On last Tuesday night of July, the Ottawa BIM and geospatial community came together for our summer social at Tavern on the Hill. No speeches, no presentations. just a great conversation, fresh air, and a beautiful sunset view of the city.
It was a chance for GIS and AEC professionals to connect and share insights.

Through the evening, we had a wide range of conversations, including:

• BIM + Asset Management: From the challenges of tracking physical assets to the need for more consistent facility data standards, the value of connected models came through.
• Mandates & Modernization: We touched on the role of federal mandates in accelerating BIM/GIS integration and discussed how both policy and innovation are shaping the future of infrastructure.
• Scanning & Construction: attendees shared how laser scanning is being used during construction to confirm installations and ensure models align with real-world conditions.
• Open Source & Sovereignty: The discussion naturally shifted to geospatial data sovereignty and the increasing interest in open-source GIS tools.
• Posters & Workshops: A few community members expressed their interest in contributing posters to GeoIgnite and sponsoring free educational workshops to engage a wider audience.
• AI in GIS: From suitability analyses to satellite image enhancement, AI tools like ChatGPT are now playing a bold role in streamlining geospatial workflows and improving data validation.
• Many attendees also shared personal stories from job interviews, career transitions, to the support they’ve received from this community during times of change.
• The highlight of the night though, was being surrounded by such diverse passions to build Canadian-made GIS solutions.

Ottawa is home to one of the longest-running GoGeomatics meetup groups, and this gathering was a refreshing reminder of why.
Thanks to everyone who joined us and made the evening full of meaningful conversations.