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GeoConnections
Announcement of Opportunity
for
Canadian Organizations
Developing
Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure
Applications for
Communities of Practice
Announcement code : 2005-UC-000
Announcement Summary
Who Can Apply?
Proposals will be accepted from end-users from government departments or agencies (local, provincial/territorial, or federal), Aboriginal organizations, Crown corporations, academic institutions, private sector organizations, or non-government organizations. See section 4 for more detail.
What can be Applied for?
GeoConnections is soliciting proposals to develop online mapping portals or standalone applications which access spatial data and information in real time from distributed sources over the Internet. The applications must make use of standards endorsed by GeoConnections and technologies which form part of the Canadian GeoSpatial Data Infrastructure. See sections 2 and 5.5 for more detail.
Applications should support decision making in the following issue areas:
- Public Health: Facilitating Disease Surveillance or Population
Health Analysis
- Public Safety: Facilitating Emergency Management and Response
or Critical Infrastructure Protection
- Environment/Sustainable Development: Facilitating Integrated Land/Marine
Management including Land/Water-Use Planning, Environmental Assessment
and Indicator Monitoring
- Aboriginal Issues: Land and Resource Management and Community Planning.
How much can be Applied for?
GeoConnections will fund up to 50% of a project’s cost up to a maximum of $150,000 exclusive of GST, PST, and HST. In-kind contributions are permitted as leverage. See section 6 for more detail. Projects should take place between April 2006 and June 2007.
What is the Process?
GeoConnections is soliciting letters of intent which are two to three pages long. These letters will form the basis for discussions with GeoConnections staff and for subsequent screening. On the basis of this screening, a select number of applicants will be invited to submit full proposals. These proposals will be evaluated against the criteria found in Appendix. GeoConnections aims to fund three projects in each thematic area. Full proposals are accepted by invitation only. Invitation to submit a full proposal is not a guarantee of funding. See section 3 for more detail.
What are the Deadlines?
Letters of Intent must be received no later than midnight (24:00) Pacific Time, November 9, 2005. Once invited, proposals must be received no later than midnight (24:00) Pacific Time, January 17, 2006.
Who do I contact for more information?
Julie BélandProject Coordination Officer
GeoConnections Secretariat
Telephone: (613) 947-5009
Facsimile: (613) 947-2410
Email: jbeland@nrcan.gc.ca
Table of Contents
1 OBJECTIVE
The objective of this announcement of opportunity (AO) is to solicit proposals for building and deploying mapping applications that draw upon distributed sources of information through the Internet. They will be built collaboratively to address specific issues within one of four thematic areas: public health, public safety, environment and sustainable development, and issues of importance to Aboriginal peoples. The applications should make use of the standards-based technologies and datasets that presently comprise Canada’s Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI) and facilitate information sharing in support of decision making.
Furthermore, applications developed through this announcement of opportunity will build capacity within the community of practice, promote CGDI awareness, expand the capabilities of the CGDI, and increase the use of the CGDI. Government departments or agencies (local, provincial/territorial, or federal), Aboriginal organizations, Crown corporations, academic institutions, private sector organizations and non-government organizations are invited to apply.
2 BACKGROUND
2.1 GeoConnectionsGeoConnections is a national partnership program led by Natural Resources Canada to build the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI). The CGDI is an on-line resource that enables Canadians to use and combine geographic information (e.g., maps, satellite images) over the Internet to gain new insights and aid in decision making.
2.2 Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure (CGDI)
The Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure strives to provide Canadians with on-demand access to geospatial information through an interoperable, standards-based network built by a host of data, service, and technology suppliers. The infrastructure is designed to break down information silos by encouraging sharing, in pursuit of particular policy and business requirements. Through the infrastructure, users can discover, visualize, access and apply geospatial data and services. Ideally, replication of data is reduced and decision making is streamlined when people can access authoritative data with ease.
The CGDI comprises the following four key components: 1) national framework data—the base layers required to develop applications; 2) common data policies to make data easier to access; 3) technical standards that allow users to share data; and 4) technologies that enable people to develop on-line mapping applications. With these four key components, the CGDI serves as a common foundation for key government information systems, as well as for third-party service delivery.
2.3 Applications
This announcement of opportunity seeks proposals for projects that will enable geospatial applications. In general, an application is the use of CGDI technology and data by a given community of practice to address a specific problem or issue and aid them in decision making.
Applications sought under this opportunity must be enabled through existing (or forthcoming) CGDI data and services. If the application requirements are not achievable with existing CGDI data and services, these gaps must be identified along with potential solutions. GeoConnections may work with successful applicants and other partners to address them.
Applications do not have to operate through a web browser but they should still draw upon distributed content over the Internet in order to provide current or real-time perspectives. They are not required to be publicly available.
Applications are to be built according to the principles of the CGDI: providing access to data that is closest to the authoritative source via interoperable and distributed online services.
2.4 Users
Users are the consumers of geospatial data and information. GeoConnections considers five different types of users; this opportunity is directed at the last two:
Suppliers provide geospatial data and web services to the CGDI. This category of user operates at the core of the CGDI, providing the content necessary for applications.
Developers create and implement the technologies which form the building blocks of the CGDI. They also contract with end-users and enablers, developing applications that take advantage of the CGDI. Developers build applications on 'web services'.
