Post by John on May 2, 2018 21:02:25 GMT
Question 1
Please provide information on the community that is submitting this application. If this application is being submitted by a group of communities, add each community separately using the button. If this application is being submitted by a regional entity, please include the name of the regional entity with each individual community (e.g. City of Dunn/Smith Region). Do not include the regional entity as a separate, stand-alone community.
Community (Town of The Pas)
Population based on 2016 Census (required)
5369
Indigenous community (required)
Yes No
Community (Opaskwayak Cree Nation)
Population based on 2016 Census (required)
3034
Indigenous community (required)
Yes No
Community (Rural Municipality of...)
Population based on 2016 Census (required)
2424
Indigenous community (required)
Yes No
Question 2
Please select a prize category.
$10 Million (population under 500,000 residents)
Question 3 - Challenge Statement - 50 words maximum (required)
Please define your Challenge Statement in a single sentence that guides your preliminary proposal. It should describe the outcome (or outcomes) you hope to achieve.
Our community will utilize LED Smart Farm technology to support local nutritious food growth and promote food security, create a smart phone distribution system and integrate wearable technology to achieve a 40% reduction in the number of imported vegetables and a 20% reduction in community diabetes rates by 2023.
Question 4 - Proposal outcome(s) - 2,500 words maximum (required)
Please describe the outcome (or outcomes) your proposal seeks to achieve by elaborating on your Challenge Statement.
This section should include:
• Specific goals you hope to achieve by implementing your proposal, justifying both the level of ambition and the achievability of the outcome (or outcomes) sought.
• Baseline data and evidence to establish the current state with respect to the metrics used in your Challenge Statement, and context around the outcome (or outcomes) sought.
• Evidence to support the selection of this/these outcome (or outcomes) over others, in reference to the needs of the community.
• Rationale for applying a smart city approach to achieving the identified outcome (or outcomes).
• Strategy for measuring progress toward outcome (or outcomes) and achievement of outcome (or outcomes).
Outcomes Overview
The goal of this project is to both demonstrate a decrease in diabetes incidence rates within the RM of Kelsey, Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), and The Pas, also known as the Tri-Council region, as well as create the infrastructure necessary to inexpensively scale the solution to many other communities in Northern Canada. The two major barriers that currently hinder wide-scale consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in the Tri-Council region, as well as many other northern communities, is the cost and quality of these products. To decrease transportation costs while increasing the quality of produce, it is necessary to bring production of these goods to the local scale.
Development of a smart-phone ordering application is necessary so that residents of the community can easily gain access to information regarding availably of fruits and vegetables for purchase in real time, recipes for both nutritious and delicious cooking solutions using available produce, administration of purchasing transactions, monitoring of produce location, and feedback on preferential food selections. Since the Smart City challenge is concerned with adding value to communities using internet connected technology, this is seen as an ideal pathway for advancing this project.
Drone and electric vehicle delivery of goods is seen as a leapfrog technology in the context of just in time delivery because it leverages both small scale electric vehicles and autonomous guidance systems to significantly reduce the cost of the transportation that was previously accomplished through manned courier services.
Goal #1: Provide and promote innovative access to nutritious food to reduce diabetes rates by 20% by 2023.
Baseline Data:
Diabetes rates in Canada continue to rise with every passing year. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, 29% of the Canadian population (11 million) suffered from diabetes and prediabetes in 2016. That number is projected to reach 33% (13.9 million) by 2026.
Data in Manitoba is measured through a comprehensive community health needs assessment which is updated every five years. The data for residents of The Pas and RM of Kelsey is captured in the provincial Northern Health Region (NHR) aggregated data. This data indicates that in Manitoba, 28.1% of the population was recorded to suffer from diabetes and prediabetes in 2016 with a projected rate of 31.3% by 2026. To date, the provincial government does not measure data for First Nations citizens living on reserve.
Data for Opaskwayak Cree Nation was collected in the identical manner as the NHR, utilizing the same epidemiologist so that data could be compared and aggregated as a geographical rather than jurisdictional region. As of 2017, 46% of those living in OCN had been diagnosed with diabetes according to Opaskwayak Cree Nation’s Community Health need’s assessment report. The 2010 Canadian Diabetes’ report entitled The Cost of Diabetes in Manitoba calculated the cost per person with diabetes is approximately $5,300. Therefore, the estimated cost of diabetes in OCN alone was $13 million dollars in 2016, not to mention the associated decrease in quality of life and productivity that accompanies living with diabetes.
The high rates of diabetes in the Tri-Council region and the monetary and human costs associated with the disease has resulted in the citizens and leadership of the region to determine that real solutions to the escalating problem need to be developed and has therefore become a priority in planning.
Several studies have been performed around the world which look at the impact of diet modification on the impact of diabetes incidence. For example, in Malmo Sweden, a group of 41 people with early stage Type 2 diabetes mellitus and 181 people with impaired glucose tolerance were selected to test the impact of diet modification (decrease simple carbs, increase complex carbs, keep saturated fats to a minimum and replace all polyunsaturated fats with saturated fats, and restrict calories) and/or physical activity intervention. Upon completion, >50% of the glucose impaired participants experienced normalization in glucose tolerance and more than 50% of the diabetic patients were in remission. Furthermore, the accumulated incidence of diabetes was 10.6% in the group overall.
In Finland, a study including 522 middle aged subjects (172 men and 350 women with a mean age of 55) with impaired glucose tolerance were placed in either a control group or a lifestyle/diet intervention group. Intervention was personalized to the subject, but generally included general reduction in their fat intake with increase in fiber intake and increase in physical activity. Following the 1-year study, the occurrence of diabetes in the control group was 23% while the occurrence of diabetes in the intervention group was 11%; diet and lifestyle intervention resulted in 58% decrease in incidence of diabetes.
In the US, a study group of 3,234 people with a body mass index of at least 24 (at least 25 years old, 68% women, mean age 51) with impaired glucose tolerance were placed into 3 treatment groups. The first group received general lifestyle modification guidance along with a placebo pill, the second group received general lifestyle modification guidance along with a metformin pill, and the third group received intensive diet and exercise education. Upon completion of the study, there was a 31% reduction in diabetes incidence among the group that received metformin over the placebo group and a 58% reduction in diabetes incidence among the group that received intensive diet and exercise education.
It has clearly been established that an increased consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables results in decreased incidents of diabetes. A survey performed in the Tri-Council region in 2018 showed that 90% of residences feel their family would eat more fruits and vegetables if they were cheaper, locally grown and chemical free.
Goal #2: Support and expand utilization of LED Smart Farm technology for local nutritious food growth to meet demand
In Canada we rely heavily on our southern neighbors to provide us with a continuous supply of fresh produce throughout the year due to our short growing season. In fact, according to Stats Canada, in 2015 72% of the vegetables and 83% of the fruits available for consumption in Canada were imported. The top 10 countries from which Canada imports fruits and vegetables include the United States, Mexico, China, Spain, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, and India. It is estimated that the average distance our fruit and vegetables travel, from farm to plate, is 2,500km. This figure, however, is calculated based on population density, and consequently not reflective of the distance that food must travel to Canada’s northern communities. The increased transportation distance to many northern communities (including the communities of the Tri-Council region), combined with delays due to the added complexity of transportation logistics, result in both an increase in the cost of that produce as well as a decrease in nutritional value because of aging.
Baseline data:
The cost of healthy eating in Manitoba was calculated in a report commissioned by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) in 2011 using the National Nutritious Food Basket metric. It found that, for the average Manitoban household, between $832.66 and $1,184.91 / month for a 4-person family was required to eat healthy food. Correspondingly, the average after-tax income, per non-aboriginal person, in Canada at that time was $2,301.83 / month, while the average First Nations person income at that time was $1,468.42 / month. This means that for a single income family, it could cost as much as 80% of their monthly income to eat healthy. A further study commissioned by Food Security Canada found that, on average, 56% of a monthly family income was spent on food in Fort Albany, Ontario, 36% in Moosonee, Ontario, and 19% in Timmins, Ontario. The cost of the National Nutritious Food Basket in Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Moose Factory, Moosonee, and Timmins was $1,909.01, $1831.76, $1639.42, $1560.53, and $1056.35 respectively. It becomes clear that not only does the cost of food increases as one moves north, but the average income also decreases.
Two major factors contribute to the increased cost of fresh food in Northern Canada; transportation costs and energy costs for refrigeration of those products. By creating a just-in-time delivery system for locally grown fresh produce (which mitigates much of the need for produce storage) that is fueled by electricity instead of liquid fuels, it is estimated that the cost of fresh produce can be brought to 10% of its current price. This drastic decrease in price of fresh produce, combined with economic forces, is expected to result in a significant decrease in the incidence of diabetes.
Goal #3: Create a smart phone distribution centre and integrate wearable technology to achieve a 40% reduction in the number of imported vegetables by 2023.
