The Morgridge Acceleration Program (MAP) is an initiative of the Morgridge Family Foundation to provide innovative solutions for nonprofits, develop leadership and create a meaningful network of people dedicated to social impact.

MAP Project48 is a fast-paced, high-impact competition designed to engage graduate students in the intense and rewarding experience of changemaking. In 48 hours, teams from three select graduate programs vie to build the most impactful solution to a problem facing a selected nonprofit organization.

For the inaugural MAP Project48 program in March 2022, the Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) presented a data visualization challenge for teams from Columbia University, University of Missouri – Columbia and Parsons School of Design to solve.

Behind the scenes of the 2022 MAP Project48 competition - Morgridge Family Foundation

▪️The Challenge▪️

Effective, impactful data visualizations are an increasingly critical part of the Center on Rural Innovation’s work to shift the narrative on what is possible in rural America, yet creating consistent, quality visualizations is an ongoing challenge for our growing, fast-paced organization.

Where charts appear:

Often used chart types

Audiences:

Rural leaders, policy makers, journalists, internal teams

Common data sources:

Census/American Community Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Common variables/topics:

Employment by occupation and industry, rural demographics, broadband access, federal funding eligibility, comparisons between urban and rural

Data visualization practitioners at CORI:

▪️The Goal▪️