Asset & Ecosystem Mapping

Building a Clear Picture of Local Strengths, Networks, and Opportunities

We provide consultancy services in asset and ecosystem mapping to support towns, cities, and regions in identifying the key resources that can drive their digital and socio-economic strategies. This process involves systematically identifying, categorising, and mapping the people, capabilities, companies, organisations, infrastructures, communities, and relationships that make up the urban ecosystem.

Asset and ecosystem mapping gives local governments, partners, and communities the evidence they need to shape smarter policies, target investment, and build collaborative, place-based strategies. By creating an integrated picture of existing assets and how they interact, we help cities move from assumptions to insights—so they can unlock their unique potential.

How We Work

Our process blends quantitative and qualitative methods, drawing from a mix of data sources and engagement tools to build an accurate, dynamic map of a place’s ecosystem. Key elements of our methodology include:

  • Desk Research: Analysing public and proprietary datasets, previous studies, policy documents, and online sources to create a baseline picture.

  • Stakeholder Mapping: Identifying and categorising key actors, organisations, and networks—understanding their roles, interests, and relationships.

  • Field Research: Conducting interviews, workshops, and observation-based research to fill gaps, ground-truth data, and surface local insights.

  • Data Visualisation: Presenting findings in intuitive and accessible formats, from relationship maps and dashboards to spatial or thematic overlays—tailored to suit decision-makers, funders, or public audiences.

Where needed, we also draw on digital tools for mapping and analysis, including GIS platforms, CRM systems, open data sources, and collaborative research platforms.

What We Map—and Why It Matters

Depending on local goals and context, we tailor each project to focus on different types of assets and ecosystems. Typical categories include:

  • Human Capital: Skills, leadership, local champions, research communities, and educational institutions.

  • Organisational Assets: Local authorities, anchor institutions, NGOs, grassroots organisations, innovation hubs.

  • Economic Assets: Startups, SMEs, corporates, sector clusters, investment funds, supply chains.

  • Physical and Digital Infrastructure: Workspaces, transport links, broadband networks, data platforms, energy systems.

  • Social and Cultural Capital: Community networks, civic spaces, digital inclusion initiatives, creative and heritage organisations.

  • Policy and Governance Landscape: Strategic initiatives, regulatory frameworks, public sector programmes and partnerships.

By revealing the patterns, gaps, and synergies within and between these domains, ecosystem mapping enables more informed decision-making—helping cities to focus effort where it will have the greatest impact.

Use Cases and Outcomes

Asset and ecosystem mapping can support a wide range of strategic and operational goals, including:

  • Strategy Design: Informing smart city and economic development strategies with a real understanding of local capabilities and gaps.

  • Partnership Development: Identifying potential collaborators, intermediaries, and champions within the local system.

  • Targeted Investment: Helping cities and funders align investment with existing strengths or areas of unmet potential.

  • Policy Alignment: Supporting better coordination across departments, sectors, and levels of government.

  • Monitoring and Evaluation: Creating a baseline for future impact measurement and continuous learning.

By combining place-based knowledge with structured analysis, our mapping work becomes a launchpad for more coherent, inclusive, and resilient transformation efforts.