To monitor the efficacy of this proposed solution, it is seen as advantageous to leverage data collection at both the individual level and the community level. The internet of things movement is continuously making available new and innovative wearable technology which greatly increases the ease of health data collection and processing. Heart rate, blood sugar, and body temperature biometrics can all be gathered with the use of minimally invasive wearable technology and gathered in real-time and stored on a community server. This allows for the collection of data on micro-events associated with diabetes and pre-diabetes symptoms. Furthermore, it is foreseen that this real-time data can be augmented with fresh produce purchasing data provided by the proposed smart-phone ordering application.
The distribution can be further enhanced by the innovative use of electric vehicle and/or drone technology. This approach to food distribution leverages both small scale electric vehicles and autonomous guidance systems to significantly reduce the cost of the transportation that was previously accomplished through manned courier services. This also establishes the Tri-Council region as innovators in addressing a national concern regarding the need to reduce the carbon footprint of daily activities. Once established, the electric vehicle system can additionally be expanded upon to meet other community needs in transportation.
Baseline data:
Community survey and business survey data on current rate of use of fresh food and number of deliveries per week to local businesses have been collected.
Rational for applying a smart city approach to achieving the identified outcome
Diabetes:
Despite advancements is medicine, the rate of diabetes continues to grow throughout the population of Canada, but particularly in northern communities. The costs to both quality of life and to the healthcare budget are rising. Residents and leaders within the Tri-Council region see the SMART cities challenge as an opportunity to use innovation and technology to make an impact on this disease which has staggering impacts on our society where current solutions are not making a difference.
SMART farm technology:
An innovative approach to food growth which is easily set up, has demonstrated success rate and support by the Korean government, has already been tested in the Tri-Council region and can readily be expanded and replicated throughout Canada – in any region, any city, any community. This has been supported by the Canada Institute for Health Research and is a solution for Canada’s reliance on imported produce.
Smart phone distribution centre and integrate wearable technology:
Skip-the-dishes, a Winnipeg start-up launched in 2013, realized incredible success through the development of a smart-phone application that allowed customers to order dishes from their favourite restaurant and have it delivered to their door. The service offered by Skip-the-dishes relies on Skip-the-dishes delivery drivers instead of restaurant specific drivers to deliver food which increases efficiency since driver are always delivering food; there is no idle time. Loblaws launched its Click & Collect service in 2014 which allows customers to order groceries online and simply stop by the grocery store to pick them up. This online approach is very quickly being adopted by consumers as it offers significant time savings for grocery shopping. Amazon, the online marketplace, has revolutionized the shopping arena by offering inexpensive prices on goods and short delivery time, so it is more economical to use their service than it is to go to the shopping mall. Furthermore, Amazon offers many suggestions for goods that are complimentary to the goods you have ordered and good that were ordered by others that had similar purchasing habits. This use of online statistics to inform consumers of available products is very useful and effective.
Increasingly, Canadians are wearing the Fit Bit to monitor their heart rate and exercise on a daily basis. Given the prevalence and ease of use, community members have already volunteered to be in a study group for the wearable technology as per this proposal. It is clear from community surveys and focus groups that residents are looking for an opportunity to make real health changes and are comfortable with the use of technology to do so. The immediate feedback has been described as an appealing factor for this.
Strategy for measuring progress toward outcomes and achievement of outcomes:
Goal#1:
Electronic medical record data – Individuals accessing medical care in the Tri-Council region do so at clinics run by the NHR including the Northern Health Region Primary Care Centre, rural clinics and The Pas Health Centre emergency department. In Opaskwayak, the medical centre is the Beatrice Wilson Health Centre. All clinics share
Community Health Needs Assessment – aggregated data collection will be repeated on the five-year cycle
Wearable technology –individual biometric data will be collected from those individuals wishing to participate in the project and then anonymized to provide a greater community data set.
Goal#2:
Order tracking system – using an account-based application interaction platform, it is possible to monitor food consumption patterns and combine biometric data from wearable tech to monitor the health outcomes of various food consumption.
Marketing and incentive tracking – utilizing the order tracking system, we can determine which marketing and incentives result in increased utilization.
Goal#3:
Order tracking – as per Goal#2, the system generated through the smart phone app will be useful in tracking progress. However, increased use of fresh produce may also result from more knowledge of how to use fresh produce, also provided through the smart phone app, so additional information would need to be collected to determine if amount of imported vegetables has reduced.
Business feedback – tracking current number of trucks delivering fresh produce and the size of the current orders to the Tri-Council region versus tracking the same data following the implementation of the approach discussed in this proposal will provide us with the most accurate data on reduction of imported vegetables.
Public feedback – tracking number of individuals and families utilizing fresh produce currently versus post implementation of the approach discussed in this proposal will help us understand trends. Marketing and incentives and the impact they have on fresh produce use will also be tracked. The community members have demonstrated that they respond to surveys by utilizing social media and local forms of communication.
Incentive usage – utilizing technology such as the smart phone app allows us to readily note what the public responds to and what marketing and incentive strategies have an appeal that results in lifestyle shifts such as consuming greater amounts of fresh produce on a daily basis.
Question 5 - Resident engagement - 1,500 words maximum (required)
Please describe how your community residents have shaped your Challenge Statement. Describe your plans for continuing to engage and involve them in your final proposal going forward.
This section should include:
• Descriptions of previous engagement with residents, businesses, organizations, and other stakeholders on topics related to the Challenge Statement.
• Descriptions of feedback that came to light through past engagement processes.
• Links between the Challenge Statement and engagement feedback.
• Evidence of efforts made to be inclusive and to represent the community's diversity.
• Plans to sustain engagement through the development and implementation of the final proposal.
Through the process of the Community Health Needs assessment, the residents of the Tri-Council region were participants in surveys, focus groups and community meetings in which they could express their concerns regarding health. This qualitative data, along with the quantitative data collected from provincial entities, resulted in the writing of reports that clearly outlined the extent of the issue of diabetes. While it was recognized that diabetes was a concern, leadership within the Tri-Council region were not aware of the extent and became determined to find a solution. Work on the Smart Cities Challenge has crystallized ideas regarding innovative approaches and the working group engaged residents to determine if the ideas generated through the numerous meetings with partners and stakeholders would resonate with the general public as well.
The Smart Cities Challenge working group utilized an online survey to engage residents and businesses in the challenge. The survey was advertised and posted on social media platforms, community websites, in the local newspaper, was featured as a news story on the local radio station and was shared via email with the major employers of the 3 communities in government, health, education and forestry. Of the residents who participated in the survey 51% said that they themselves or an immediate family member was affected by diabetes, this affirmed that targeting diabetes in the Smart Cities Challenge had to be a priority.
Research and studies have proven that diet can have a direct impact on the effect of diabetes, so we wanted to gauge how much fresh produce residents were buying and if there were any barriers or challenges in purchasing. The data collected in the survey showed that 95% of our residents purchase fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, 59% of residents make trips to the grocery store to purchase produce 2-3 times per week and 30% make trips weekly. The survey showed that 15% of the business community purchase fresh produce regularly while 31% purchase sporadically; 15% make purchases 2-3 times per week and 31% make purchases 1-2 times/month.
When asked if there were barriers to purchasing fresh produce 78% of residents answered that it was too expensive, 61% said they spoil too quickly and 25% said there were too many pesticides/chemicals and lack of variety and 10% said there was a lack of access/transportation. In the business community only 28% found the produce to be too expensive, but 43% said there was lack of transportation, access and variety and 29% said the shelf life of was too short. 43% of businesses said that they would be very likely to purchase fresh produce if it didn’t have to be trucked into the community and had a longer shelf life, 29% said they would be likely to do the same. 58% of businesses said that they would be very likely to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables that were lower cost, locally grown and free of pesticides and chemicals and 28% answered they would be likely to. 92% of community residents answered they would be very likely to purchase locally grown produce that was less expensive and free of chemicals and pesticides with the other 8% answering they would be likely to do the same. 57% of the business community said they definitely would sell or serve more fresh produce if there was a local wholesale option available to them that was free of chemicals and pesticides and 15% answered that they probably would sell more.
The second priority that came to light from the community engagement process was that quality and access to produce needed to be improved. The barriers of cost, transportation, additives and shelf life of the produce plays a direct role on the ability and desire of residents to purchase fresh produce. By providing produce that is less costly, doesn’t have to be trucked into the community, has a longer shelf life and is free of chemicals/additives/pesticides, we could increase residents’ desire and ability to purchase fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables.
When asked about utilizing a smart phone app that would allow fresh produce to be delivered right to your door, 72% of residents stated they would be extremely interested in the app with 13% stating they would be interested. In the business community 43% of businesses were extremely interested and 29% were interested in the app. Almost 60% of residents said they would find a smart phone app that showed you how to prepare fresh produce with recipes and instructions extremely useful, 15% of the business community said the same, with 18% of residents saying they would find it useful and 28% of businesses saying they would also find it useful. Another insight brought to light by the engagement process was the ability to use technology to overcome the challenge of introducing new produce to the community. Smart phone technology gives us the ability to develop an application that can provide education, resources and training to our residents in their own home on their own schedules. It also has the potential to help us to address issues of lack of access and transportation, by providing businesses and residents the opportunity to order and have fresh produce delivered when it’s convenient for them we can encourage and promote better eating habits.
