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The BMO Ag Literacy for Healthier People and Planet Program

The Simpson Centre’s Ag Literacy for Healthier People and Planet Program, in partnership with BMO, transforms complex agricultural science into accessible knowledge that empowers better decision-making across Canada’s agri-food system.
Our Approach 
As part of our Ag Literacy Program, The Simpson Centre is developing informational resources on widely debated topics (aka controversies) within the agriculture system. This work uses Controversy Mapping (CM), a methodology that unpacks and maps the layers of a controversy. This process creates a Controversy Atlas for people to engage with and learn about through an interactive website, like this one!
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Controversy Mapping
Controversy Mapping (CM) works to untangle complex debates, or controversies, to make them more understandable to the variety of “actors” involved. These actors can be policy makers, researchers, the public, or even the environment itself.
 
The goal of each controversy map and resulting controversy atlas is to help you navigate a controversy's complexity with ease. By untangling a controversy into layers, you as a reader are encouraged to explore, engage, and draw your own conclusions on the material.  
The foundational puzzle pieces of a controversy map are:
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"What" = The statements involved in the discourse. Visualized by a Tree of Disagreement.
 “Who” = The actor providing each statement. Visualized by an Actor-Arguments Table, which shows where actors diverge or converge on an issue.
“How” = How actors are connected within the controversy.
“When” = The Timeline of the Controversy. This tracks changes and developments over time. (e.g. new technologies or policy changes).
"What"
"How"
"Who"
"Where"
"When"
Controversy Map
“Where” = Where does this controversy take place? 
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