Net-Map (Influence Network Mapping)

Net-Map is a participatory, paper-based tool developed by Eva Schiffer for collecting social and influence network data while helping participants reflect on the networks they are part of. Sitting around a large sheet, participants name the actors involved in a goal or process, draw and label the links between them by type (for example funding, information, or command), and then stack physical 'influence towers' — disks or blocks — beside each actor to show how much power that actor holds. The session produces both a rich qualitative discussion and a quantitative, analyzable network with weighted nodes and typed, directed ties.