Ongoing engagement of residents is built into the project as residents of the community can easily gain access to information regarding availably of fruits and vegetables for purchase in real time, recipes for both nutritious and delicious cooking solutions using available produce, administration of purchasing transactions, monitoring of produce location, and feedback on preferential food selections. Furthermore, using an account-based application interaction platform, it is possible to monitor food consumption patterns and combine biometric data from wearable tech to monitor the health outcomes of various food consumption. This can assist in closing the loop through real-time feedback between health and diet of community members. Since the Smart City challenge is concerned with adding value to communities using internet connected technology, this is seen as an ideal pathway for advancing this project.
Community meetings, surveys, and social media outlets including the local face book page and radio station will be utilized on an ongoing basis for feedback and input into the project. The community is familiar with these approaches as channels for information flow and it can be anticipated that they will continue to communicate and share ideas, opinions and information in this way.
Question 6 - Preliminary proposal - 2,000 words maximum (required)
Please describe your preliminary proposal and its activities or projects.
This section should include:
• Planned activities or projects to achieve the outcome (or outcomes) set out in the Challenge Statement.
• Clear links from the identified projects to the attainment of the outcome (or outcomes).
• Scope and size of each planned project in your preliminary proposal, describing how it is feasible and suitable for achieving the outcome (or outcomes) in a manner that is impactful for the community, ambitious, and transformative.
• Measures put in place to 1) make the proposal open, interoperable, scalable, and replicable or a description of your plan to do so going forward for the benefit of your own community and other communities in Canada; and 2) enable other uses of the technology, innovation, and data in your proposal.
Planned Activities and attainment of outcomes:
1. Increase the availability of fresh produce within the Tri-Council region using the LED Smart Farm
The goal of this project is to decrease diabetes within the tri-council region. Since there is very strong evidence that consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables (produce) decreases the incidence rates of diabetes, the approach that this project will take to decrease diabetes rates is to increase the availability of fresh produce within the tri-council region. Based on feedback from a community survey, 90% of residence in the tri-council area feel their family would eat more fruits and vegetables if they were cheaper, locally grown and chemical free.
There are very clear challenges and weaknesses with the present fresh produce distribution system in Canada which are further magnified with increasing distance from the major city centers in each province. These weaknesses include transportation cost and time. Generally, there is an inverse relationship between transportation time and cost. That is, for example, transportation by plane decreases transport time but comes with increased cost. Alternatively, transportation by train decreases cost, but comes with an increase in transport time. Therefore, to decrease the cost of fresh produce, it is necessary to reduce the requirement for transportation of the produce; it is necessary to grow the produce closer to the consumer.
Traditional farming techniques rely on four inputs; warmth, soil, sunlight, and water. Since Canadian winters cannot provide the required warmth or sunlight to support these traditional farming techniques, it is understandable that food production has taken place in more southern geographic locations and transported north. However, considering developments in hydroponic food growing technology over the past decade, it is no longer necessary to use soil as a growth medium and consequently food production can be brought indoors. This is a game changing technology as it relates to the geographic location requirements for food production.
OCN has, for the past 3 years, been operating a vertical farm which leverages hydroponic food growing technology and has experience incredible success in growing produce ranging from leafy greens to berries and some root vegetables. Although this technology has effectively proven that it is not necessary to transport food from an average of 2,500km away, there is presently no distribution infrastructure in place to get this produce to the members of the community.
2. Develop a smart-phone application for distribution
Skip-the-dishes, a Winnipeg start-up launched in 2013, realized incredible success through the development of a smart-phone application that allowed customers to order dishes from their favourite restaurant and have it delivered to their door. The service offered by Skip-the-dishes relies on Skip-the-dishes delivery drivers instead of restaurant specific drivers to deliver food which increases efficiency since driver are always delivering food; there is no idle time. Loblaws launched its Click & Collect service in 2014 which allows customers to order groceries online and simply stop by the grocery store to pick them up. This online approach is very quickly being adopted by consumers as it offers significant time savings for grocery shopping. Amazon, the online marketplace, has revolutionized the shopping arena by offering inexpensive prices on goods and short delivery time, so it is more economical to use their service than it is to go to the shopping mall. Furthermore, Amazon offers many suggestions for goods that are complimentary to the goods you have ordered and good that were ordered by others that had similar purchasing habits. This use of online statistics to inform consumers of available products is very useful and effective.
To bridge the last-mile delivery gap that currently exists between OCN’s LED smart farm and the members of the tri-council area, it is expected that an effective solution can be realized through the development of a smart phone app that is a unique blend of skip-the-dishes, Loblaws Click & Collect, and the Amazon marketplace. The features of the smart phone application would include a description of available products and their associated prices, options for home delivery or distribution center pickup, suggested recipes that use the given produce, a review system to help provide consumer feedback to the operators of the LED smart farm on community desired products, a transaction interface for processing payment, a delivery status tracking system, and optional account creation to track purchase history and link wearable biometric technology to correlate food purchases and health metrics.
3. Utilize wearable technology for enhanced data collection
The internet of things movement is continuously making available new and innovative wearable technology which greatly increases the ease of health data collection and processing. Heart rate, blood sugar, and body temperature biometrics can all be gathered with the use of minimally invasive wearable technology and gathered in real-time and stored on a community server. This allows for the collection of data on micro-events associated with diabetes and pre-diabetes symptoms.
Scope and Feasibility:
There are 4 components to this project that must be refined in order to realize project success; the LED smart farm must be prepared for commercial operation, the smart phone application must be developed to administer the consumer/LED smart farm interface, a distribution infrastructure must be created, and data must be collected and processed to confirm that the increased availability of fresh produce is in fact decreasing diabetes rates.
Prior to initiating work on any of these fronts, a legal entity under which the smart phone application and distribution infrastructure can be developed and operated must be created. Following that, agreements need to be put in place between the LED smart farm, tri-council region, and the newly formed entity which outline the terms and conditions of cooperation on the project as a whole.
Commercialization of the LED smart farm is expected to include increasing staff to perform tasks such as seeding, harvesting, order filling, and quality control. Furthermore, an increase in grow space may be required which would entail procurement of additional equipment and expansion of space. Since the LED smart farm is currently being operated quite successfully as a prototype project, much of the knowledge surrounding plant growth and harvesting simply needs to be scaled to meet the expected needs of the commercial scale plant. The commercialization process is expected to both create jobs within the community as well as increase community pride as being a technological leader in Canada’s food security.
Development of the previously described smart phone application will need to be contracted to an application development firm and overseen by the project management team. In parallel to application development, creation of an interface system between the LED smart farm and the application which conveys both the orders that need to be filled as well as the customer feedback on market preferred crops must take place.
The distribution system that will be created will be based on either drone technology or manned electric vehicle technology. Since one of the primary mechanisms that is expected to increase fresh produce consumption is decrease in consumer costs, it is believed that the low operating costs associated with an electric vehicle-based distribution infrastructure are important. On this front, it will be necessary to either partner with a company such as drone delivery Canada to assist with the delivery of goods, or it will be necessary to acquire several small electric vehicles and hire local drivers to perform food deliveries. Since electric vehicles are currently achieving roughly 200km range per charge and drone technology is easily able to carry 10 lbs with a range of 80km per charge, and the Tri-Council area is only 40km across, electric based transportation is quite suitable for the scope of this project.
Data collection on diabetes rates will be done both at the micro and macro level. On the macro level, the health authorities of OCN and the NHR already have policies in place to monitor diabetes rates within their respective communities. These statistics are compiled on an annual basis and give an overall picture of the state of diabetes within the Tri-Council area. It is expected that micro data, data on a personal on an hour by hour basis can be collected using wearable biometric technology such as non-invasive blood sugar monitoring bracelets, heart rate monitors, and body temperature monitors. This data will be useful both to those who are battling diabetes by providing them with real-time feedback on dietary choices as well as to anyone who wishes to engage in a healthier lifestyle. Appropriate components will need to be selected that are compatible with the smart phone application and allow data collection on fresh produce purchasing practices to be joined with health data.
Additional Benefits: Interoperability/Replicability
Following the development of the smart phone application, this food production and distribution model can be expanded with minimal effort to any other community in Norther Canada, or the world for that matter. The primary health issue that must be addressed in the tri-council area is diabetes, however, given the vast research which indicates that other chronic diseases are also best addressed through dietary and lifestyle changes, it is easy to link other biometric monitoring technologies to this type of application should there be a desire for different metrics to me monitored in a different region, or if new technology becomes available that can augment the currently proposed monitoring system.
