serves their needs.
This work has helped Start Network to distribute emergency aid more efficiently and reduce human suffering. The network collaborates with the people affected by crises to create a humanitarian aid system that includes diverse voices and is driven by real need.
Going On
Outlandish works on many projects that aggregate data and plot it against geographical maps. Get in touch if you have a project in mind that you think Outlandish could help you with.
“The Start Network is committed to transparency and we are delighted to go further than simply publishing information with this fantastic mapping tool.
“This new tool helps members and others access that information quickly and customise it to find the information most useful to them. So, if you want to know how many responses for flooding there has been in one country, how much was awarded, and how many people were helped, you can now do that easily and quickly on our new map!”
Christos Papaioannou, Head of Start Funds