Marketers sell and/or support geospatial applications, mostly to end-users.
These are typically government agencies, programs, institutes and NGOs that do not necessarily form decision-environments but which provide support to end users. They may provide geospatial applications as a service to their community of users. Examples include associations, think tanks and government regulatory authorities.
End-users consume geospatial data or information derived from geospatial data for decision making or business operations. They may conduct analysis or receive its results to address issues.
For the purposes of this announcement, End-Users or Enablers must be project leads. They are encouraged to partner with suppliers and developers.
3 APPLICATION PROCESS
3.1 Overview
Project development and deployment consist of the following principal stages:
- Submission of a letter of intent
- Evaluation of the letter of intent
- Invitation to submit full proposal
- Proposal preparation and submission
- Proposal evaluation and project selection
- Negotiation of formal agreement for selected projects
- Phased project deployment, delivery, and monitoring
3.2 Letter of Intent
GeoConnections requires that project proponents submit a letter of intent, using their organization letterhead and signed by an authorized officer, before preparing a project proposal. The letter of intent is required to establish a common vision and understanding early in the project negotiation and to avoid unnecessary effort on behalf of both parties.
The letter of intent will be reviewed by GeoConnections to determine if the proposed project has the potential to meet the requirements of this AO. GeoConnections will respond in writing to each letter of intent. Our response will confirm whether the proposed project appears to fit within the requirements of this AO. If an apparent fit exists, GeoConnections will request a full proposal. In addition, our response may offer advice on issues to address in the proposal.
The letter of intent should be no more than three pages long and should address the following:
- a description of the proponent organization and its mandate
- a summary of the project objective (how the application will improve decision making within one of the four thematic areas)
- a description of the end users and identification of their needs
- a discussion of how the proposed application will be used to facilitate information sharing
- discussion of how the proposed application will be enabled by the use of CGDI services
- estimated project duration including approximate start and end dates
- the identification of and a description of the anticipated collaborating organizations
- an estimate of the total project cost and potential sources of funding, including the amount to be requested from GeoConnections
Letters of Intent should be submitted by e-mail to Julie Béland at the GeoConnections Project Management Office: jbeland@nrcan.gc.ca.
Letters of Intent must be received no later than midnight (24:00) Pacific Time, November 9, 2005.
3.3 Proposal Preparation and Submission
Upon receiving approval of the letter of intent, selected project proponents will be invited to submit a project proposal for consideration under this AO. Unsolicited proposals will not be entertained. The intent of the project proposal is to explain the project in sufficient detail to allow GeoConnections to evaluate the proposal comprehensively. An invitation to submit a proposal is not a guarantee of funding under this AO.
Project proponents are responsible for preparing the proposals. However, project proponents may consult GeoConnections staff for advice during this process.
Proposals may be submitted in either English or French.
Proposals should be concise and easy to read. Avoid long, descriptive narrative, and use bulleted points and summary tables where appropriate. To avoid repetition, when the subject topic has already been addressed, the proposal may refer to other sections of the proposal by identifying specific paragraphs, sections, or page numbers.
The proposal should stand alone as it will be evaluated on its merits only. Project proponents should provide, within the proposal, all the information needed to evaluate their proposed projects fully and fairly. This may include additional information as appendices to the proposal.
Proposals should follow the template available at www.geoconnections.org/opportunities/aos/uc_2/ao1/dsp_template_E.html.
Proposals must be received no later than midnight (24:00) Pacific Time, January 17, 2006.
3.4 Proposal Evaluation and Selection
A team of evaluators will comprehensively evaluate project proposals. Evaluations will be based on the criteria listed in the appendix of this AO. GeoConnections will invite the proponents of the three highest ranking proposals within each thematic area (public health, public safety, sustainable development and the environment, and issues of importance to Aboriginal peoples) to negotiate formal agreements. Proponents whose proposal evaluations score below a passing mark or do not fall within the top three will not be invited to negotiate formal agreements and will be notified promptly.
3.5 Negotiation of a Formal Agreement
GeoConnections will work with the selected project proponents to negotiate formal agreements. These contribution agreements will describe the terms of the collaboration with GeoConnections. These are not contractual documents; rather they set out mutual expectations such as work schedules, tables of deliverables, associated milestone dates, a communications plan, and financial details.
3.6 Rights of GeoConnections
GeoConnections reserves the right to:
- reject any or all letters of intent or proposals received in response to this AO;
- seek clarification and verify any or all information provided;
- enter into negotiations with project proponents on any or all aspects of a proposal;
- accept any proposal in whole or in part;
- negotiate intellectual property rights;
- promote and communicate the project and its results;
- cancel and/or re-issue this AO at any time; and
- administer, approve, and allocate funding based on the sole discretion of the GeoConnections program.
The contents and requirements of this document are subject to change. Before proceeding with a proposal submission, be sure to obtain the latest version of this document from the GeoConnections website: www.geoconnections.org/en/opportunities/fa=uc2_ao1.home.
4 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
GeoConnections promotes collaboration, particularly those that support project delivery through the private geomatics sector and, to a lesser extent, academia and non-government organizations. Although government agencies will often form the lead for project submissions, this section details roles and responsibilities of all potential collaborators on projects.