For the purposes of this initial deployment, a corporation will be formed within which the required smart phone application can be created. This corporation will operate under the guidance and with the support of the Tri-Council governments, but it will not be an entity of the tri-council governments. It is expected that this model will allow for much simpler future expansion to other communities and jurisdictions, remove any partisan influence on the operations of the business, and allow for more streamlined operation.
Question 7 - Medium/long-term goals - 500 words maximum (required)
Please describe the ways in which your preliminary proposal supports your community's medium and long-term goals, strategies, and plans.
To supplement your response, please upload any relevant documents and make clear linkages and references.
The Town of The Pas, Opaskwayak Cree Nation and RM of Kelsey have each created their own strategic plan, focusing on community development and the health and well being of their citizens. While the smart farm technology is not directly referred to in the plans as the opportunity for this innovative solution was presented after the current strategic plans were developed, the challenge presented in this proposal does support goals of each community represented in the Tri-Council.
The Town of The Pas has a statement in their strategic plan that states their vision is “The Town of The Pas will continue to grow as a vibrant regional service centre. Through responsible leadership and effective resource management we are creating diverse community, providing our citizens with an affordable, safe, clean and healthy environment”. The strategic goals as per the attached document The Pas Community Renewal Corporation (TPCRC) Strategic Plan, is to “Increase Access to Recreation and Wellness Opportunities”. Community priority #5b indicates that food security and grow your own food is one of the five year results the are striving for. This SMART cities challenge will support and surpass this expectation.
The Opaskwayak Cree Nation has a comprehensive plan with long and short-term goals and priorities as per the attached document. The plan itemizes eleven priority areas. Of note is an opportunity which reads “Research opportunities for programs and services, relating to capacity development, community safety, education, health, housing, and youth”. Opaskwayak signed a Band Council Resolution to authorize the establishment of the SMART farm in OCN and has operated the SMART for three years. Research on the nutritional, health and cost benefits with food price comparisons to other northern communities is attached. This SMART cities challenge will support many aspects of the community plan and the opportunities listed therein.
A long-term strategy within the Tri-Council region is to collaborate on health care services. The relationship forged by the attached Statement of Intent between the OCN’s health authority and the regional provincial health region, with offices located in The Town of The Pas, is the basis for ongoing collaboration, including the involvement of both provincial and federal health entities to collect data and support activities that will lead to the health and lifestyle changes that is the goal of the SMART cities challenge.
Upload:
TPCDC Strategic plan
OCN strategic plan
OCN BCR re LED plant
NHR – OHA Statement of Intent
SMART farm research and report
Question 8 - Implementation readiness - 1,000 words maximum (required)
Please describe your community's readiness and ability to implement your proposal successfully.
This section should include:
• Experience with implementing complex projects (i.e. multi-stakeholder, multi-dimensional) that span multiple business lines and functional units.
• Structures, processes, and practices in place or planned for managing and implementing complex projects that span multiple business lines and functional units.
• Organizational strengths and potential weaknesses for managing and implementing a smart city proposal and plans to address weaknesses to ensure successful proposal management and implementation.
Experience with complex projects – multiple partners & jurisdictions:
1. Forest Industry
On August 22, 2016, Tolko Industries announced the closure of its Kraft paper mill at The Pas, eliminating 332 mill jobs and a $37 million annual direct payroll. This was devastating news for The Pas, OCN, the RM of Kelsey and indeed the entire forest industry in northern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, as it would also cripple the regional logging industry and sawmills who would no longer have a market for their logs and chips.
One of the first actions was to organize a meeting of regional stakeholders — municipal leaders, First Nations representatives from OCN and the Swampy Cree Tribal Council, union leadership, mill staff, the business community and forest industry operators — with Manitoba Cabinet Ministers - to underscore the mill’s critical role in the northern economy and their determination to pursue a long-term solution rather than a short-term bail out.
Recognizing the need for industry knowledge and contacts and government relations, strategic communications, and issue management expertise, an individual was hired who has this knowledge and skillset to lead the community and region in their efforts to achieve a solution. With this assistance, as potential mill purchasers emerged, a seemingly endless list of challenges was met head on — investigating the background of potential purchasers to secure the trust of union leadership whose members were asked to take a ten per cent wage cut; working with potential buyers to show local support for new ownership and the importance of bringing First Nations into meaningful discussions on participation in the forest industry; working with the Province to resolve issues related to the transfer of the forest tenure to a new owner and achieving a solution to the workers’ pension solvency issue to enable a sale to proceed.
On November 9, 2016, it was announced that Canadian Kraft Paper, a company affiliated with American Industrial Acquisition Corporation, had purchased the mill. In 2017, over $20 million was invested to upgrade the mill, with a multi-year investment plan in place to further improve the operation. Markets are strong, and the future looks bright for the forest industry in northern Manitoba.
2. Landfill - Regional Waste Disposal Ground
In 2012, through the encouragement of Manitoba Conservation, The Town of The Pas, RM of Kelsey, Northern Affairs, Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Swampy Cree Tribal Council, began discussion regarding the concept of a Regional Waste Disposal Ground (RWDG). An RWDG stakeholder group was formed and began to explore landfill options and complete a feasibility study. The feasibility study became the foundation for how the RWDG stakeholders could move forward and provided the parameters for which the stakeholder group could begin more rigorous discussions within each community and to ensure all unique local needs would or could be met.
In 2016 OCN began and completed a business plan for the RWDG, to demonstrate the viability of the site and again providing a framework for expected fees and costs associated with the project and the operations. The 2016 business plan further demonstrated that to achieve success, it was important that we all work together as a region.
In 2016/2017 the RWDG stakeholder group acquired the services of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the FCM First Nations – Municipal Collaboration Program manages the Community Infrastructure Partnership Project (CIPP) to facilitate taking the project to the next step. A working group was established to move the project forward. Next steps are to review the Terms of Reference and approve moving this project to tender.
Structures, Processes and Practices for complex projects:
The Tri-Council conducts business together according to their Friendship Accord which was signed in 2014. Within this document lies the purpose, vision, principles and values that the three entities mutually share. Additionally, there is a described process for working together including the formation of a joint committee for those projects or opportunities, such as the SMART cities challenge. The joint committee does their work, including engaging professional expertise, to assist with any aspects of a project which require such expertise outside of that within the Tri-Council region.
The Town of The Pas, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and RM of Kelsey also have many linkages and connections within the federal and provincial governments who offer support and technical assistance with small and large-scale projects upon request.
Organizational Strengths:
The SMART cities project will be supported through the following:
1. LED Smart Farm technology already established – the community has been growing food for three years utilizing this technology. The farm experimented and learned to network Korean technology with Canadian water and electrical systems. All equipment has been CSA approved and is considered Power Smart by Manitoba Hydro. OCN has a formal agreement with the Korean government to use and operate this farm which was developed in Korea. Ongoing research and development is shared by:
• Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)
• Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST)
2. University of Manitoba Memorandum of Understanding for Diabetes Research – understanding of best foods and best production for the LED plant for the treatment of diabetes, obesity and hyperlipidemia as well as maternal care.
3. The Pas Community Renewal Corporation (TPCRC) and Paskwayak Business Development Corporation (PBDC) are two business development entities which are a subsidiary of The Town of the Pas and Opaskwayak Cree Nation respectively and will work together on the SMART cities project under a Memorandum of Understanding, using their expertise in business development to jointly support the management and implementation of the SMART cities project.
The Tri-Council region has many resources to draw upon and a long history of successful, complex project completion. At this point, there are no identified weaknesses. The success of the project is not dependant on entities outside of the region and, as such, this independence and the support of the community to proceed with the project enhances the potential of the project to be even more successful than currently anticipated.
Question 9 - Finalist grant - 500 words maximum (required)
Describe your plan for using the $250,000 grant, should you be selected as a finalist. Provide a high-level breakdown of spending categories and an accompanying rationale.
