Adding a New Relationship

All analysts can add relationships between different people and organizations on LittleSis.

  1. Search for the organization or person (eg. Larry Summers, former Director of the National Economic Council) whose relationship you want to add. Unlike adding entities, for relationship you must start by being on the profile page of one of the entities in the relationship.

  2. Click their name to go to their profile.

  3. Look over their profile to see if the relationship you want to add already exists

  4. Click the Add Relationship button in the profile page header

  5. Search for the person or organization you want to relate this person to, making sure to consider spelling and possible nicknames.

Searching for entities on add relationship page

  1. Click Select next to their name in the search results

  2. If the person/org you’re looking for doesn’t come up, fill out the form and click Create at the bottom of the page to add them instantly

  3. Select the category that describes this relationship.

  4. Reference the source of the new information you are about to add. You can either find an existing source from our website or enter in a new URL.

  5. Click create relationships

You will be directed to the edit relationship page where you can enter as much detail as your source provides. Keep in mind that relationships are the most important part of LittleSis, so the more detail the better.

  1. Click Update when you are done adding more information

Common Questions:

How do I know if the relationship I want to add belongs in LittleSis?

LittleSis tracks influence and power with respect to policy-making and the public sphere. We try to keep relationships limited to people and organizations with significant access, influence, and wealth

Why are some categories not available when I’m adding a new relationship?

Analysts can create relationships between 2 people (P+P), 2 organizations (O+O) or a person and an organization (P+O), but not all categories apply. Only the categories that apply to the type of relationship you’re creating will be available to select

I’m adding a new relationship between a person and an organization where they are a Board member--what’s the correct category?

The correct category for this relationship is Position. Any relationship where the person has a title in the organizational hierarchy (ie. Board Member) should be categorized as Position. The same is true for members of advisory boards, councils, committees, etc.

The Membership category is used only to describe the relationship between a person and the organization where they are a member, without a title or significant responsibilities.

I accidentally added a relationship that already exists! What should I do?

Click the Flag button in the header of the duplicate relationship and complete the form to notify us of the problem. We will make the correction as soon as possible.

What should I do if I notice an error on a relationship?

Use the references to try to find the correct information and make the change(s). Otherwise you can click the Flag button in the relationship header and complete the form to notify us of a problem pertaining to that profile. If the error seems to be systemic—occurring on more than one profile— please contact us.