Mapping Local Production
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As part of the COVIDaction Local Production Local Solutions (LPLS) work, we want to map and understand what production is where, so designers, innovators or whoever wants to make something can easily see how to do that within their local area, and get connected.
Many products involve length, complex supply chains, with the manufacturing completely disconnected from consumers. While mass production and distribution can result in efficient systems and low prices, the current pandemic has highlighted the fragility of these approaches. If the local production ecosystems were better connected and understood, then huge benefits could be brought to local communities - resilience to external issues, designs for specific local needs, visibility to outside investors as well as identifying similar activities in other parts of the world which could be relevant to local innovators. This will help push the development of local economies, supporting local job creation and expertise to service the needs of the needs of the community, rather than profits all staying in the hands of overseas producers.
We aren’t the only ones trying to do this. We are part of the working group on the Open Know Where Project, which aims to allow different mapping initiatives to cooperate more easily, with a common open data standard.