Amount Total
Revenue
Smart Cities Challenge $250,000
Total Revenue $250,000
Expenses
Project Management $54,000
Project Coordinator $40,000
IT Support $15,000
Marketing/Promotion/Community Engagement $6,500
Data Collection $8,700
Certifications/Accreditation $30,000
Legal Fees $50,000
Elder Honorariums $7,800
Travel $13,000
Food Analysis $25,000
Total Expenses $250,000
Rationale:
Project Proposal Planner-$54,000 (900 hours at $60/hr): Schedule and manage proposal development and timelines; oversee and manage consulting; solve problems in tactful and responsive manner; link between project staff and program participants; develop reports; development of assessment tools; development of business plan; manage and facilitate communication with participants; work closely with funders on project; work with participants; encourage participant engagement, provide all financial management for proposal development; develop all financial reporting on project; oversight of project
Proposal Development Coordinator-$40,000 (800 hours at $50/hr): Development of project proposal; develop reports; prepare promotional and marketing material to engage citizen/participant feedback and ideas; support Project Proposal Planner; development of budget; main contact for the project; policy development; setting up workshops; consulting activities; prepare and submit interim draft funding proposals to Tri-Council as required; prepare and provide reporting as required; primary contact for participants
IT Support-$15,000: Develop and maintain a specific web site for the project; provide forums for discussion; develop a blog; develop social medial pages and other electronic communication methods for marketing and promotions; conference call; participate in technological requirements within proposal development; develop database for research and analysis information; work with the Project Proposal Planner and Proposal Development Coordinator to contribute to the development of the business plan within the proposal
Marketing/Promotion/Community Engagement -$6,500: Publications; printed marketing and promotional material to encourage community engagement in the proposed project including online marketing and promotion using social media outlets; handouts; models; exercises, articles and related information; posters/flyers; graphic art and design services; advertising (online advertising radio, print)
Data Collection-$8,700: Compile list of potential participants; document analysis; conduct participant interviews; research existing data sources; assemble participant groups; data processing; develop and implement evaluation plan; solicit and collect documents and data; focus groups; case studies; prepare questionnaires and surveys; collect, analyze and compile project data; space, materials and incentives for focus groups
Certifications/Accreditation-$30,000: Assess services against standards of excellence to identify what is being done well and what needs to be improved; self-assessment identifying areas of strength and gaps; on-site survey; additional credibility for quality improvement; minimize risk and help provide more consistent services; engage staff in quality improvement; Certify LED Farm to provide fresh produce to food stores and restaurants
Legal Fees-$50,000; Patent registration; copyright and registration of Intellectual Property; Preparation of legal documents; assist the group to meet necessary legal requirements and obligations; Provide legal representation and advice as required; protect the group from fraudulent solicitations
Elder Honorariums: 2 elders; $100 per meeting/focus group, 2 meetings/focus groups per monthx12 months per yearx3 years=$7,800
Travel and Professional Development-$13,000: Trip to Korea for requisite participants to receive training for facility upgrade and technological advancements; data, technology and information exchange; research new developments and technology to integrate into new program model
Food Analysis-$25,000: Nutrition and Composition Analysis; Analyses for nutrients, vitamins and additives; Food Shelf Life Testing to comply with regulations that products display the appropriate “use by” and/or “best before” date(s); Food Sensory Analysis for new product development/marketing and insight into both consumer behavior and quality assurance; Nutrition and Vitamin Analysis to verify, establish and confirm the nutrient content of the products including the legal requirements for food nutrition labels
Question 10 - Partners - 500 words maximum (required)
Describe the partners that are or will be involved in your proposal. Where partners are not yet determined, describe the process for selecting them.
This section should include:
• A description of existing partners (what type of organization, what they do, etc.), their relevance, and expected contribution to the outcome (or outcomes).
• Where partners are not yet determined or where it is anticipated that additional partners are required, describe the process for selecting them.
Additional partners involved with the three entities of the Tri-Council include:
1. Northern Health Region (NHR) – the NHR is one of five health authorities created in the province of Manitoba to provide health care services to Manitoba’s northern communities on behalf of the provincial government. These health care services include primary care as well as specialist, emergent and hospital care. The NHR collects electronic health data on an ongoing basis and will partner with the project to assist with data collection necessary on this project.
2. Opaskwayak Health Authority (OHA) – operating as an independent organization with a management structure that includes a Board of Directors, the OHA provides primary care and community health services. OHA works closely with the NHR under a collaboration agreement known as the Statement of Intent. The entities collaborate on all aspects of health care delivery and together will determine the process of data collection for this project and the indicators which will determine successful outcomes as outlined by the project plan.
3. Vertical LED Plant Farm – the LED plant farm was built on OCN land in December 2015 through the development of a Science and Technology program with the Korean Institute of Science and Technology along with the Korean Academy of Science and Technology engineering who provide the equipment and technology. The plant farm will have a pivotal role in producing food and working cooperatively with the team in the development of the distribution system, wearable technologies, payment platform and other innovations associated with the project.
4. Korean Institute of Science & Technology (KIST) – KIST is the leading contributor in Science and Technology in Korea. Established in 2003, KIST has a strength on natural products research for developing high value-added commercialized products including nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmeceutical. Co-technologies developed include the smart farm system and plant factory.
The role of KIST in the partnership is to provide ongoing scientific innovation to support the smart farm to produce functional vegetables in the plant factory and secure scientific evidence based collaborative research.
Additionally, the role of KIST is to provide other co-technologies that will be utilized through Korean innovation include wearable devices that monitor individual biometrics such as blood sugar levels, heart rate and blood pressure. KIST will also provide innovation that allows the smart phone to utilize an app developed by the Korean government that provides the user with a calorie and nutritional count of food on a plate via a photo.
Anticipated Partners:
1. Distribution System
• Drone Delivery Canada
• Electric Vehicle
2. App Development – data collection and platform for food to order, education, recipe distribution, incentives, payment platform
Process for selecting partners would involve the Request for Proposals process which may include an invitation to submit a proposal from businesses that have a proven track record. The selection committee for the partners bringing technology would include individuals with specialized expertise such as engineers, health, accountants and community development.
Please provide information on the community that is submitting this application. If this application is being submitted by a group of communities, add each community separately using the button. If this application is being submitted by a regional entity, please include the name of the regional entity with each individual community (e.g. City of Dunn/Smith Region). Do not include the regional entity as a separate, stand-alone community.
Community (Town of The Pas)
Population based on 2016 Census (required)
5369
Indigenous community (required)
Yes No
Community (Opaskwayak Cree Nation)
Population based on 2016 Census (required)
3034
Indigenous community (required)
Yes No
Community (Rural Municipality of...)
Population based on 2016 Census (required)
2424
Indigenous community (required)
Yes No
Question 2
Please select a prize category.
$10 Million (population under 500,000 residents)
Question 3 - Challenge Statement - 50 words maximum (required)
Please define your Challenge Statement in a single sentence that guides your preliminary proposal. It should describe the outcome (or outcomes) you hope to achieve.
Our community will utilize LED Smart Farm technology to support local nutritious food growth and promote food security, create a smart phone distribution system and integrate wearable technology to achieve a 40% reduction in the number of imported vegetables and a 20% reduction in community diabetes rates by 2023.
Question 4 - Proposal outcome(s) - 2,500 words maximum (required)
Please describe the outcome (or outcomes) your proposal seeks to achieve by elaborating on your Challenge Statement.
This section should include:
• Specific goals you hope to achieve by implementing your proposal, justifying both the level of ambition and the achievability of the outcome (or outcomes) sought.
• Baseline data and evidence to establish the current state with respect to the metrics used in your Challenge Statement, and context around the outcome (or outcomes) sought.
• Evidence to support the selection of this/these outcome (or outcomes) over others, in reference to the needs of the community.
• Rationale for applying a smart city approach to achieving the identified outcome (or outcomes).
• Strategy for measuring progress toward outcome (or outcomes) and achievement of outcome (or outcomes).
Outcomes Overview
The goal of this project is to both demonstrate a decrease in diabetes incidence rates within the RM of Kelsey, Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), and The Pas, also known as the Tri-Council region, as well as create the infrastructure necessary to inexpensively scale the solution to many other communities in Northern Canada. The two major barriers that currently hinder wide-scale consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables in the Tri-Council region, as well as many other northern communities, is the cost and quality of these products. To decrease transportation costs while increasing the quality of produce, it is necessary to bring production of these goods to the local scale.
Development of a smart-phone ordering application is necessary so that residents of the community can easily gain access to information regarding availably of fruits and vegetables for purchase in real time, recipes for both nutritious and delicious cooking solutions using available produce, administration of purchasing transactions, monitoring of produce location, and feedback on preferential food selections. Since the Smart City challenge is concerned with adding value to communities using internet connected technology, this is seen as an ideal pathway for advancing this project.
Drone and electric vehicle delivery of goods is seen as a leapfrog technology in the context of just in time delivery because it leverages both small scale electric vehicles and autonomous guidance systems to significantly reduce the cost of the transportation that was previously accomplished through manned courier services.
Goal #1: Provide and promote innovative access to nutritious food to reduce diabetes rates by 20% by 2023.
Baseline Data:
Diabetes rates in Canada continue to rise with every passing year. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, 29% of the Canadian population (11 million) suffered from diabetes and prediabetes in 2016. That number is projected to reach 33% (13.9 million) by 2026.
Data in Manitoba is measured through a comprehensive community health needs assessment which is updated every five years. The data for residents of The Pas and RM of Kelsey is captured in the provincial Northern Health Region (NHR) aggregated data. This data indicates that in Manitoba, 28.1% of the population was recorded to suffer from diabetes and prediabetes in 2016 with a projected rate of 31.3% by 2026. To date, the provincial government does not measure data for First Nations citizens living on reserve.