4.1 GeoConnections
GeoConnections supports projects by providing funding and expertise. GeoConnections is responsible for evaluating proposals, negotiating agreements, providing technical advice, monitoring progress, evaluating deliverables, and authorizing payments. GeoConnections, in partnership with the project proponent, is also responsible for promotion and communication of the project and its results.
4.2 Project Proponent
The project proponent assembles the project proposal, leads and coordinates all project activities, and acts as a single point of contact with GeoConnections on project issues. The project proponent may be a government department or agency (local, provincial/territorial, or federal), Aboriginal organization, Crown corporation, academic institution, private sector organization, or a non-government organization. Project proponents should be end-users of geospatial data (or information derived from geospatial data) or they should enable end-users, and they should have clear business or policy requirements for fulfilling these roles. Developers, suppliers and marketers as described in section 2.4 are excluded from applying directly however are encouraged to partner with end-users applicants. The project proponent should have both a mandate and the resources to coordinate the project and to sustain the CGDI application beyond the project’s completion. The project proponent, in partnership with GeoConnections, is also responsible for promotion and communication of the project and its results.
4.3 Community of Practice
A "community of practice" is a group of people who share an interest in a topic (or an "issue domain"), who continually interact, and who accumulate and disseminate knowledge. More specifically, GeoConnections defines a community of practice as a group of users who share common concerns or problems and who might have common requirements of the CGDI.
From GeoConnections’ perspective, a community of practice should also possess a number of other characteristics. These characteristics may include:
- a critical mass of common interests;
- clear governance mechanisms and/or organizational structures;
- defined or definable needs to which the CGDI can respond;
- the need to share geographically referenced data across organizational, jurisdictional and/or subject matter boundaries;
- an identifiable and important impact;
- the ability to identify and contribute to setting future CGDI priorities;
- the ability to foster collaborative arrangements to contribute to the CGDI or develop applications;
- an open communication process to define needs within the community or with similar communities; and/or
- willingness to help build awareness.
The community of practice comprises the people/organizations that will benefit
directly from the project and become the main users of the application. These
end-users—or a subset of them—must commit to participate in the
project, have an ongoing need for the proposed application, and possess the
resources to use the application when the project finishes. The community of
practice should define the requirements and should be consulted throughout the
project for advice.
4.4 Collaborating Organizations
As do project proponents, collaborating organizations contribute in some way to the project. Collaborators may be government departments or agencies, Aboriginal organizations, Crown corporations, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, or private-sector companies. They must have some vested interest in the project and contribute to it financially, whether with cash, an in-kind investment, or both.
4.5 Contractor(s)
Every project should include at least one contractor from the private sector, academia, or non-government sector. The exact role of the contractor will be specific to each project. In general, a contractor will provide specific services or deliverables needed to complete the project successfully. A contractor cannot be a project proponent. Project proponents are responsible for all aspects of contracting and are therefore governed by any contracting rules and restrictions of their own organizations.
5 PROJECT REQUIREMENTS AND ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES
This section describes the requirements and eligible activities for supported projects. This information should be provided in a proposal, organized according to the template which can be downloaded separately at www.geoconnections.org/opportunities/aos/uc_2/ao1/dsp_template_E.html.
5.1 Responding to Issues within Thematic Areas
Applications must be built to satisfy the specific requirements of a certain community of practice. In particular, as mandated by the 2005 Federal Budget, GeoConnections will support decision making on a broad range of issues within four thematic areas: public health, public safety, sustainable development and the environment, and issues of importance to Aboriginal peoples.
Within each of the four thematic areas, this Announcement of Opportunity seeks applications that respond to certain priorities. (A range of subjects based on a CGDI user needs assessment will be addressed in a subsequent AO to be released later.)
Effective partnerships are needed to develop and apply the CGDI in a manner that serves public health professionals across the country. Public health is a GeoConnections priority for two reasons. First, health and well being are significant in the everyday lives of Canadians. And second, geomatics offers tremendous potential to improve the efficiency with which different health jurisdictions across the country interact. The use of geomatics by epidemiologists, population health specialists and others within this community is still nascent. However, specific areas within the public health arena could use geomatics and the CGDI to improve delivery and bridge information silos.
This Announcement of Opportunity solicits applications that apply the CGDI to support decision making in two areas, Disease Surveillance and Population Health:
Disease Surveillance: Within the realm of disease surveillance, geospatial capabilities are limited due to a lack of both information sharing and standardized data. CGDI applications are required to help coordinate the use of integrated, geospatial health information. Public health officials would analyze this information to make informed decisions.
Population Health: New factors (such as socio-economic status, demography, and environment) shaping the public health paradigm are becoming more relevant to decision-makers in addressing the health of populations. With these new information needs, the public health community requires access to timely and relevant geospatial information to effectively address, prioritize, and manage populations at risk.
To prepare for all possible disasters, Canadians must coordinate resources and efforts within our communities, neighbouring regions, and other countries. Disasters often involve many organizations and cross more than one jurisdiction; therefore, the ability to communicate and exchange information effectively is critical to successful disaster mitigation and recovery. In line with Canada’s National Security Policy (2004), the key areas of interest for this GeoConnections AO, within the public safety and security field are Emergency Management and Response Planning, and Critical Infrastructure Protection.
