Over fourteen years, the GEOIDE Network has set a standard for excellence in delivering results of research to user communities across disciplinary boundaries

Chrisman, N

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Lessons learned from 14 years of the GEOIDE network

International audienceOver fourteen years, the GEOIDE Network has set a standard for excellence in delivering results of research to user communities across disciplinary boundaries

Chrisman, Nicholas

Hal-Diderot

Lessons learned from 14 years of the GEOIDE Network

Archive Ouverte a LUniversite Lyon 2

Lessons learned from 14 years of the GEOIDE Network
Nicholas Chrisman
To cite this version:
Nicholas Chrisman. Lessons learned from 14 years of the GEOIDE Network. CIST2011 - Fonder
les sciences du territoire, Nov 2011, Paris, France. Proceedings du 1er colloque international
du CIST, pp.85-88, 2011, <http://www.gis-cist.fr/cist2011-objectifs/>. <hal-01353220>
HAL Id: hal-01353220
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01353220
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 85 
Lessons learned from 14 years of the GEOIDE 
Network 
AUTHOR 
Nicholas CHRISMAN, Université Laval (Canada) 
ABSTRACT  
Over fourteen years, the GEOIDE Network has set a standard for excellence in 
delivering results of research to user communities across disciplinary boundaries. 
MOTS CLÉS 
Sciences du territoire, réseaux, innovation, géomatique, Canada. 
INTRODUCTION 
There are many factors in developing a knowledge management infrastructure, but 
perhaps the most fragile involves mobilizing people from diverse backgrounds to work 
together. Canada has a long record of innovation in science management, in part due to 
its multiple heritage (France, England) and proximity to USA. Canada went through 
periods of centralized science typical of the early twentieth century with the National 
Research Council, actually more of a centre of government-funded researchers similar 
in concept to CNRS in France. Canada also established science funding councils in the 
1950s that took precedence for university-based research, along the lines adopted in 
the United States. By the 1990s, various tendencies led to the creation of an institution 
to engage researchers more closely with "recipient communities" (such as industry and 
government). This entity was called the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE). (See 
Atkinson-Grosjean 2005 for more detailed history.) The NCE built new kinds of 
institutions, "networks" in place of "centres". Much of this could seem like bureaucratic 
smokescreens for the same old arrangements, but these networks do operate 
differently. 
This paper will derive much of its empirical component from one network: GEOIDE, 
founded in 1998 under the full title "Geomatics for Informed Decisions; géomatique pour 
les interventions et décisions éclairées". GEOIDE provides an example of a fourteen 
year experiment in conducting research linking various sectors, and eventually how this 
became a model for other similar entites around the world. GEOIDE is interdisciplinary, 
international and designed around delivery to user communities (industry, government, 
and non-profits generally). Since this is also the design of the GIS CIST, it is pertinent to 
consider the history of the Canadian experiment.  
1. GEOIDE NETWORK: COLLABORATION DESIGNED FOR PUBLIC BENEFIT 
Quick summary of the network  
Fourteen years ago, a team of geomatics researchers built a national collaboration of 
government, industry and the research sector to win a highly competitive competition. 
The result was the GEOIDE Network (GEOmatics for Informed DEcisions), funded by 
the Networks of Centres of Excellence (a permanent programme of the Government of 
Canada) for these past fourteen years. It has engaged teams of researchers from 34 
 86 
institutions across Canada with over 500 partners in every sector. The inputs and 
outputs are easy to catalogue, but it is the benefits for society that matter.  
GEOIDE assembles researchers across Canada, in a range of fields including termed 
"geomatics" in Canada (including surveying, geodesy, photogrammetry, remote 
sensing, image processing, geography, planning, and geographic information science). 
It also mobilizes domain specialists from various environmental sciences, engineering, 
and the social sciences. Over a fourteen year period, GEOIDE has funded a total of 121 
projects, with a total investment of 79.3million$CAD (at current exchange rate 57million 
euros). Over this period, 395 research scholars from Canada have participated in the 
projects, and a total of 1437 students. In addition, 174 industrial affiliates have been 
engaged, alongside 95 governmental entities at all levels. Researchers from around the 
world have been linked formally and informally from 146 institutions (research 
laboratories, universities and the like). In terms of traditional output measures, GEOIDE 