Data for Opaskwayak Cree Nation was collected in the identical manner as the NHR, utilizing the same epidemiologist so that data could be compared and aggregated as a geographical rather than jurisdictional region. As of 2017, 46% of those living in OCN had been diagnosed with diabetes according to Opaskwayak Cree Nation’s Community Health need’s assessment report. The 2010 Canadian Diabetes’ report entitled The Cost of Diabetes in Manitoba calculated the cost per person with diabetes is approximately $5,300. Therefore, the estimated cost of diabetes in OCN alone was $13 million dollars in 2016, not to mention the associated decrease in quality of life and productivity that accompanies living with diabetes.
The high rates of diabetes in the Tri-Council region and the monetary and human costs associated with the disease has resulted in the citizens and leadership of the region to determine that real solutions to the escalating problem need to be developed and has therefore become a priority in planning.
Several studies have been performed around the world which look at the impact of diet modification on the impact of diabetes incidence. For example, in Malmo Sweden, a group of 41 people with early stage Type 2 diabetes mellitus and 181 people with impaired glucose tolerance were selected to test the impact of diet modification (decrease simple carbs, increase complex carbs, keep saturated fats to a minimum and replace all polyunsaturated fats with saturated fats, and restrict calories) and/or physical activity intervention. Upon completion, >50% of the glucose impaired participants experienced normalization in glucose tolerance and more than 50% of the diabetic patients were in remission. Furthermore, the accumulated incidence of diabetes was 10.6% in the group overall.
In Finland, a study including 522 middle aged subjects (172 men and 350 women with a mean age of 55) with impaired glucose tolerance were placed in either a control group or a lifestyle/diet intervention group. Intervention was personalized to the subject, but generally included general reduction in their fat intake with increase in fiber intake and increase in physical activity. Following the 1-year study, the occurrence of diabetes in the control group was 23% while the occurrence of diabetes in the intervention group was 11%; diet and lifestyle intervention resulted in 58% decrease in incidence of diabetes.
In the US, a study group of 3,234 people with a body mass index of at least 24 (at least 25 years old, 68% women, mean age 51) with impaired glucose tolerance were placed into 3 treatment groups. The first group received general lifestyle modification guidance along with a placebo pill, the second group received general lifestyle modification guidance along with a metformin pill, and the third group received intensive diet and exercise education. Upon completion of the study, there was a 31% reduction in diabetes incidence among the group that received metformin over the placebo group and a 58% reduction in diabetes incidence among the group that received intensive diet and exercise education.
It has clearly been established that an increased consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables results in decreased incidents of diabetes. A survey performed in the Tri-Council region in 2018 showed that 90% of residences feel their family would eat more fruits and vegetables if they were cheaper, locally grown and chemical free.
Goal #2: Support and expand utilization of LED Smart Farm technology for local nutritious food growth to meet demand
In Canada we rely heavily on our southern neighbors to provide us with a continuous supply of fresh produce throughout the year due to our short growing season. In fact, according to Stats Canada, in 2015 72% of the vegetables and 83% of the fruits available for consumption in Canada were imported. The top 10 countries from which Canada imports fruits and vegetables include the United States, Mexico, China, Spain, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, the Netherlands, Dominican Republic, and India. It is estimated that the average distance our fruit and vegetables travel, from farm to plate, is 2,500km. This figure, however, is calculated based on population density, and consequently not reflective of the distance that food must travel to Canada’s northern communities. The increased transportation distance to many northern communities (including the communities of the Tri-Council region), combined with delays due to the added complexity of transportation logistics, result in both an increase in the cost of that produce as well as a decrease in nutritional value because of aging.
Baseline data:
The cost of healthy eating in Manitoba was calculated in a report commissioned by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) in 2011 using the National Nutritious Food Basket metric. It found that, for the average Manitoban household, between $832.66 and $1,184.91 / month for a 4-person family was required to eat healthy food. Correspondingly, the average after-tax income, per non-aboriginal person, in Canada at that time was $2,301.83 / month, while the average First Nations person income at that time was $1,468.42 / month. This means that for a single income family, it could cost as much as 80% of their monthly income to eat healthy. A further study commissioned by Food Security Canada found that, on average, 56% of a monthly family income was spent on food in Fort Albany, Ontario, 36% in Moosonee, Ontario, and 19% in Timmins, Ontario. The cost of the National Nutritious Food Basket in Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Moose Factory, Moosonee, and Timmins was $1,909.01, $1831.76, $1639.42, $1560.53, and $1056.35 respectively. It becomes clear that not only does the cost of food increases as one moves north, but the average income also decreases.
Two major factors contribute to the increased cost of fresh food in Northern Canada; transportation costs and energy costs for refrigeration of those products. By creating a just-in-time delivery system for locally grown fresh produce (which mitigates much of the need for produce storage) that is fueled by electricity instead of liquid fuels, it is estimated that the cost of fresh produce can be brought to 10% of its current price. This drastic decrease in price of fresh produce, combined with economic forces, is expected to result in a significant decrease in the incidence of diabetes.
Goal #3: Create a smart phone distribution centre and integrate wearable technology to achieve a 40% reduction in the number of imported vegetables by 2023.
To monitor the efficacy of this proposed solution, it is seen as advantageous to leverage data collection at both the individual level and the community level. The internet of things movement is continuously making available new and innovative wearable technology which greatly increases the ease of health data collection and processing. Heart rate, blood sugar, and body temperature biometrics can all be gathered with the use of minimally invasive wearable technology and gathered in real-time and stored on a community server. This allows for the collection of data on micro-events associated with diabetes and pre-diabetes symptoms. Furthermore, it is foreseen that this real-time data can be augmented with fresh produce purchasing data provided by the proposed smart-phone ordering application.
The distribution can be further enhanced by the innovative use of electric vehicle and/or drone technology. This approach to food distribution leverages both small scale electric vehicles and autonomous guidance systems to significantly reduce the cost of the transportation that was previously accomplished through manned courier services. This also establishes the Tri-Council region as innovators in addressing a national concern regarding the need to reduce the carbon footprint of daily activities. Once established, the electric vehicle system can additionally be expanded upon to meet other community needs in transportation.
Baseline data:
Community survey and business survey data on current rate of use of fresh food and number of deliveries per week to local businesses have been collected.
Rational for applying a smart city approach to achieving the identified outcome
Diabetes:
Despite advancements is medicine, the rate of diabetes continues to grow throughout the population of Canada, but particularly in northern communities. The costs to both quality of life and to the healthcare budget are rising. Residents and leaders within the Tri-Council region see the SMART cities challenge as an opportunity to use innovation and technology to make an impact on this disease which has staggering impacts on our society where current solutions are not making a difference.
SMART farm technology:
An innovative approach to food growth which is easily set up, has demonstrated success rate and support by the Korean government, has already been tested in the Tri-Council region and can readily be expanded and replicated throughout Canada – in any region, any city, any community. This has been supported by the Canada Institute for Health Research and is a solution for Canada’s reliance on imported produce.
Smart phone distribution centre and integrate wearable technology:
Skip-the-dishes, a Winnipeg start-up launched in 2013, realized incredible success through the development of a smart-phone application that allowed customers to order dishes from their favourite restaurant and have it delivered to their door. The service offered by Skip-the-dishes relies on Skip-the-dishes delivery drivers instead of restaurant specific drivers to deliver food which increases efficiency since driver are always delivering food; there is no idle time. Loblaws launched its Click & Collect service in 2014 which allows customers to order groceries online and simply stop by the grocery store to pick them up. This online approach is very quickly being adopted by consumers as it offers significant time savings for grocery shopping. Amazon, the online marketplace, has revolutionized the shopping arena by offering inexpensive prices on goods and short delivery time, so it is more economical to use their service than it is to go to the shopping mall. Furthermore, Amazon offers many suggestions for goods that are complimentary to the goods you have ordered and good that were ordered by others that had similar purchasing habits. This use of online statistics to inform consumers of available products is very useful and effective.
Increasingly, Canadians are wearing the Fit Bit to monitor their heart rate and exercise on a daily basis. Given the prevalence and ease of use, community members have already volunteered to be in a study group for the wearable technology as per this proposal. It is clear from community surveys and focus groups that residents are looking for an opportunity to make real health changes and are comfortable with the use of technology to do so. The immediate feedback has been described as an appealing factor for this.
Strategy for measuring progress toward outcomes and achievement of outcomes:
Goal#1:
Electronic medical record data – Individuals accessing medical care in the Tri-Council region do so at clinics run by the NHR including the Northern Health Region Primary Care Centre, rural clinics and The Pas Health Centre emergency department. In Opaskwayak, the medical centre is the Beatrice Wilson Health Centre. All clinics share
Community Health Needs Assessment – aggregated data collection will be repeated on the five-year cycle
Wearable technology –individual biometric data will be collected from those individuals wishing to participate in the project and then anonymized to provide a greater community data set.
Goal#2:
Order tracking system – using an account-based application interaction platform, it is possible to monitor food consumption patterns and combine biometric data from wearable tech to monitor the health outcomes of various food consumption.
Marketing and incentive tracking – utilizing the order tracking system, we can determine which marketing and incentives result in increased utilization.
