power mapping

This is a tool that makes clear (by way of visualisation) the relationships of power in an organisation or community which have to be navigated in order to bring about social change. Let’s say you want to make a change to the Constitution.  First step is to identify the people who could be instrumental or influential in making this change. Next map the links between you and them so that you can focus on building relationships that will bring about the outcome that you want.

The power map has also proved helpful in the delivery of health benefits to patients in that it identifies the people and organisations who can be accessed by the patient for assistance.  It is like the ecomap (covered in July 2022 on this site) but goes further into the social and political context.

Business has also adopted it as a tool.  Any ambitious would-be executive will have done a power map of the organisation, identifying the people who have power nominally, the people who are actually effective and the people who are undervalued.  Then comes the strategy for impressing these people in a bid for promotion.