Emergency Management and Response Planning: This community of practice needs geospatial data that is easy to access and accurate. Tracking and managing people and goods during emergencies are often difficult because these tasks involve centralizing rapidly changing information and disseminating it to other key personnel. Canada requires infrastructure applications that enhance the ability for public safety organizations to use and share geospatial data when responding to an emergency.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Canada’s critical infrastructure comprises services that are necessary to maintain our way of life. Many of these modern amenities are delivered to users without their knowing about the complexities and interdependences of the services themselves. Since 85% of Canada’s infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector and the provinces or territories, a national partnership with information exchange is vital to establishing an integrated critical infrastructure strategy. The policy documentation to date has indicated a need to improve the traditional way of protecting critical infrastructure, including a national partnership based on risk management and better information collection, assessment, and sharing.
5.1.3 Sustainable Development and the Environment
There is growing recognition that Canada needs an integrated approach to effectively manage and sustain its lands and waters. An integrated environmental approach shares the following characteristics:
- Inherently based on an area of the Earth such as an ecosystem, landscape, watershed, coastal zone, administrative area, planning region or zone, or proposed development site;
- Requires the collection and/or combining of diverse economic, social, and environmental data sets from government, academic, private sector and non-government organization sources;
- Presents an opportunity to aid decision making with authoritative information and tools to assess impacts and trade-offs
- Offers greater possibilities to influence decision-makers and achieve environmental sustainability over the long term (unlike a single environmental theme approach)
An integrated land/water management vision often contains specific objectives for the state of an area at a future point of time. The process may also contain land or seascape scale provisions for assessing cumulative effects of development during the land use planning process. Resulting benchmarks or thresholds establish a context within which environmental assessments of projects may take place. The use of indicators for land/seascape level monitoring provides a mechanism for evaluating the state of land and water components against these benchmarks and may contribute to evaluating progress towards meeting future objectives.
The CGDI is a mechanism that can support all stages of implementing such integrated land/water frameworks. This announcement encourages CGDI applications that contribute to integrated land management or integrated water management (including coastal zones and oceans) which offer the possibility to improve decision making. Specifically, it solicits applications that facilitate:
- Land/water-use planning within an integrated management context (this includes creation of integrated community sustainability plans at the local or regional level); or
- Environmental assessments; or
- Monitoring through the use of environmental or sustainable development indicators.
Proponents should demonstrate how an application will influence decision making within a sustainable development context.
5.1.4 Issues of Importance to Aboriginal Peoples
Aboriginal1 communities in Canada are facing increasing pressures with respect to lands (including traditional lands and territories) and resources. These pressures and demands are a result of devolution under self-government initiatives, resource exploration activities, and the need to provide opportunities for their members while ensuring that lands will continue to be productive in the future. Balancing the needs of today with those of tomorrow requires communities to take advantage of modern technologies to assist in their planning and development. Thus the key areas of interest to GeoConnections with respect to issues of importance to Aboriginal people in this Announcement of Opportunities are land and resource management and community planning.
Land and resource management for many Aboriginal communities includes the recognition and incorporation of traditional value systems into land management practices and systems. With self-government agreements, comprehensive and specific land-claim agreements, and other federal initiatives such as the First Nations Land Management Act, being negotiated regularly between Aboriginal communities and Canada, land and resource management is becoming increasingly important. Sound practices for incorporating both traditional and western knowledge systems are vital in assisting decision making in Aboriginal communities.
Planning efforts based on community involvement are gaining prominence in Aboriginal communities and every planning effort is different depending on the requirements of the community. Planning is becoming more and more of a necessity as demands on community resources increase. For community-based planning efforts to effect sustainable results, information must be assembled in a manner that is reliable, cohesive, and consistent. With infrastructure data for Aboriginal communities residing with various agencies, it is a serious challenge for communities to find appropriate means of integrating required data in order to make informed decisions.
5.2 Collaboration
Every project should include at least one collaborating organization in addition to the project proponent. The collaborator’s commitment must be specified in a letter with the proposal submission.
5.3 User Needs Assessment
In addition to addressing priority issues, applications must be built to satisfy the specific needs of end-users in a given community of practice. Project proposals should clearly describe the issue that the application addresses, and demonstrate how the application responds to the needs of end-users. Therefore, a user needs assessment is necessary to develop long and short range plans and to help define problems that the proposed CGDI application will solve. Ultimately, it will help decision makers and planners set priorities and requirements for the application.
A typical User Needs Assessment involves three interlinked processes:
- Profiling the user community: Determining who specifically will be using
the application. For instance, a land-use planning application could be used
by land-use planners, by consultants, by non-government organizations, or
by a resource extraction industry. Each of these will have different requirements
and questions. User profiling narrows the audience for a particular application
to ensure it is relevant to a particular community.
- Assessing the needs of a user community: This process typically uses both
qualitative methods (e.g. focus groups) and quantitative methods (e.g. surveys,
questionnaires) to determine what questions end-users need the application
to answer and how they would like those answers delivered.
- User-Centred Design (UCD): This process engages users throughout the application design, testing and implementation to ensure it is meeting the needs as expected.
The proposal should describe how end-users were profiled, how their needs were assessed and what plans there are for engaging them throughout the project lifecycle. Documents which result from user needs assessments may be provided as annexes to project proposals.
