The Case for Better Maps of Social Service Provision: Using the Holy Cross Dispute to Illustrate More Effective Mapping

Abstract  Third-sector organizations provide essential services, but not all types of organizations operate equally well given different
intensities of public problems. This article argues for maps that would help social service funding bodies. Those maps would
include three elements: (1) a measure of service demanded by a community, (2) data on the full range of organizations able
to supply those services, and (3) a chart that identifies those organizations that provide services at different intensities
of need. By providing information about the supply of organizations in a community, with measures of demand for services,
state funding bodies, foundations, and individual philanthropists can make informed decisions about where to allocate funds.
An ideal map is illustrated by using the case of the Holy Cross Dispute (2001), whereby a host of voluntary sector organizations
provided a voice for residents in this divided Belfast community. The result is a call for more intensive mapping exercises
of voluntary sector social service provision.