We are a creative data visualization and mapping team. We help organizations use data to explain complex issues and make better decisions.
Development Seed began in the mountains of Peru, deploying open source communication portals for international development organizations working to rebuild after two decades of internal conflict. Our first partners were small grassroots organizations working to improve the economic infrastructure in the region and provide basic healthcare services.
We launched horn.wfp.org, visualizing the massive impact of the humanitarian crisis and highlighting critical operation locations in the Horn of Africa. The site makes it easier to understand and communicate the complex situation around the famine and encourages visitors to share the information and donate to relief efforts.
Working with Internews and NAI, we mapped hundreds of incidents of violence against journalists in Afghanistan. By viewing graphs and maps in the context of external data sources, visitors can quickly visualize aggregate trends over the past ten years.
In partnership with the Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative at the New America Foundation, we developed pakistansurvey.org, opening data from 1,000 face-to-face interviews across 120 villages in Pakistan's northwest Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The release of the data in October 2010 marked the first comprehensive public opinion survey done in the region.
Working with FAO's Africover project and the UN's Data Exchange Platform for the Horn of Africa (DEPHA), we opened up over 140,000 miles of road data in seven African nations on OpenStreetMap.
We partnered with the Federal Education Budget Project at the New America Foundation to help them better communicate how each U.S. school district compares to others across a range of indicators.
To help BCLC members communicate the extent of the earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011 we designed an interactive map that allows users to mouse over individual seismic events and instantly view the timing and magnitude of each event. We focused on the first 24 hours following the earthquake, visualizing the original 9.0 earthquake, subsequent aftershocks, and the range and severity of ground movement.
Working with InterAction on a project for USAID, we developed decentralized data collection tools to survey public health organizations' capacity to respond to flu outbreaks like H1N1 and H5N1. Plotting this data onto a dynamic map shows the global preparedness situation, and it also lets users drill down to get details on a specific country or region.
Our Food Security Map was a pilot initiative to provide visual data on InterAction members' field programs focused on poverty alleviation and food security in 12 African countries. The map puts real time data from food security organizations operating on the ground in Africa into the hands of decision makers working to prevent famines.
Using technology and planning resources like Bus Rapid Transit, EMBARQ helps implement sustainable transport solutions around the world in countries like Brazil, Mexico, India, and China. We developed a network of sites for EMBARQ that allows them to reach out to their audience about practical sustainable transport initiatives.
On July 9th, 2011 the Republic of South Sudan celebrated its independence. Our MapBox world maps were among the first on the web to welcome the world's newest country.
We traveled to TechCamp Vilnius in Lithuania to show how open data can be used to publish maps online using our open source map design studio TileMill.
We sent ten developers on our team to the first ever NodeConf, held in Portland, Oregon in May 2011, to join other node.js hackers to discuss the latest developments in the game changing javascript framework.
We worked with the United Nations' teams in New York and Geneva to relaunch ReliefWeb.int. The site is one of the largest repositories of humanitarian relief information available online, giving hundreds of thousands of humanitarian workers access to first hand reports from emergency zones, training resources, and the latest employment opportunities each year.
Working with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, we conducted training and outreach in Haiti to help volunteers survey and collect data on schools, camps, water points, and hospitals to contribute back to OpenStreetMap.