5.4 Business Case
Project proponents should have a clear mandate to lead development of and maintain the proposed application and to serve the intended end-users. Ideally they will have a governance model / organizational structure that is stable and suitable for housing and maintaining the application.
5.4.2 Sustainability and Commitment
Communities of practice must be able to use proposed applications as intended once GeoConnections funding ends. Therefore, the project proponent or at least one of the collaborating organizations should commit to maintaining the application. Proponents should demonstrate a plan for sustaining the project results.
Furthermore, to ensure that the demand for the proposed application extends beyond the project, the following also should be demonstrated:
- That the agency that will sustain the application has an existing, active governance structure and mandate to maintain the application;
- That this agency has demonstrated its commitment by earmarking resources and/or personnel to sustaining the application;
- That where a third party undertakes the long-term implementation of a proposed application on behalf of an enabling body or end-user, a binding agreement ensuring the application’s sustainability should be in place.
Although GeoConnections will fund pilot applications (those that pilot prototypes) it will favour those proposals that result in operational implementations as quickly as possible. If applications will not be operationally deployed to end-users by the end of the funding period, plans must be detailed in the proposal on how this will be achieved in the near term.
5.5 Leveraging the CGDI
Projects should take advantage of the CGDI’s capabilities. This includes leveraging existing and emerging CGDI technology, data, and services. The CGDI is, by its nature, very technical. However numerous resources exist to support proponents in taking advantage of it. If you should have any questions about this section, you are encouraged to contact the GeoConnections program office.
Projects should build on investments in the CGDI that early contributors and developers have made. Proposals should demonstrate how a project will extend and/or be integrated within the CGDI.
5.5.1 CGDI-endorsed Standards and Specifications
Applications should use technology that is based on the endorsed and emerging standards and specifications of the CGDI. These standards are identified in the table below:
| Standard or Specification | Acronym | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Web Map Service | WMS | Data visualization from distributed data stores in a variety of formats and projections |
| Web Feature Service | WFS | Data access, insertion, update, and extraction |
| Geographic Markup Language | GML | Data encoding allowing neutral data exchange |
| Styled Layer Descriptor | SLD | Data presentation |
| Filter Encoding | n/a | Data query |
| Geodata Discovery Service | n/a | Metadata search - ISO 19115, FGDC-CSDGM 1998, OGC Catalogue Service, Z39.50 Geo Profile |
| Geodata Resource Registry | n/a | Metadata registry |
Letters of intent should describe and proposals should demonstrate how a project will integrate and be interoperable within the CGDI using one or more of these endorsed standards and specifications.
Details on the latest specifications are available on the GeoConnections website at http://www.geoconnections.org/en/communities/developers/standards.
GeoConnections may require that applications be tested for interoperability and conformance with CGDI standards and specifications.
5.5.2 CGDI Development Network
Project teams should participate in and make use of the CGDI Development Network for compatibility testing of standards and specifications, and for interoperability assessments. Project teams are also encouraged to contribute concepts and information to the CGDI Development Network for use by other members of the Network, to demonstrate the project results in workshops and seminars, and to promote the use of the CGDI within their communities of practice. Access the CGDI Development Network at http://www.geoconnections.org/en/communities/developers/index.html.
5.5.3 Alignment with the CGDI Technological Architecture
The CGDI architecture is based upon a three-tier model of data, services, and applications. The data tier consists of distributed geospatial information, such as metadata, feature data, or map layers. The services tier consists of web services compliant with CGDI-endorsed standards, which enable access to data or data processing. The third tier consists of the CGDI applications that address a specific problem or issue.
In the three-tiered CGDI architecture, applications are enabled by services that provide access to the required data and processing, as illustrated below:
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For detailed information on the architecture of the CGDI, refer to the documents available at http://www.geoconnections.org/en/communities/developers/fa=architecture.welcome.
GeoConnections also provides on-line training at http://www.geoconnections.org/publications/training_manual/e/index.htm and a developers’ guide at http://www.geoconnections.org/publications/Technical_Manual/html_e/cgdiindex.html.
5.6 Re-use of Applications
Proponents are encouraged to make project results portable and available for re-use by other communities of practice.
5.7 Innovation
Projects should generate new CGDI applications. Applications are considered to lack innovativeness when operational examples already exist. Proposals should explain how the proposed project will create an application that innovatively delivers geospatial information to the community of practice. Proposals should also describe any new technology development and any expected advances in the use of existing CGDI components.
5.8 Project Plan
Proposals should include a well-defined implementation plan, including a Gantt chart, and clearly indicate the following:
- Project phases with well-defined tasks for each stage
- Calendar-based schedule of project phases
- Work plan, with number of person-days per phase
- Milestone schedule, linked to deliverables
- Project control and tracking method
- Communication and feedback mechanisms (with community of practice, among collaborators, and with GeoConnections)
Although the work schedule is left to the project proponent’s discretion, the proposal should clearly identify the schedule details. Projects should be divided into phases and specify a series of milestones at critical points. These phases should not be so numerous as to make reporting onerous, however should correspond to key developments in the project cycle.
Depending on the nature of the project, milestones may be used as decision points by GeoConnections for authorizing any subsequent activities. Each milestone should be qualified with associated tasks to be completed and corresponding deliverables. Deliverables, as well as requests for payments, are to be linked to milestones.
