Net-Map is an interview-based mapping tool that helps people understand, visualize, discuss, and improve situations in which many different actors influence outcomes. Eva Schiffer (PhD)
I am a social scientist and facilitator, working as independent consultant, helping groups and individuals to better understand the complex realities in which they work and make most of their influence networks. Before becoming independent, I worked for the International Food Policy Research Institute, mainly living in a small town in northern Ghana (Bolgatanga) where I developed Net-Map as an answer to concrete local governance problems. In my work I am driven by never-ending curiosity and a passion for people. This is why I enjoyed living and working in Africa so much, because every day would bring new challenges and learning experience.
Some basic biographical facts: I received my Master in Applied Cultural Sciences in Lueneburg, Germany in 2000, my PhD in Human Geography in Bochum, Germany in 2004. Besides my studies I attended and (later) conducted a number of trainings in facilitation, inter-cultural communication and system centered counseling. The most exciting part of my work at the moment is to develop new and varied ways to apply Net-Map to better understand and manage our complex reality. My main regional expertise lies in Africa, my home country is Germany and my current location is Washington DC (click for detailed CV: 73 KB)
If you are interested in Net-Map training (learning the method) online or face-to-face, in social network research, monitoring and evaluation or in network oriented facilitation of your meetings and group processes, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly: eva-schiffer@web.de.
Dear Eva Schiffer,
While reading your blog entry “German students analyse governance networks in Himalaya-Hindukusch-Pamir Region” I realized you were actually talking about me. I am one of the mentioned ASA scholarship holders and hope to go to Tibet soon to apply NetMap in the field (if Tibet will be accessible by the time). I’m very glad I found you on the net!
So did you get any feedback from our recent pre-tests in Berlin yet? Please feel free to ask me anything you’d like to know. I’m happy to help as well as I can. You can email me any time.
Sincerely,
Roman Röhrl
Dear Eva,
I am very much interested in applying social network analysis to help small entreprises become aware of the potential of collaborative work to further their development.
I found a reference to Net-Map last month and have been impressed by the structure and potential of the toolkit as a means to get people to discuss potentially difficult issues over an indisputable framework. I see a great opportunity to transpose it for use within a non-commercial forum that I am participating in, that is called (New Business Energy – La Nouvelle Energie du Business in French).
So my question is: to what extent would you authorize me to refer to your work and use the principles of the Net-Map toolkit for a networking seminar that we are organizing in July in France?
Many thanks in any case for this great piece of work.
Looking forward to your reply.
Kind Regards,
Patrice Chollet
I just visited your site and found the topic of net map very interesting and would like to know especially how it affects agricultural development . I am a Nigerian working in the Federal miniostry of Agriculture in my country. I want also to know where trainings are available on this subject.
Dear Adewale,
Net-Map can be helpful anywhere where a number of different actors with different interests and influence want to achieve common or diverging goals. To see how it was used in agricultural backgrounds, have a look at my posts about poultry and maize innovation systems, avian influenza (including Nigeria), the FADAMA project (that’s another Nigerian example) and look at the case studies about small reservoirs.
With regards to trainings, I offer both online and face-to-face trainings on request. I will, for example, be in West Africa in the second half of September this year and we could discuss options around that time. You can contact me directly at eva-schiffer@web.de for further discussion.
Dear Eva Schiffer,
Congratulate you for getting awards for developing the new toolkit ,Net-map.I t has been recognized that it is an effective tool for the planning and policy making in diverse situations.Please consider Bangladesh while planning to orient or provide training on this novel tool.
Best Regards,
Zainul
[...] the value of getting back to basics. Net-Map, a simple network analysis tool, was developed by Eva Schiffer while at the International Food Policy Research Institute to help farmers in rural Africa better [...]
[...] is a visualization and facilitation tool developed by Eva Schiffer that can be very useful for design processes for/with Community/Locality [...]