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Status Report on Major Crown Projects for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Description:

The National Land and Water Information Service is an initiative of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) under the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF) to make available, to land-use decision makers, decision tools and environmental information to support and inform local and regional land-use planning and management. This supports the government's objectives for an environmentally sustainable agriculture sector.

The National Land and Water Information Service will support improved decision making in agriculture through the provision of timely and relevant geo-spatial information to land management decision makers across Canada. The Service will provide a coordinated national approach for managing, interpreting and disseminating information, by strategically linking the land, soil, water, air, climate and biodiversity capacities of federal departments, provincial and municipal governments and non-governmental organizations. The federal government's desire for promotion of technology through the Government On-Line initiative strengthens the information provision objective of NLWIS.

Project Phases:

Project Definition (2004/05);
Project Implementation (2005/06): Phase 1 (2005/06), Phase 2 (2005/07), Phase 3 (2006/08), Phase 4 (2008/09)


Leading and Participating Departments and Agencies:
Lead Department or Agency: AAFC
Contracting Authority: AAFC, PWGSC
Participating Departments and Agencies: NRCan, EC, SC, DFO, HC, PWGSC, CSA, INAC, TBS, PSEPC, IC, PC, Archives
Prime and Major Sub-Contractors:
Prime Contractor:  
Major Sub-Contractors: The Halifax Group;Fujitsu Consulting Canada

Based on AAFC's existing capabilities with regard to geomatics information technology applications, AAFC will retain overall responsibility for design, development, delivery and ongoing maintenance of the National Land and Water Information Service. Private sector resources will be obtained when required to meet discrete identified gaps in AAFC's internal capabilities or internal resource availability.

In order to ensure compliance with project timelines and minimize transaction and administration costs, existing Government of Canada (GOC) and AAFC procurement instruments (Supply Arrangements, Standing Offers, etc) will be used as appropriate to the circumstances.

Procurement of specialized IT and other professional services will be structured to maximize knowledge transfer to AAFC in order to ensure cost-effective maintenance of the National Land and Water Information Service.


Major Milestones:
Major Milestones Date
Milestone
Preliminary Project Approval 10-Apr-03
Project Management Office Established 30-Jun-03
Preliminary Project Approval Amendment 8-Apr-04
Proof of Concept Completed 31-Jan-05
Effective Project Approval Documentation Completed 31-Jan-05
Effective Project Approval 2-May-05
Phase 1 (Single Window) completion 31-Mar-06
Phase 2 (Geospatial Environment) commencement 1-Sep-05
Phase 2 (Geospatial Environment) completion 30-Nov-07
Phase 3 (National Source for Agri-environmental Geospatial Information) commencement 1-Jan-06

Progress Report and Explanations of Variances:

The Treasury Board approved the National Land and Water Information Service (NLWIS) with an estimated cost of $100.1 million. The NLWIS Project received Preliminary Project Approval on April 10, 2003 and was designated a Major Crown Project. The National Land and Water Information Service Project received Effective Project Approval from Treasury Board in May 2005. Phase 1 (Single Window) was completed in March 2006. Phase 2 (Geospatial Environment) was initiated in September 2005 and was completed in November 2007. Phase 3 (National Source for Agri-environmental Geospatial Information) commenced in January 2006. Phase 3 will provide accessibility to new GIS applications and services to users across Canada. Direct access to geospatial data, maps and tools will be made available. Users will be able to access information and data in both official languages and in standardized formats.

No additional funding has been provided by the Treasury Board or by the department. NLWIS is currently running on budget with the completion date still estimated to be March 2009.

Industrial Benefits:

The National Land and Water Information Service is a national program that will use and provide information in all the provinces. Resources required to support implementation will be located across Canada.