Map making 2: Outputs (and connecting elements)
Once you have added some or all of the project’s activities, you can add the outputs of each of those activities. Each output will be a new element on your map.
Output = an immediate product of the activity.
To identify the outputs, work through each of your activities and ask yourself:
What happens as a result of this activity?
What are the outputs of this activity?
What happens next?
Some examples of outputs of permaculture project activities are:
- Farmers know about permaculture ideas and techniques
- Demonstration site is established
- Club members know how to make compost
- Women can read and write
- Women are more knowledgable about their health and remedies
- Lead farmers know about watering harvesting
- Group starts a vegetable garden
- The villagers have clean drinking water.
Activity: Add to your map all the outputs of your project or organisation’s activities. Do this by adding new elements to your map and labelling them, just as you did with your activities. Position each output slightly to the right of the related activity.
Connecting activities to outputs
Now you can connect the activities to the outputs. This short video shows how to do this. There is also a text description below.
How to connect two elements
To connect two elements on your map, start by selecting the element you wish to connect from (activity). It will be highlighted with a red edge when selected. Next click the green ‘+’ button at bottom centre of your Kumu screen. From the menu that appears, select the option to ‘Add connection’. In the small text box that appears at the bottom of your screen, type the name of the element you wish to connect to (output), and press the ‘Enter’ key on your keyboard. Ensure that you start by selecting your ‘from’ element and then type the name of your ‘to’ element, so that your arrow will appear in the correct direction, which suggests that the activity leads to the output (rather than the other way around).
Alternatively you can use keyboard shortcuts by selecting the element to start from and then pressing ‘c’ on your keyboard, then typing the name of the element to connect to and pressing the ‘Enter’ key on your keyboard.
Tip: Start making the connection from the left-most element (activity) and connect that to the right-most element (output) and the direction of the arrow should automatically flow left to right.
A web of connections
One activity on your map can connect to as many outputs as apply, and similarly multiple activities can contribute to one output. The same will go for outcomes and impacts when you add those. This might be because an individual elements is necesasry but not sufficient alone to produce an outcome. We can also see a link to the permaculture design principles of ‘Each element performs many function’ and ‘Each important function is supported by many elements.’ It makes for a more complicated and busy map but if it’s the reality for the project, you must map the multiple connections.
Activity: You should actively look for and make multiple connections within your map throughout the mapping process.