Issue 10—September 12, 2005
Welcome to SAVI Connections, the bi-monthly electronic newsletter regarding the
SAVI system. SAVI Connections provides news about SAVI, demonstrates
various ways in which SAVI can benefit your organization, announces release of
new data, showcases new tools, highlights a variety of SAVI users, and
broadcasts user support and training options. The Polis staff encourages your
ideas and feedback.
Please address comments to: skandris@iupui.edu.
View past newsletters at: http://www.savi.org/savii/about/news.aspx
What's New?
SAVI provides several training opportunities throughout the year. The education program ranges from basic introductory training to advanced analysis training. It goes beyond “how to use the system” to the next steps of how to think critically about issues, how to identify and solve problems, and how to analyze and interpret results.
For a detailed description of all SAVI training classes, visit the website at: http://www.savi.org/savii/support/training.aspx
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SAVI Training Schedule
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SAVI Basic Training: Level 1 (*Free)
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
- SAVI Overview
- Using SAVI Interactive to Explore Communities
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SAVI Basic Training: Level 2 (*Free)
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- How to Ask Questions Using SAVI Interactive
- Using SAVI to Develop Reports and Grant Requests
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SAVI Advanced Training: Level 3 ($25)
Friday, September 23, 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Monday, October 21, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.
- Basic Analysis Techniques Using SAVI-Interactive
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SAVI Advanced Training: Level 3 ($25)
Friday, September 23, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Monday, November 7, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
- Introduction to Information Presentation Tools and Strategies
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Map Your Own Data with SAVI’s New Geocoding and GPS Tools
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"I appreciate SAVI's value as a major source of background data for our planning purposes," a community analyst commented recently, "but I wish there were an easier way to use our specific organizational data with it. I would love to see where our program participants live and what kinds of neighborhoods they represent."
Sometimes wishes come true – as in this instance. Beginning in September, SAVI users can upload address data – a membership mailing list, for example – into the system's geocoding engine and see the results on a map with other demographic and asset data. Geocoding is the process used by geographic information systems, SAVI's underlying technology, to assign a map location to an address. Not only will the system accept an address file, it also will map GPS (Global Positioning System) points.
Experienced users will recognize the data upload/geocoding function because it existed on the previous version of SAVI, but the recent release makes the process easier to manage. In addition to addresses and GPS points, users also can attach image files, such as photographs, and text descriptions to the geocoded data, thus creating a way to have multiple pieces of information displayed for a particular location.
These functions will enhance the value of SAVI for many organizations. Recently, a local congregation mapped its members in SAVI as part of its strategic planning. It discovered that members lived much further from the church and came from a wider range of socio-economic areas than its planning committee realized. The church is now considering how it can serve the needs of its far-flung membership. In another example, a local youth organization discovered the need to move its activities from one site to another after it mapped the addresses of it participants. A local school used the Beta version of the GPS tool in a student-centered effort to locate community assets and map them with accompanying photographs. Similarly, a community coalition is using the same function to help it catalogue its assets for planning purposes.
For more on this exciting new tool, take advantage of SAVI training or simply go the website, read the tutorial, and explore. Mapping its own membership, program participants, and community assets against SAVI data will help an organization learn more about how to serve its constituencies and its community more effectively.
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