Maintenance and updates of GIS Hub for Spatial Datasets Management

DFO’s Ecosystem and Science Division (ESD), Science Branch, Pacific Region, is developing spatial data products including representations of bottom type, habitat suitability, productivity, species distribution, and vulnerability to support a variety of federal programs including the Ocean Protection Plan, the Marine Conservation Target, and Stock Assessment. The analyses underlying these products will draw on a variety of input data, in a variety of formats, and apply a variety of conceptual and statistical methods. A core objective of these efforts is to advance the department’s understanding of valued species distributions which, given the absence (and unfeasibility) of comprehensive surveys, will rely on the development and validation of Habitat Suitability Models (HSM). A platform, we call the GIS Hub, has been developed to store, search and download various spatial datasets using the open-source CKAN system. CKAN is a tool for making data management portals (https://ckan.org/). Core CKAN provides functions for managing and publishing collections of data and is used by national and local governments, research institutions, and other organizations who collect a large number of datasets. Canada’s Open Data website is also powered by CKAN. Our customized instance of CKAN (the GIS Hub) requires further development for increased functionality, as well as ongoing maintenance activities. This project has three main objectives. The first is to optimize the GIS Hub platform to support the development, storage, cataloguing, and dissemination of spatial data products. These products are deliverables for federal programs such as the Marine Conservation Target (MCT), Ocean Protection Plan (OPP), and Stock Assessment. This objective involves enhancing the platform's functionality to streamline the storage, search, and retrieval of spatial datasets, ensuring accessibility for analysts performing GIS processes. The second objective is to undertake ongoing maintenance activities to uphold the platform's reliability and performance. This will enable the successful delivery of spatial data products essential for meeting program deliverables. The GIS Hub also serves as a staging area for assets being published to national platforms such as the Enterprise Data Hub and Open Data. The third objective is to maintain and enhance the interoperability of this platform with other data portals and cataloguing systems.

This bid solicitation is intended to result in the award of one (1) Contract for a duration of five (5) years. Work under the resulting contract will be allocated on an “as and when required basis” using Task Authorizations (TAs).