Skills and Capacities Needed for the Project

Each component of the equity atlas project requires a specific set of skills and capacities. The project team should include organizations that can fulfill most of these roles. Additional partnerships or contracts with external consultants may be needed for any roles that project partners can’t fulfill.  

Project Component

Required Skills and Capacities

Project management

  • Experience managing complex projects with multiple moving parts
  • Research and policy analysis background
  • Proficiency with stakeholder engagement and facilitation

Stakeholder engagement

  • Relationships and credibility with a wide range of community stakeholders
  • Ability to conduct effective outreach
  • Strong communication and listening skills

Data research

  • Social science research skills including proficiency assessing data quality and analyzing margins of error and coefficients of variation
  • Familiarity with potential national and local data sources; ability to work directly with data sources to gather available secondary data
  • Record keeping and documentation skills

Data prep

  • Expertise with databases and spreadsheets
  • Familiarity with basic GIS functions
  • Understanding of data quality standards and ability to analyze margins of error

Data mapping

  • GIS expertise, including working with raster and vector data, preparing data to be mapped, and spatial data management
  • Cartographic skills, including geographic visualization, map design, symbology,and classification

Data maintenance

  • Project management and systems development skills
  • Expertise in data collection, analysis, and preparation
  • Record keeping and documentation skills

Mapping tool development

  • Computer programming expertise including proficiency in applicable scripting languages, software platforms, and programming principles
  • Understanding of GIS and ability to integrate GIS concepts into software design
  • User interface expertise

Interpretation and analysis of maps

  • Social science research skills and policy analysis background
  • Working knowledge of basic GIS concepts and fluency with reading maps
  • Ability to make complex information accessible to a general audience

Website development

  • Graphic design expertise
  • Programming proficiency including ability to build interactive web pages
  • Communications expertise

Outreach and education

  • Experience and credibility in engaging diverse audiences
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills
  • Ability to communicate with audiences with varying levels of technical expertise