Projects should be no longer than 15 months in duration and must start no earlier than April 1, 2006, and finish no later than June 30, 2007.
5.9 Feasibility
Proponents should use a risk assessment to show that the project is feasible and has a legitimate chance of success. This assessment can also include references to published research, contract reports, previous experience, and other supporting material.
A thorough risk assessment will identify all potential risks and problem areas and demonstrate mitigation strategies for each. Potential risk areas can include but are not limited to technology, resources, access to data, commitments, project dependencies, and policies. Proposals should describe the potential impact of each risk.
6 FINANCIAL INFORMATION
6.1 Maximum Funding
The maximum amount of funding available from GeoConnections per project is $150,000. Projects must be within the maximum funding limit exclusive of any taxes.
6.2 Cost Sharing
GeoConnections will fund only cost-shared projects. In cost-shared projects, the proponent and its partners agree to either contribute cash towards the work or absorb part of the project cost by contributing in-kind. The proponent’s financial contribution to the project is considered to be the part of the total project cost that the proponent funds or absorbs.
The maximum funding requested from GeoConnections per project must not exceed $150,000 and must not exceed 50% of the total project cost.
A proposed project can depend on another funding program, pending written confirmation from that program that funding has been approved.
6.3 Eligible Project Costs
For the purposes of this announcement, labour costs represent the actual salaries paid to personnel. For in-kind contributions, labour also includes employee benefits up to a maximum of 20%.
Each participating organization is required to explain how it calculates per diem rates. A typical way to calculate labour is to use the labour-rate formula: reasonable annual salary, plus reasonable overhead and benefits, divided by a reasonable number of billable days in a year. Labour rates must be exclusive of profit. In the case of government personnel, official labour rates approved by the government organization should be used.
Costs for software essential to the project will be considered.
Costs associated with publishing data to CGDI services will be considered. These costs may include those to implement data servers, to prepare data for publishing, or both. These costs cannot include charges to collect data.
Training, as part of technology transfer activities, may form part of the total estimated project cost. It should not, however, exceed 15% of the total project cost. Training costs should be fully explained and justified in the project proposal.
6.3.5 Travel and Living Expenses
Limited travel and living expenses will be considered case-by-case depending on the travel’s purpose. Proposals should detail the basis and cost of all required travel.
The basis of travel costs should be in accordance with the current Treasury Board Travel Directive, or, if applicable, in accordance with the project proponent’s own travel guidelines (but not exceeding the Treasury Board Directive). The Treasury Board Travel Directive is available at http://publiservice.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_113/td-dv_e.asp.
6.3.6 Subcontracts for services
For any subcontractors, cost-breakdown information should be detailed in the proposal.
6.4 Ineligible Project Costs
Profit, including profit on labour, is an ineligible expense and cannot be included when determining the total estimated project cost.
Goods and Services Tax (GST), Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) are not eligible for GeoConnections funding.
No payment shall be made for costs incurred to prepare or submit a project proposal or project agreement in response to this AO. No costs before receipt of a signed agreement or specified written authorization from GeoConnections can be charged to any resulting agreement.
Costs related to the purchase, acquisition, or value of data are not eligible. Costs associated with any activities related to the collection of data cannot be included in the total project cost.
6.4.5 Background Intellectual Property
Background intellectual property consists of intellectual property developed prior to the proposed project. Costs related to background intellectual property cannot be included in the total project cost.
GeoConnections funds cannot be used to purchase hardware.
Costs in the form of knowledge, goodwill, or other such intangibles are ineligible.
Purchase of land or payment of property taxes, capital costs.
6.5 Total Allowable Federal Assistance
The proponent shall provide a list of all federal departments participating in the proposed project and shall ensure that the total federal government assistance, including the amount requested from GeoConnections, does not exceed 75% of the total cost of the project. Funding from another GeoConnections-funded project cannot form part of the total project costs or leveraged funds.
6.6 Private-sector Involvement
GeoConnections is committed to spending 50% of its total budget within the private sector. Government proponents who receive GeoConnections project funding are required to contract work to the private sector wherever possible, rather than hire new internal staff to work on project activities. Project financial reports must detail this flow-through to the private sector.
6.7 Payment Schedule
Payment schedules will be specific to each project and will be outlined in the resulting agreement. In general, payment schedules will be based on milestones and their associated deliverables.
An advance payment may be made at the start of the project based on submitted and approved cash-flow requirements for start-up costs during the project’s first three (3) months. Advance payments are intended to help get the project off the ground in cases where cash flow is limited. A 10% hold back provision will apply to contributions when advances are issued.
7 REPORTING AND MONITORING
7.1 Project Authorities
A GeoConnections project authority will be assigned to monitor each project. This project authority will be responsible for approving milestone payments. Milestone reports and corresponding deliverables will be submitted to the project authority for evaluation.
7.2 Orientation Meeting
Project proponents should arrange an initial orientation meeting involving all key project participants and the GeoConnections project authority.
