EMPOWERMENT MAP
What is the Empowerment Map?
The Empowerment Map is an exciting new tool designed to enable Londoners to identify community empowerment activities in the capital. These activities provide people with opportunities to have a say and influence decisions that affect their lives.
The Empowerment Map is one way in which the London Empowerment Partnership (LEP) and the London Civic Forum aim to improve the quality, coordination and evidence of community empowerment in London. By visually illustrating the range of empowerment mechanisms, activities and initiatives already occurring across the region, the LEP hopes to provide users with almost instant access to a range of opportunities for involvement in decision-making processes in his or her community.
The LEP is equally committed to providing support and guidance to practitioners on how to implement community empowerment best practice and promote participation and engagement in their own organisations or statutory agencies. The Empowerment Map will enable practitioners to:
- learn about and share examples of best practice with other practitioners and service providers in London
- promote and publicise their own work by uploading activities to the map
- identify the mechanisms being utilised to improve public engagement and empowerment
- hear direct feedback from service users or participants on their experiences of participating in their own or other activities
How do I use the Empowerment Map?
The map is available to everyone; you do not have to be a member of London Civic Forum to use it. To begin your search, simply click on the London borough of your choice on the empowerment map on the home page. You will then be taken to that borough’s home page, where you can:
- narrow or expand your search using the filtering tools provided. The filtering options allow users to narrow their search to show only activities meeting certain criteria are shown on the map. For example, you can search for activities open only to young people.
- learn more information about your selected activity. By clicking on the marker for each activity on the map, you will be shown additional information with a description of the activity, where and when it takes place, what the aim of the activity is and any relevant contact information.
- locate any activity on the map. Each activity will be identified by a blue marker on the google map. You can easily zoom in or out of the map to find the exact location of where the activity takes place.
- provide feedback about any activities you have participated in by taking part in the activity’s discussion group. Each activity has its own discussion forum enabled to allow participants to share their thoughts and experiences about the activity.
How do I upload activities to the Empowerment Map?
London Civic Forum strongly encourages service providers and practitioners to upload details of their own empowerment activities to the map. While users do not have to be registered members of London Civic Forum to view or upload activities on this map, we do ask that you provide us with key information about the activity you wish to see added to the map. This information is mandatory and helps us to ensure that users are provided as much information about each activity as possible.
To begin uploading activity to the empowerment map, simply click on the ‘Upload Activity’ button to the right of this page. ‘Upload activity’ buttons can also be found on the bottom left corner of the map, or on any of the individual borough pages.
For additional guidance on how to upload your activity to the empowerment map, please click here or download the ‘Uploading Activities to the Empowerment Map’ guidance below.
How do I view current community development training & learning opportunities on the empowerment map?
London Civic Forum and the LEP actively recognises the importance of community development activity in promoting and encouraging community empowerment in London. Thus, we have included community development training and learning opportunities as community empowerment activities on the empowerment map.
Training and learning opportunities are shown in the same place as empowerment activities. While empowerment activities are identified by blue markers, community development training and learning is indicated by dark gray markers. To view only community development training and learning opportunities on the map, simply select ‘community development training and learning’ from the filter options on the Borough homepage.
Users can upload information about community development learning and training opportunities in the same way as described above for empowerment activities- simply click on the ‘Upload Activity’ button and select ‘community development training and learning’ from the two options given. We do ask that you provide us with key information about any activity you wish to see added to the map. This information is mandatory and helps us to ensure that users are provided as much information about each activity as possible. Additional guidance on how to upload community development training opportunities to the empowerment map, please click here or download the ‘Uploading Community Development Training & Learning Opportunities to the Empowerment Map’ guidance below.