Goal#3:
Order tracking – as per Goal#2, the system generated through the smart phone app will be useful in tracking progress. However, increased use of fresh produce may also result from more knowledge of how to use fresh produce, also provided through the smart phone app, so additional information would need to be collected to determine if amount of imported vegetables has reduced.
Business feedback – tracking current number of trucks delivering fresh produce and the size of the current orders to the Tri-Council region versus tracking the same data following the implementation of the approach discussed in this proposal will provide us with the most accurate data on reduction of imported vegetables.
Public feedback – tracking number of individuals and families utilizing fresh produce currently versus post implementation of the approach discussed in this proposal will help us understand trends. Marketing and incentives and the impact they have on fresh produce use will also be tracked. The community members have demonstrated that they respond to surveys by utilizing social media and local forms of communication.
Incentive usage – utilizing technology such as the smart phone app allows us to readily note what the public responds to and what marketing and incentive strategies have an appeal that results in lifestyle shifts such as consuming greater amounts of fresh produce on a daily basis.
Question 5 - Resident engagement - 1,500 words maximum (required)
Please describe how your community residents have shaped your Challenge Statement. Describe your plans for continuing to engage and involve them in your final proposal going forward.
This section should include:
• Descriptions of previous engagement with residents, businesses, organizations, and other stakeholders on topics related to the Challenge Statement.
• Descriptions of feedback that came to light through past engagement processes.
• Links between the Challenge Statement and engagement feedback.
• Evidence of efforts made to be inclusive and to represent the community's diversity.
• Plans to sustain engagement through the development and implementation of the final proposal.
Through the process of the Community Health Needs assessment, the residents of the Tri-Council region were participants in surveys, focus groups and community meetings in which they could express their concerns regarding health. This qualitative data, along with the quantitative data collected from provincial entities, resulted in the writing of reports that clearly outlined the extent of the issue of diabetes. While it was recognized that diabetes was a concern, leadership within the Tri-Council region were not aware of the extent and became determined to find a solution. Work on the Smart Cities Challenge has crystallized ideas regarding innovative approaches and the working group engaged residents to determine if the ideas generated through the numerous meetings with partners and stakeholders would resonate with the general public as well.
The Smart Cities Challenge working group utilized an online survey to engage residents and businesses in the challenge. The survey was advertised and posted on social media platforms, community websites, in the local newspaper, was featured as a news story on the local radio station and was shared via email with the major employers of the 3 communities in government, health, education and forestry. Of the residents who participated in the survey 51% said that they themselves or an immediate family member was affected by diabetes, this affirmed that targeting diabetes in the Smart Cities Challenge had to be a priority.
Research and studies have proven that diet can have a direct impact on the effect of diabetes, so we wanted to gauge how much fresh produce residents were buying and if there were any barriers or challenges in purchasing. The data collected in the survey showed that 95% of our residents purchase fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, 59% of residents make trips to the grocery store to purchase produce 2-3 times per week and 30% make trips weekly. The survey showed that 15% of the business community purchase fresh produce regularly while 31% purchase sporadically; 15% make purchases 2-3 times per week and 31% make purchases 1-2 times/month.
When asked if there were barriers to purchasing fresh produce 78% of residents answered that it was too expensive, 61% said they spoil too quickly and 25% said there were too many pesticides/chemicals and lack of variety and 10% said there was a lack of access/transportation. In the business community only 28% found the produce to be too expensive, but 43% said there was lack of transportation, access and variety and 29% said the shelf life of was too short. 43% of businesses said that they would be very likely to purchase fresh produce if it didn’t have to be trucked into the community and had a longer shelf life, 29% said they would be likely to do the same. 58% of businesses said that they would be very likely to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables that were lower cost, locally grown and free of pesticides and chemicals and 28% answered they would be likely to. 92% of community residents answered they would be very likely to purchase locally grown produce that was less expensive and free of chemicals and pesticides with the other 8% answering they would be likely to do the same. 57% of the business community said they definitely would sell or serve more fresh produce if there was a local wholesale option available to them that was free of chemicals and pesticides and 15% answered that they probably would sell more.
The second priority that came to light from the community engagement process was that quality and access to produce needed to be improved. The barriers of cost, transportation, additives and shelf life of the produce plays a direct role on the ability and desire of residents to purchase fresh produce. By providing produce that is less costly, doesn’t have to be trucked into the community, has a longer shelf life and is free of chemicals/additives/pesticides, we could increase residents’ desire and ability to purchase fresh and healthy fruits and vegetables.
When asked about utilizing a smart phone app that would allow fresh produce to be delivered right to your door, 72% of residents stated they would be extremely interested in the app with 13% stating they would be interested. In the business community 43% of businesses were extremely interested and 29% were interested in the app. Almost 60% of residents said they would find a smart phone app that showed you how to prepare fresh produce with recipes and instructions extremely useful, 15% of the business community said the same, with 18% of residents saying they would find it useful and 28% of businesses saying they would also find it useful. Another insight brought to light by the engagement process was the ability to use technology to overcome the challenge of introducing new produce to the community. Smart phone technology gives us the ability to develop an application that can provide education, resources and training to our residents in their own home on their own schedules. It also has the potential to help us to address issues of lack of access and transportation, by providing businesses and residents the opportunity to order and have fresh produce delivered when it’s convenient for them we can encourage and promote better eating habits.
Ongoing engagement of residents is built into the project as residents of the community can easily gain access to information regarding availably of fruits and vegetables for purchase in real time, recipes for both nutritious and delicious cooking solutions using available produce, administration of purchasing transactions, monitoring of produce location, and feedback on preferential food selections. Furthermore, using an account-based application interaction platform, it is possible to monitor food consumption patterns and combine biometric data from wearable tech to monitor the health outcomes of various food consumption. This can assist in closing the loop through real-time feedback between health and diet of community members. Since the Smart City challenge is concerned with adding value to communities using internet connected technology, this is seen as an ideal pathway for advancing this project.
Community meetings, surveys, and social media outlets including the local face book page and radio station will be utilized on an ongoing basis for feedback and input into the project. The community is familiar with these approaches as channels for information flow and it can be anticipated that they will continue to communicate and share ideas, opinions and information in this way.
Question 6 - Preliminary proposal - 2,000 words maximum (required)
Please describe your preliminary proposal and its activities or projects.
This section should include:
• Planned activities or projects to achieve the outcome (or outcomes) set out in the Challenge Statement.
• Clear links from the identified projects to the attainment of the outcome (or outcomes).
• Scope and size of each planned project in your preliminary proposal, describing how it is feasible and suitable for achieving the outcome (or outcomes) in a manner that is impactful for the community, ambitious, and transformative.
• Measures put in place to 1) make the proposal open, interoperable, scalable, and replicable or a description of your plan to do so going forward for the benefit of your own community and other communities in Canada; and 2) enable other uses of the technology, innovation, and data in your proposal.
Planned Activities and attainment of outcomes:
1. Increase the availability of fresh produce within the Tri-Council region using the LED Smart Farm
The goal of this project is to decrease diabetes within the tri-council region. Since there is very strong evidence that consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables (produce) decreases the incidence rates of diabetes, the approach that this project will take to decrease diabetes rates is to increase the availability of fresh produce within the tri-council region. Based on feedback from a community survey, 90% of residence in the tri-council area feel their family would eat more fruits and vegetables if they were cheaper, locally grown and chemical free.
There are very clear challenges and weaknesses with the present fresh produce distribution system in Canada which are further magnified with increasing distance from the major city centers in each province. These weaknesses include transportation cost and time. Generally, there is an inverse relationship between transportation time and cost. That is, for example, transportation by plane decreases transport time but comes with increased cost. Alternatively, transportation by train decreases cost, but comes with an increase in transport time. Therefore, to decrease the cost of fresh produce, it is necessary to reduce the requirement for transportation of the produce; it is necessary to grow the produce closer to the consumer.
Traditional farming techniques rely on four inputs; warmth, soil, sunlight, and water. Since Canadian winters cannot provide the required warmth or sunlight to support these traditional farming techniques, it is understandable that food production has taken place in more southern geographic locations and transported north. However, considering developments in hydroponic food growing technology over the past decade, it is no longer necessary to use soil as a growth medium and consequently food production can be brought indoors. This is a game changing technology as it relates to the geographic location requirements for food production.
OCN has, for the past 3 years, been operating a vertical farm which leverages hydroponic food growing technology and has experience incredible success in growing produce ranging from leafy greens to berries and some root vegetables. Although this technology has effectively proven that it is not necessary to transport food from an average of 2,500km away, there is presently no distribution infrastructure in place to get this produce to the members of the community.