7.3 Milestone Reports
At the conclusion of each milestone, the project manager shall provide a brief report to the GeoConnections project authority. These reports will be required before any payments are made and shall contain at minimum, but not be limited to:
- a title page
- a summary of the work accomplished in comparison to the work plan, including URLs of prototype and operational results
- an explanation of any problems encountered and their solution
- any changes to the work plan for the next milestone
- financial report, if requesting payment
7.4 Interim Progress-review Meetings
Interim progress-review meetings should be scheduled to demonstrate project progress and to discuss any relevant project issues. These meetings may or may not be tied to milestones.
7.5 Final Report
At the end of the project, the project team must provide a final report. This report should do the following:
- Describe the project outcomes compared with planned objectives;
- Assess the project’s success in meeting end-users needs;
- Identify the project benefits, especially regarding priority issues and the community of practice;
- Discuss the benefits of the project for the project team;
- Discuss business and commercial activities related to the project results;
- Discuss challenges (technical and policy) encountered;
- Discuss CGDI content, standards, and technology that were utilized;
- Discuss any gaps that were identified in the CGDI;
- Provide recommendations for CGDI development and direction;
- Describe the activities undertaken or planned to disseminate the project outcomes, including publishing results to the GeoConnections Discovery Portal and the CGDI Developer’s Network;
- Outline plans for follow-on activities and projects; and
- Describe communications activities, including public and internal (strategic) communications undertaken to date and planned
7.6 Registration of Results
Any new CGDI services resulting from this project must be registered with the GeoConnections Discovery Portal.
7.7 Public and Stakeholder Communications
All projects that receive funding from GeoConnections will promote project results and publicly acknowledge the GeoConnections contribution by displaying the GeoConnections logo and link on media, public, and stakeholder news releases; presentations; websites; brochures; and other publications or documentation that describes the project and its outcomes.
Where only text is allowed, the acknowledgement will include the following wording:
"…with financial support from GeoConnections, a national partnership initiative led by Natural Resources Canada. GeoConnections and its partners are working to enhance the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure, an on-line resource that enables decision-makers to access, combine, and share geographic information over the Internet and gain new insights into social, environmental, and economic issues."
Where logos of supporting agencies are included in a product, the GeoConnections logo and the Canada wordmark shall be used.
Where both text and logos are used, both the text and logo forms of acknowledgement must be used.
Proponents are required to obtain GeoConnections’ approval prior to issuing, printing, or publishing any publicity material. Approval can be expected within three (3) business days. Material should be submitted to the GeoConnections project authority. GeoConnections will offer a link to project news releases and articles from its website, and may otherwise promote the projects successes in consultation with the project proponent and collaborators.
8 CONTACT
All enquiries and other communications related to this AO should be directed in writing, preferably by e-mail, to:
Julie Béland
Project Coordination Officer
Program Management Office
GeoConnections Secretariat
Natural Resources Canada
Government of Canada
Room 626, 615 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0E9
Canada
Telephone: (613) 947-5009
Facsimile: (613) 947-2410
Email: jbeland@nrcan.gc.ca
APPENDIX
Proposal Evaluation Criteria
Proposal Evaluation
Proposals will be evaluated according to specific evaluation criteria. For each proposal, evaluation scores will be calculated using the criteria in the table below:
| I Impact | II Relevance | III CGDI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Collaborations | User Needs | CGDI Leverage |
| 2 | Benefits to Community of Practice | Sustainability and Commitment | Innovation |
| 3 | Reuse and Portability | Feasibility | Standards and Interoperability |
| 4 | Cash and In-Kind Leverage | Decision Making | Information Sharing |
The evaluation will be based on the selection of the most appropriate statement,
from a list of statements ranked ‘A’ through ‘D’, which
best describes how the proposal addresses that particular criterion. These statements
are described, for each of the criteria, below under “Evaluation Criteria
Statements”.
Note: The proposal evaluation committee will assess proposals using only
the information provided in the proposal. No information from other sources
will be considered during the evaluation.
‘A’ statements correspond to the minimum acceptable or minimum assessable
conditions for a given evaluation criterion, whereas ‘D’ statements
correspond to the most desirable condition for that particular evaluation criterion,
and thus the maximum possible assessment.
When the proposal does not meet all the conditions and elements to satisfy a
particular evaluation statement, evaluators are instructed to select the next
lowest statement and its associated letter score. For example, if the proposal
does not satisfactorily address all the conditions and elements in statement
‘C’ for a particular evaluation criterion, then statement ‘B’
is selected.
When a particular criterion cannot be assessed, due to confusing or missing
information, an ‘N’ score is assigned.
Each of the criteria has equal weight. Letter scores are associated with percentage
values according to the table below:
| Letter Score | Value |
|---|---|
| N | - |
| A | 3% |
| B | 33% |
| C | 67% |
| D | 100% |
Individual scores for each of the evaluation criteria are summed and an average is calculated. The maximum possible score for a proposal is 100% and the minimum possible score is 0%.
Proposals that do not achieve an average score of at least 50% will not be considered for funding. In addition, proposals that do not receive at least a “B” score in any of CGDI Leverage, Standards and Interoperability, User Needs, Information Sharing, Sustainability and Commitment, Feasibility, Decision Making, or Collaborations will not be considered for funding.
1. Impact Criteria
1.1 Collaborations
The proposed project:
- does not involve the collaboration of more than one organization.
- involves the collaboration of more than one organization.
- involves the collaboration of more than two organizations, and will seek ongoing advice and input from users within the community of practice.
