NGC Research Agenda

Key Research Questions and Challenges from Early Career Cartographers

Keywords describing the research priorities of NGC: early career cartographers, community building, critical approaches, diversity and inclusion

As an ICA Working Group, we were asked to identify the key research questions and challenges that will be essential to the disciplines of Cartography and GIScience over the next 10–15 years and beyond. This is a revised version (v1.0, July 2026) of our response.

Our working group identifies a central research challenge in the whole discipline of cartography and GIScience as broadening the scope of theory and practice to accommodate a multiplicity of perspectives regarding useful maps. Useful maps vary by intersectional aspects of an individual’s identity (e.g., age, socio-cultural identity, disability, etc).

Addressing this challenge requires fostering global inclusion and creating space for multiplicity within map research, including critical examination of assumptions about who and what maps are for.

Challenges in Cartography and GIScience:

Limited vocabulary and tools

The focus on metrics in European-American cartography has been a challenge for integrating global perspectives, as Geographic Information Science and academic cartographic theory have limited vocabulary and technical resources to approach non-Euclidean and holistic mapmaking found outside of European-American traditions.

Replacing a scarcity mindset with an abundance mindset

In many contexts, inclusion in cartography has been politicized through a broader societal mindset that traditional European-American ways of knowing are at risk if global access is increased. This view is a scarcity mindset, viewing cartography as a fixed and limited resource, rather than one capable of growth. Traditional approaches to Cartography and GIScience are firmly established: the modern, technological world runs on maps, which have proved their usefulness in the lives of many people, from basic GPS routing to advanced spatial analysis.

But there is still more that cartography and GIScience can and must do to expand its reach and breadth. Liberatory approaches are additive, increasing the scope and application of cartography and GIScience by making its theory and practice more versatile. This growth is even more urgently needed as our field responds to external challenges, such as the rapid development of GeoAI.

Thus, we believe that a primary challenge lies in replacing the scarcity mindset with an abundance mindset to recognize the vast potential for cartography and GIScience to innovate and grow. Increasing access and promoting inclusion, especially of non-European American and non-Euclidean ways of knowing, is of primary importance to securing Cartography’s future.

Research priorities:

A. Multiplicity within cartographic epistemology

Research and advocate for a multiplicity of cartographic epistemologies, paying particular attention to inclusion of non-European American and non-dominant voices in mapmaking, data collection, digital infrastructures, academic research, education and policy-making.

B. Scientific community building

Research and develop best practices to support the International Cartographic Association’s growth as a welcoming and safe scientific community. Set and adjust expectations for how we (as members of an international community) should treat each other, through creating and updating a code of conduct based on researching the needs of the community, as well as trying out new formats to connect early career cartographers from various regions (e.g. online community meet-ups).

C. Expand access to Cartography and GIScience

Accessible, inclusive, and liberating cartographic practice benefits everyone, creating more useful maps for more people worldwide. Through our working group’s research, we pursue approaches that expand access to mapping and cartography, recognizing that expanding access will take many different forms and shapes across of cartography and GIScience.

D. Supporting, advocating, and uplifting global early career cartographers

Identify and develop ways to support and uplift people new to Cartography and GIScience (such as through networking, hybrid meetings, and advocacy within the ICA). Seek participation from early-career cartographers in ICA decision-making that affects early-career cartographers, as well as research likely to impact future working conditions of the field, such as the Ethics framework produced by the Commission on Ethics in Cartography. Through this participation, envision future working environments in Cartography and GIScience that accommodate and support early-career cartographers.