A Sneak Peek – Canadian Geomatics Environmental Scan & Economic Value Study

Our next Ottawa GoGeomatics social is happening Wednesday, March 26th at 6 PM at the James Street Pub. This month, we are able to provide the geomatics community with its first glimpse at the The Canadian Geomatics Environmental Scan and Economic Value Study.  We first reported on this study in August of last year.  NRCan has really gotten behind the sector here and is supporting our growth.   Ed Kennedy is the lead consultant for this project and our speaker for the night. He will be giving a presentation about the study and then taking questions from the audience.

So what is the study?  Well let me tell you: it’s a comprehensive Study of Canadian Geomatics sector and its value.  If you’ve ever wondered how we are doing as a sector and where we are going, this is what it’s supposed to tell us. Here is what Ed sent me about his presentation and the study:

There is a strong consensus that geospatial information (GI) has become ubiquitous, but what real value is the use of this information contributing to the Canadian economy, and to innovation and productivity improvement in this country?  An unprecedented effort to answer this question is now well underway.  The Canadian Geomatics Environmental Scan and Economic Value Study (see http://geomatics.hal.ca/ for details) is the first ever attempt in Canada to estimate the value of GI to the entire Canadian economy.  Under contract with Natural Resources Canada, Hickling Arthurs Low (HAL) Corporation is conducting this study with its partners ACIL Allen Consulting of Australia, and Fujitsu Canada.  This presentation will provide an overview of the study, its objectives and timetable, and how to provide input.

This is how NRCan describes the work::

There are two components to the project:

• The Geomatics Environmental Scan will examine the current geospatial information market in Canada and profile the Canadian geomatics sector, examine current participation in international markets and evaluate the importance to Canada’s domestic market, identify technology, economic, social and demographic trends, examine the contributions of government, industry and academia and the challenges and opportunities for each, and provide an analysis of the labour market, education and training currently available.

• The Economic Value Study will determine the value of open geospatial information within the Canadian economy and its contribution to competitiveness and innovation in Canada, evaluate geospatial information as a ‘public good’ in the Canadian context, and make recommendations on the future strategic direction for geospatial information in Canada with an emphasis on the roles that can be played by the government, industry and academia.

So please join GoGeomatics Canada in Ottawa next week Wednesday the 26th downstairs at the James Street Pub in Downtown Ottawa to hear about this important study in our sector.  TECTERRA is sponsoring the event, so snacks will also be available to all attendees. Send an email to info@gogeomatics.ca so we can let the pub know how many to expect.