projects report 2675 peer reviewed papers and another 2070 in non-peer reviewed 
outlets. So, in the traditional measures, GEOIDE has been a big research enterprise, 
but it must show results beyond this. 
Interdisciplinary mix- What is in a name? 
The mix of disciplines involved in GIScience or geomatics has fallen out differently from 
place to place, country to country. The role of institutions has varied, with strong state 
support in some places, and more industry role in others. Overall, this multi-disciplinary 
convergence presents an interesting case study in the history and sociology of science 
and technology. The naming of the field itself demonstrates this diversity of approaches, 
as well as signaling the complexity in building true international coherence. The long-
established disciplines of cartography, surveying, geography, and geodesy have 
merged in various ways in different countries. For example, cartography as an 
academic subject is mostly practiced inside geography departments in North America, 
but this is not the case in most of Europe. Surveying as an academic subject has 
declined in North America despite the dramatic technological advances in the field. 
Michel Paradis saw this coming in 1981 and used his opportunity as keynote speaker to 
develop the new term "geomatics" (Paradis 1981). In most countries there have been 
mergers, but which have merged with the others is not guaranteed. The more recent 
fields of photogrammetry, remote sensing, geographic information systems have been 
merged in some places with some of the older disciplines under the title of 
geocomputation or geographic information science. In Canada, the term “geomatics” 
(géomatique en français) took root twenty-five years ago as a covering term for the 
whole collection of undertakings to collect, analyze and distribute geographic 
information (Gagnon and Coleman, 1990). In Australia, the term ‘spatial sciences’ has 
become the rallying term for the same coalition. The term “sciences du territoire” 
proposed for this colloque is hard to translate into English with the same degree of 
clarity as it holds in French. For the purposes of this paper, I will adopt the Canadian 
term, with a willingness to understand how this term separates us from some groups as 
much as it aligns us. 
Whatever the name, the interdisciplinary nature of GEOIDE is crucial to its results. 
GEOIDE covers many disciplines, but a single example offers a glimpse into its 
scientific results. Atlantic salmon hold great value to ecosystems and to humans. The 
economic value of wild atlantic salmon stems largely from the sport fishery, worth tens 
of millions of dollars annually. The species is, however, in decline across its natural 
range, prompting a call to action for resource managers and the science community. A 
GEOIDE team adopted an integrated approach to salmon habitat from headwaters to 
estuaries; mobilizing fluvial geomorphology, biology, and geomatics technology. One 
key element investigates mortality of salmon smolt in their perilous journey from fresh 
 87 
water to the ocean. By using various geomatics techniques, including the innovative use 
of passive sensor tags on the smolt, they have been able to resolve open scientific 
questions about a smolt's navigation capacity and its ability to sense salinity and the 
location of the ocean. Arrays of antennae in the stream bed have enhanced spatial and 
temporal resolution by orders of magnitude (Johnston and others 2009). A previously 
unknown “commuter” behavior of salmonid juveniles has been observed, to be verified 
in this field season. The researchers contend that they would not have detected this 
behavior without the interdisciplinary breadth of their network project. The project’s 
affiliates (government resource managers, sport fishermen, first nations and the hydro-
electric utility) are directly interested in the scientific results since new knowledge of how 
salmon interact with their environment will influence land management decisions and 
public policy on rivers and estuaries.   
Mission  
The core of the GEOIDE’s mission is to promote the development of geomatics 
research in a way that delivers benefits to Canadians. (see www.geoide.ulaval.ca) 
Unlike "curiosity-driven" research councils, NCE favors an interaction between 
"receptors" and the research community. Through this two-way flow, the traditional 
linear model of a linear pipeline of "technology transfer" is abandoned. Projects have 
been selected for their robust interdisciplinary communication and for their 
collaborations with a user sector in industry, government, or the non-profit sector. 
Substantial additional funding is expected from these user sectors, and GEOIDE has 
been more and more successful in obtaining cash contributions, in some cases 
matching the research council funding 1:1. Overall, the recent average is closer to 1 
(from users):2(from the councils). 
Figure 1. Logo de GEOIDE 
 
