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Organizations ~ Problems

What IS an "organization"? This is actually a difficult problem. Basically, organizations have physical addresses. But some don't provide street addresses. So there are exceptions and confusions. Deciding to break this down into different content types may overcomplicate an already very complicated project. So there is a variety of entities in the Organization Directory.

  • Some entities included in the directory sound like they might be a nonprofit, but they are "programs" or just websites.
  • Some entities aren't quite academic departments, but they seem to be a coordinated team, so they're included.
  • Some entities are really places. For instance, Audubon's headquarters in Smithfield is also Powder Mill Ledges Wildlife Refuge. Both should be in the Directory and should be related somehow.
  • Some entities have several related locations. These should be linked.
  • Some entities are informal partnerships, collaborations, or coalitions. It would be useful to relate the individual collaborating groups to their coalitions. This kind of group is a major contributor to environmental projects in RI. They cross types of organizations, often including state and local government entities, nonprofits, academic, and federal organizations.
  • For some categories I got carried away and put too many groups into them. To be fixed....
  • Further indexing is necessary to adequately manage the organization content type. Actually quite a LOT of further indexing is necessary....