- involves the collaboration of more than two organizations, and includes active involvement from users within the community of practice. In addition, the project will create or extend multi-disciplinary or interdepartmental collaboration and has links to other initiatives that will enhance the visibility of GeoConnections.
1.2 Benefits to Community of Practice
The proposed project:
- does not address a priority issue within one of the four thematic areas.
- addresses one or more issue within one of the thematic areas.
- addresses one or more of the identified priority issues within the thematic area.
- addresses more than one of the priority issues within the thematic area and is likely to create significant long-term benefits.
1.3 Reuse and Portability
The proposed project:
- results in an application that is not easily portable for reuse by another community of practice.
- results in an application that is portable and could be used by another community of practice.
- results in an application that is designed to be portable and could easily be redeployed and used by another community of practice.
- results in multiple applications deployed in more than one community of practice.
1.4 Cash and In-kind Leverage
Review the financial information provided in the proposal. Taking into account both the requested GeoConnections contribution (as a percentage of the total project cost) and the cash contribution (as a percentage of the total project cost) to be made by the project proponent and collaborators, select the value type (I, II, III, or IV) in the following table that best represents the combination of the GeoConnections share and the cash leveraged for the project.
| GeoConnections Share (% of total project cost) |
|||||
| 50 - 45 | 45 - 35 | 35 - 20 | < 20 | ||
| Proponent and Collaborator
Cash Contribution (% of total project cost) |
0 - 10 | I | II | II | II |
| 10 - 25 | II | II | III | III | |
| 25 - 35 | II | III | III | IV | |
| > 35 | III | III | IV | IV | |
Select the statement below that best reflects your evaluation of the proposed project.
The proposed project shows:
- leverage of type “I”
- leverage of type “II”
- leverage of type “III”
- leverage of type “IV”
2. Relevance Criteria
2.1 User Needs
The proposal:
- is not based on a user needs analysis or the proponent does not have a realistic business case to justify undertaking the project.
- demonstrates only a minimal user needs analysis or a minimal business case to justify undertaking the project.
- demonstrates a thorough user needs analysis and a solid business case to justify undertaking the project.
- demonstrates a thorough user needs analysis indicating how the application completely fits end user requirements, and a thorough business case that explains why the project is an absolute requirement for the proponent.
2.2 Sustainability and Commitment
The project proponent:
- has no real plan for the maintenance and operation of the application beyond the end of the project
- has a plan for the maintenance and operation of the application beyond the end of the project but does not have the commitment of an organization with a business case and mandate for such
- has a commitment for the maintenance and operation of the application beyond the end of the project, including the commitment of an organization with a business case and mandate for such.
- has a business case and mandate for the maintenance and operation of the application beyond the end of the project, and has demonstrated long-term planning and resources for sustaining the application.
2.3 Feasibility
The proposed project:
- is not feasible.
- is feasible but has no real or realistic plans for risk mitigation.
- is feasible, based on proven methodologies, and has reasonable plans for risk mitigation.
- is feasible, based on proven methodologies and past experience (e.g., pilot projects, demonstrations, etc.), and has proven plans for risk mitigation that are based on a thorough risk assessment.
2.4 Decision Making
The proposed project:
- will result in an application that will not enhance decision making.
- will result in an application that will somewhat enhance decision making.
- will result in an application that will enhance decision making in addressing one or more priority issue within one of the four thematic areas.
- will result in an application that will enhance decision making in addressing
one or more priority issue within one of the four thematic areas, and will
become the primary tool in the decision making process.
3. CGDI Criteria
3.1 CGDI Leverage
The proposed project:
- will enable an application that does not utilize any CGDI services.
- will enable an application that utilizes one CGDI service.
- will enable an application that utilizes more than one CGDI service.
- will enable an application that utilizes more than one CGDI service and uses only data sources that are accessible via the CGDI. That is, the project is based entirely on use of the CGDI.
3.2 Innovation
The proposed project:
- develops an application for which a similar example already exists and is currently, or soon to be, available to the community of practice addressed in the proposal.
- develops an application for which a similar example already exists but is not currently, or soon to be, available to the community of practice addressed in the proposal.
- develops an application for which a similar example does not exist.
- is completely innovative and truly unique, providing major advances and breakthroughs in the application of CGDI technologies or data to deliver an application for which a similar example does not exist.
3.3 Standards and Interoperability
The proposed project:
- does not involve the use of CGDI-endorsed or emerging standards, or these standards are merely mentioned without indicating how they are to be applied.
- is compliant with some of the CGDI-endorsed or emerging standards.
- is based on the use of, and is compliant with, CGDI-endorsed or emerging standards.
- is based entirely on the use of, and is entirely compliant with, CGDI-endorsed
or emerging standards, and produces a “flagship” CGDI application
that clearly demonstrates interoperability.
* Interoperability - the ability of one system’s components to be utilized by another system and vice versa, through the implementation and use of open standards and specifications.
3.4 Information Sharing
The proponent:
- has no need to share data or information products outside of the proponent’s organization.
- has a rationale to share data or information products outside of the proponent’s organization.
- has a rationale and is mandated to share data or information products outside of the proponent’s organization.
- is mandated to share data or information products outside of the
proponent’s organization and will, as a result of this project, use
the CGDI as its primary means of sharing information.
Footnote: