Esri Canada Completes Demonstration App for Arctic Spatial Data Pilot Project

TORONTO – April 20, 2017 – Esri Canada today announced the completion of the Policy Workbench, a comprehensive demonstration app that can help policy makers better understand Pan-Arctic issues. The web mapping app was created for the Open Geospatial Consortium Arctic Spatial Data Pilot Project (Arctic SDP), an initiative by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) designed to demonstrate the value of enhanced spatial data sharing among organizations.

“The (Arctic SDP) project will ensure that the facts we collect in their data formats are interoperable and can be shared from local to global partners in a seamless way. To date, there has been no such effort to do this and this project is, for the Arctic, a game-changer,” said Prashant Shukle, Director General, Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, NRCan.

Built using Esri Story Maps, the Policy Workbench app enables analysis of Arctic food security issues, including how environmental changes are threatening traditional food sources like caribou. It has maps showing different aspects of store-bought and country (or traditional) food. The maps illustrate locations of major retail food stores and their spatial density, transportation routes, 30 years of Landsat imagery, the polar area covered by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna working group of the Arctic Council, and local language areas.

“Food security has complex policy implications,” noted Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “If a population in a certain area doesn’t have access to store-bought food, then they may be more likely to gather, hunt and fish for food to sustain themselves. By integrating these spatial data layers into a single web mapping app, policy makers can gain better insights on how these populations are affected by environmental and other challenges that affect their traditional food supply.”

The Public Workbench app demonstrates how local data and large-scale maps and imagery can be integrated to examine these food security policy issues. Read more about the app in this blog: How can a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) be used for policy decision-making in the Arctic?

Explore the demonstration Policy Workbench app.

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides enterprise geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower businesses, governments and educational institutions to make timely, informed and mission-critical decisions by leveraging the power of geography.  The company distributes the world's leading GIS software from Esri, Schneider Electric, Cityworks–Azteca Systems, Inc. and other technology partners.  Headquartered in Toronto, the company serves over 10,000 customers from 16 regional offices across Canada. Esri Canada joined the elite rank of Canada’s Best Managed companies in 2012 and became a Gold Standard winner in 2015. The company has also been named to the Branham300 and Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.

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