"CMaP in the News"

Institute for Technology Development to Launch "CMaP" - the Next Generation of the Community Mapping Program

April 8, 2005

STENNIS SPACE CENTER , MS - The Institute for Technology Development (ITD) is pleased to announce that it is taking over The Orton Family Foundation's Community Mapping Program , now called "CMaP," an educational program where kids use GIS and mapping technologies to help address real issues facing their communities. ITD will apply its extensive technology and product development and commercialization expertise to reconfigure and energize the Community Mapping Program's national expansion efforts, ultimately making CMaP accessible to more youth and communities across the country.

CMaP's newly released logo and vision statement, "We motivate communities and young minds through mapping," will reach community radar screens near and far as ITD takes the program to the next level. ITD had been working with The Orton Family Foundation for two years to develop a remote-sensing hybrid of the Community Mapping Program called Earth Visions and couldn't pass up the opportunity to go after both the original program, as well as its long-time manager, Connie Knapp , who also just joined ITD. Dr. George May , ITD's President and CEO, reflected, "This program is exactly what ITD needs to propel us more firmly into the business of educating young people. We want to share our knowledge and practical experiences with them and help them understand how mapping technologies, like GIS and remote sensing, are used in everyday life and by a growing number of professionals. We also want to help them gain the skills to become those professionals."

Classrooms, as well as after-school programs like 4-H, are integrating Community Mapping projects into curricula and community-service initiatives because the model works effectively in both the formal and informal educational settings. The Orton Family Foundation's six-year legacy of program development will allow ITD staff and partners to build on a solid foundation of principles, materials and the experiences of many participants. ITD's CMaP Director, Knapp, authored Making Community Connections (ESRI 2003) on behalf of The Orton Family Foundation to document how the Community Mapping Program model works. She said, "The program is ready to be tightened up and packaged for a broader dissemination and ITD has both the technical and business expertise that will allow us to do that. We'll soon be able to engage youth in isolated communities and provide them with the support and resources they need to carry out projects that are essential to their communities and to their own growth and education."

Knapp, based in Colorado , and May (MS) will work closely with ITD staff members and others to assimilate the necessary partners and financial and technical resources to support a broad range of needs and opportunities nationwide. "We want all communities to experience the benefits of CMaP - it's a win-win opportunity," says May. "The kids catch on so easily and just need our direction and support."

CMaP's mission is, "Bringing youth and communities together to address local issues through mapping technologies where youth are inspired to learn and communities benefit." For more information about CMaP, contact Connie Knapp at cknapp@iftd.org. More information about the Institute for Technology Development can be found on their web site at www.iftd.org .

More information about the Institute for Technology Development can be found on their web site at www.iftd.org or The Orton Family Foundation at www.orton.org .