Start by noting down your target audience, including beneficiaries, users or customers who would benefit from your work, in the centre of the worksheet. Then work your way from the centre towards the outer layers, mapping other people and organisations that are related to the work you do. These could be people and organisations that are responsible alongside you for implementing or delivering your work.

By organising the people and organisations that are related to your work across the concentric circles, you can indicate who of them are closer or farther away from the target audience. The closer to the core, the more influential they are. The closer to the outside, the farther away they are.

In addition it helps to further organise the people and organisations on the map by clustering them in sections that express specific networks, sectors or interest areas. For instance a section with all the people and organisations involved with health, safety, environment, or education. Choose sections that are relevant to your situation.

Once the worksheet has been filled, go through each person and organisation on the map with your team and, if necessary, reposition them into the circle and section that the team agrees fits most. This review will give you a useful starting point to discuss which relationships or connections are key, and which may need extra attention. By clearly marking out these fields in the map you can highlight and communicate the main focus for your work.