Streamlining Project Final Version August 2005 Graham Hawkins, Information Access Team Lead, Marg Shamlock, Business Process Alignment Team Lead Information Access Team Proposals Creating a streamlined forest information management model…

2 Information Access Team Presentation Overview Why change is needed The Streamlining Project Mandate Process Vision and working principles Business Proposals (6) Streamlining benefits

3 Information Access Team The Challenge: Why Change? Information needed by licensees and government for operational planning is often difficult to access Access is split between corporate and district silos with different access procedures It is difficult for staff to locate specific data layers Long-standing information quality issues need to be fixed with clear, practical standards, data clean-up, and robust business procedures

4 Information Access Team The Streamlining Project Mandate Improve the forest information cycle, from up-front information access for operational plan and appraisal submissions through to free-growing declarations Realize improvements through Integrated business processes Improved access to information Consistent, streamlined information requirements that are well understood

5 Information Access Team The Streamlining Project Phases Phase I: Issues identified, resulting in high level recommendations FRPA notification and reporting streamlined Phase II: Cross-corporate teams developed proposals to improve business Proposals were reviewed by government and industry, and revised as needed based on feedback. Phase III: Communicate business proposals to responsibility centres Responsibility centres develop training, policies, guidelines, and systems to support changes Cross-corporate Business Integration Group co-ordinates and supports implementation efforts

6 Information Access Team Phase II Team Process An Information Access (IA) team was formed with representation from: Operations (district and regional staff) 2 systems branches from MoF and MSRM Corporate input from both ministries A series of regular IA meetings and reviews were held to address Phase I recommendations Two surveys formed the basis of a number of the IA team recommendations: A survey sent to districts asking what types of applications and information district staff and industry need to fulfill their business requirements A survey sent to C&E staff inquiring about their mapping needs

7 Information Access Team Phase II Team Process Cont’d The Information Access Team proposals are outlined in the slides that follow These proposals are backed by a more detailed report available from the Streamlining website The proposals were subject to a province-wide review by government and licensee operational staff Proposals have been communicated to responsibility centres, and implementation is now underway

8 Information Access Team Vision Operationally-oriented, consolidated user access to the quality-assured information needed to carry out routine forest management tasks

9 Information Access Team Working Principles Information will be shared within government where possible The focus is on the business - not the systems Solutions will meet operational needs of districts and all licensees (large and small) Clarity and integration of the business will enable future systems improvements (transition to full e-business) Major business processes will be provincially consistent The comparison of planned, permitted, and actual activity will be possible (C&E, Revenue, Monitoring)

10 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #1 The “Forest Information Mall” District and licensee staff need: One-stop access to the information and systems they need to do their jobs Transparent, scaleable, task-defined access Access to communities of practice and user forums where knowledge and learning can be shared One place to find the experts and contacts for questions and feedback

11 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #1 The “Forest Information Mall” Build a one-stop shopping internet-based access point (the “Forest Information Mall”) for licensee and government staff access to: Information needed for planning and reporting FRPA Objectives, Resource features, Inventory, etc. Local district information All relevant MoF and MSRM systems (including viewing tools) Data and systems access application process Business Information Centre website Business processes maps; MoF data, systems, and organization info Policies, legislation, guidelines, standards

12 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #1 The Forest Information Mall Cont’d One-stop access to (cont’d): Manuals, checklists, forms, etc. Forestry user forums Government staff expertise directory (“expert locator”) Improved search engine Help and training services Functional user feedback for all aspects of the business

13 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #1 The Forest Information Mall Cont’d The Forest Information Mall will begin as a single, user- friendly access point to existing websites (e.g. LRDW, BIC website, MoF/MSRM departmental internet sites) The Mall will link to local data sources where appropriate Providing access to the information required to support Operational Plan (FSP) development is a priority starting point The Mall will be organized by task (planning, notification, or reporting)

14 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #1 The Forest Information Mall Cont’d Example of task-sensitive viewing for key aspects of the business:

15 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #2 Consolidated Spatial Information Access District and licensee staff need consolidated access to spatial information Current access is split among many corporate and district information silos All forestry spatial information should be “analysis-ready” Staff need task-sensitive tools to reduce information overload and find the information they need Technical staff using the LRDW need tools to: Tag layers for specific business areas or tasks Indicate which attribute tables should be used with which layers

16 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #2 Consolidated Spatial Information Cont’d Viewing tools designed for operational staff should have the following attributes: Task-sensitive views/ user-designed templates User layer and feature control User-friendly mapping tools: Task oriented menus Smart search capability (e.g. for a tenure or cutblock) Easily printed Editing capability

17 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #2 Consolidated Spatial Information Cont’d Need a more efficient process for loading district data updates into the LRDW Information for which the district has data stewardship responsibilities Spatial information should include information on the currency, accuracy, and source of data

18 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #3 Core Information There is a set of core spatial information that is the foundation upon which many different business areas overlay business-specific information Core information includes biophysical base information and common features Biophysical base information includes: Contours Water Roads

19 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #3 Core Information Cont’d Common features include: Land status and ownership Vegetation resource inventory Imagery Higher level planning information Riparian features Core information should be: Consolidated Shared openly Updated regularly

20 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #3 Core Information Cont’d Different and duplicative versions of core information exist. This must be minimized to ensure there is only one “working copy” Core information must be in a format (or formats) that enable seamless integration with other core information and with task-sensitive information Users should be able to customize viewing of core information

21 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #3 Core Information Cont’d Viewers and tools should provide task-sensitive and core information as a start, and allow user customization

22 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #4 Streamlined User Access Currently there are multiple websites and protocols for accessing systems and information Consolidation of user access is needed New access protocols should recognize that forestry systems/information users are clients well-known to government

23 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #4 Streamlined User Access Cont’d Consolidate and simplify access protocols for required data and systems Consider a single application procedure which grants access to all required data and systems

24 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #4 Streamlined User Access Cont’d Adopt scaleable security access: Access is provided only to those who need it Groups of users gain pre-determined levels of access Avoids cumbersome user agreements for each separate user Licensees that provide landbase updates to standard should have no-fee access to landbase information

25 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #5 Data quality Ensure all forestry information has a clearly articulated custodian Prioritize and resource data clean-up with business and application specialists Build data quality assurance, including standards, into systems and procedures to ensure “cleaned” information isn’t subsequently corrupted Ensure there is an integrated MoF/MSRM data custodianship structure for forest management information to support data quality improvements Communicate with operational staff about data standards and custodianship roles/responsibilities

26 Information Access Team Information Access Proposal #6 Activity Notification Clear, provincially-consistent electronic process to support FRPA notification of harvest and road construction activity has been developed Activity notification is shared across affected business processes and systems Notification mechanism should be delivered via Forest Information Mall website

27 Information Access Team Benefits Information and systems needed to meet core business needs will be readily available Single, task-sensitive access point with simplified access procedures Consolidated spatial information for planning and reporting Current, standardized, and quality-assured data Systems that better support business requirements Baseline information available for C&E monitoring of FSPs