Innovation  
One of the central goals of the NCE programme and the Canadian government is to 
create new enterprises, or to spur innovation in existing companies. GEOIDE projects 
have led to at least 20 patents, and many more licensed technologies. A few spin-off 
companies have resulted, most of them still in business. For example, SimActive, 
Miovision and Intelli3 were created by GEOIDE-trained students, with support from 
GEOIDE Market Development Funds and from other partners. Perhaps the most 
successful spin-off had the shortest existence, as GeoTango was acquired by Microsoft 
within weeks of its creation. The technical directions of GEOIDE research point the way 
for Canadian contributions to web mapping, positioning technologies, image processing 
algorithms, business intelligence and many more. The current projects continue with 
augmented reality, volunteered platforms, and distributed sensors – the areas of strong 
growth potential. 
Training of Highly Qualified Personnel 
Over many years, the Network has funded over two hundred students each year. Over 
the life of the Network, 545 students have completed graduate degrees (Masters and 
PhD). Results of the cumulative investment have been particularly clear as a generation 
 88 
of graduates from the network have taken up positions across the geomatics 
community. These students were trained in a different manner, placing greater 
emphasis on interdisciplinary teamwork.  
Perhaps a third of the students moved directly into industry jobs, but the new generation 
is most visible in the academic sector. Over the past four years, 18 former GEOIDE 
trainees have taken tenure-track positions in academic departments across Canada. In 
some geomatics departments, half of the new junior hires have been GEOIDE students 
from earlier Phases. Twelve of the 95 researchers in the Pilot projects for Phase IV are 
former GEOIDE trainees, including two project leaders and three deputy leaders. As a 
result, research leadership in the Network is turning to new faces with real experience in 
networking. 
No single student is a “Key Accomplishment.” Taken as a group, however, this new 
generation of geomatics professionals working in all sectors of the geomatics 
community is already making an impact on the economy, in the form of new businesses 
and innovation within existing companies. On the academic side, the research 
community is being renewed and the spirit of networking firmly established. These 
students are an enduring legacy of GEOIDE and an indicator of future 
accomplishments. 
International connections 
Over the years, GEOIDE developed stronger relationships with an increasing number of 
international partners. In 2006, GEOIDE hosted a workshop that assembled the 
scientific directors (or equivalent) from organizations representing France, Ireland, 
Australia, Netherlands, USA, European Union, and Latin America. Subsequently, 
connections have been made to Mexico and South Korea. Each organization has its 
own origins and distinct objectives. Some are research networks much like GEOIDE, 
with funding for research initiatives. GEOIDE has actively engaged with these groups, 
sending representatives to their national meetings, attending their workshops, and 
bringing their teams to GEOIDE events. These efforts have led to enlarged teams 
(affiliated foreign researchers increased from 17 to 39 in Phase III), bringing Canadian 
expertise to a new worldwide leadership position. GEOIDE has joined with Australia, 
Mexico, Sweden, and South Korea to create an organization termed the Global Network 
for Networks. This unincorporated entity seeks to promote common operations and 
enhanced exchange.  
REFERENCES  
Atkinson-Grosjean, J, 2006, Public Science, Private Interests: Culture and Commerce at Canada's 
Networks of Centres of Excellence, University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 
Gagnon, P., & Coleman, D., 1990, “Geomatics, an Integrated, Systemic Approach to Meet the 
Needs for Spatial Information” CISM Journal ACSGC, 44 (4), pp. 377-382. 
Johnston, P., Bérubé, F. & Bergeron, N.E., 2009, "Use of a flat-bed antenna grid for continuous 
monitoring of wild juvenile salmonids movements in a natural stream" Proceedings of the 7th 
international symposium of Ecohydraulics, Concepcion, Chile. January 12-16 2009. 
Paradis, M., 1981, De l'arpentage à la géomatique (From Surveying to Geomatics). The Canadian 
Surveyor, Ottawa, Canada, 35 (3), pp. 262-268. 
http://www.geoide.ulaval.ca http://www.nce-rce.gc.ca 
AUTEUR 
Nicholas Chrisman 
sciences géomatiques, et réseau GEOIDE - Université Laval, Québec 
nicholas.chrisman@geoide.ulaval.ca 


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Lessons learned from 14 years of the GEOIDE network

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