2. Develop a smart-phone application for distribution
Skip-the-dishes, a Winnipeg start-up launched in 2013, realized incredible success through the development of a smart-phone application that allowed customers to order dishes from their favourite restaurant and have it delivered to their door. The service offered by Skip-the-dishes relies on Skip-the-dishes delivery drivers instead of restaurant specific drivers to deliver food which increases efficiency since driver are always delivering food; there is no idle time. Loblaws launched its Click & Collect service in 2014 which allows customers to order groceries online and simply stop by the grocery store to pick them up. This online approach is very quickly being adopted by consumers as it offers significant time savings for grocery shopping. Amazon, the online marketplace, has revolutionized the shopping arena by offering inexpensive prices on goods and short delivery time, so it is more economical to use their service than it is to go to the shopping mall. Furthermore, Amazon offers many suggestions for goods that are complimentary to the goods you have ordered and good that were ordered by others that had similar purchasing habits. This use of online statistics to inform consumers of available products is very useful and effective.
To bridge the last-mile delivery gap that currently exists between OCN’s LED smart farm and the members of the tri-council area, it is expected that an effective solution can be realized through the development of a smart phone app that is a unique blend of skip-the-dishes, Loblaws Click & Collect, and the Amazon marketplace. The features of the smart phone application would include a description of available products and their associated prices, options for home delivery or distribution center pickup, suggested recipes that use the given produce, a review system to help provide consumer feedback to the operators of the LED smart farm on community desired products, a transaction interface for processing payment, a delivery status tracking system, and optional account creation to track purchase history and link wearable biometric technology to correlate food purchases and health metrics.
3. Utilize wearable technology for enhanced data collection
The internet of things movement is continuously making available new and innovative wearable technology which greatly increases the ease of health data collection and processing. Heart rate, blood sugar, and body temperature biometrics can all be gathered with the use of minimally invasive wearable technology and gathered in real-time and stored on a community server. This allows for the collection of data on micro-events associated with diabetes and pre-diabetes symptoms.
Scope and Feasibility:
There are 4 components to this project that must be refined in order to realize project success; the LED smart farm must be prepared for commercial operation, the smart phone application must be developed to administer the consumer/LED smart farm interface, a distribution infrastructure must be created, and data must be collected and processed to confirm that the increased availability of fresh produce is in fact decreasing diabetes rates.
Prior to initiating work on any of these fronts, a legal entity under which the smart phone application and distribution infrastructure can be developed and operated must be created. Following that, agreements need to be put in place between the LED smart farm, tri-council region, and the newly formed entity which outline the terms and conditions of cooperation on the project as a whole.
Commercialization of the LED smart farm is expected to include increasing staff to perform tasks such as seeding, harvesting, order filling, and quality control. Furthermore, an increase in grow space may be required which would entail procurement of additional equipment and expansion of space. Since the LED smart farm is currently being operated quite successfully as a prototype project, much of the knowledge surrounding plant growth and harvesting simply needs to be scaled to meet the expected needs of the commercial scale plant. The commercialization process is expected to both create jobs within the community as well as increase community pride as being a technological leader in Canada’s food security.
Development of the previously described smart phone application will need to be contracted to an application development firm and overseen by the project management team. In parallel to application development, creation of an interface system between the LED smart farm and the application which conveys both the orders that need to be filled as well as the customer feedback on market preferred crops must take place.
The distribution system that will be created will be based on either drone technology or manned electric vehicle technology. Since one of the primary mechanisms that is expected to increase fresh produce consumption is decrease in consumer costs, it is believed that the low operating costs associated with an electric vehicle-based distribution infrastructure are important. On this front, it will be necessary to either partner with a company such as drone delivery Canada to assist with the delivery of goods, or it will be necessary to acquire several small electric vehicles and hire local drivers to perform food deliveries. Since electric vehicles are currently achieving roughly 200km range per charge and drone technology is easily able to carry 10 lbs with a range of 80km per charge, and the Tri-Council area is only 40km across, electric based transportation is quite suitable for the scope of this project.
Data collection on diabetes rates will be done both at the micro and macro level. On the macro level, the health authorities of OCN and the NHR already have policies in place to monitor diabetes rates within their respective communities. These statistics are compiled on an annual basis and give an overall picture of the state of diabetes within the Tri-Council area. It is expected that micro data, data on a personal on an hour by hour basis can be collected using wearable biometric technology such as non-invasive blood sugar monitoring bracelets, heart rate monitors, and body temperature monitors. This data will be useful both to those who are battling diabetes by providing them with real-time feedback on dietary choices as well as to anyone who wishes to engage in a healthier lifestyle. Appropriate components will need to be selected that are compatible with the smart phone application and allow data collection on fresh produce purchasing practices to be joined with health data.
Additional Benefits: Interoperability/Replicability
Following the development of the smart phone application, this food production and distribution model can be expanded with minimal effort to any other community in Norther Canada, or the world for that matter. The primary health issue that must be addressed in the tri-council area is diabetes, however, given the vast research which indicates that other chronic diseases are also best addressed through dietary and lifestyle changes, it is easy to link other biometric monitoring technologies to this type of application should there be a desire for different metrics to me monitored in a different region, or if new technology becomes available that can augment the currently proposed monitoring system.
For the purposes of this initial deployment, a corporation will be formed within which the required smart phone application can be created. This corporation will operate under the guidance and with the support of the Tri-Council governments, but it will not be an entity of the tri-council governments. It is expected that this model will allow for much simpler future expansion to other communities and jurisdictions, remove any partisan influence on the operations of the business, and allow for more streamlined operation.
Question 7 - Medium/long-term goals - 500 words maximum (required)
Please describe the ways in which your preliminary proposal supports your community's medium and long-term goals, strategies, and plans.
To supplement your response, please upload any relevant documents and make clear linkages and references.
The Town of The Pas, Opaskwayak Cree Nation and RM of Kelsey have each created their own strategic plan, focusing on community development and the health and well being of their citizens. While the smart farm technology is not directly referred to in the plans as the opportunity for this innovative solution was presented after the current strategic plans were developed, the challenge presented in this proposal does support goals of each community represented in the Tri-Council.
The Town of The Pas has a statement in their strategic plan that states their vision is “The Town of The Pas will continue to grow as a vibrant regional service centre. Through responsible leadership and effective resource management we are creating diverse community, providing our citizens with an affordable, safe, clean and healthy environment”. The strategic goals as per the attached document The Pas Community Renewal Corporation (TPCRC) Strategic Plan, is to “Increase Access to Recreation and Wellness Opportunities”. Community priority #5b indicates that food security and grow your own food is one of the five year results the are striving for. This SMART cities challenge will support and surpass this expectation.
The Opaskwayak Cree Nation has a comprehensive plan with long and short-term goals and priorities as per the attached document. The plan itemizes eleven priority areas. Of note is an opportunity which reads “Research opportunities for programs and services, relating to capacity development, community safety, education, health, housing, and youth”. Opaskwayak signed a Band Council Resolution to authorize the establishment of the SMART farm in OCN and has operated the SMART for three years. Research on the nutritional, health and cost benefits with food price comparisons to other northern communities is attached. This SMART cities challenge will support many aspects of the community plan and the opportunities listed therein.
A long-term strategy within the Tri-Council region is to collaborate on health care services. The relationship forged by the attached Statement of Intent between the OCN’s health authority and the regional provincial health region, with offices located in The Town of The Pas, is the basis for ongoing collaboration, including the involvement of both provincial and federal health entities to collect data and support activities that will lead to the health and lifestyle changes that is the goal of the SMART cities challenge.
Upload:
TPCDC Strategic plan
OCN strategic plan
OCN BCR re LED plant
NHR – OHA Statement of Intent
SMART farm research and report
Question 8 - Implementation readiness - 1,000 words maximum (required)
Please describe your community's readiness and ability to implement your proposal successfully.
This section should include:
• Experience with implementing complex projects (i.e. multi-stakeholder, multi-dimensional) that span multiple business lines and functional units.
• Structures, processes, and practices in place or planned for managing and implementing complex projects that span multiple business lines and functional units.
• Organizational strengths and potential weaknesses for managing and implementing a smart city proposal and plans to address weaknesses to ensure successful proposal management and implementation.
Experience with complex projects – multiple partners & jurisdictions:
1. Forest Industry
On August 22, 2016, Tolko Industries announced the closure of its Kraft paper mill at The Pas, eliminating 332 mill jobs and a $37 million annual direct payroll. This was devastating news for The Pas, OCN, the RM of Kelsey and indeed the entire forest industry in northern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, as it would also cripple the regional logging industry and sawmills who would no longer have a market for their logs and chips.
One of the first actions was to organize a meeting of regional stakeholders — municipal leaders, First Nations representatives from OCN and the Swampy Cree Tribal Council, union leadership, mill staff, the business community and forest industry operators — with Manitoba Cabinet Ministers - to underscore the mill’s critical role in the northern economy and their determination to pursue a long-term solution rather than a short-term bail out.
Recognizing the need for industry knowledge and contacts and government relations, strategic communications, and issue management expertise, an individual was hired who has this knowledge and skillset to lead the community and region in their efforts to achieve a solution. With this assistance, as potential mill purchasers emerged, a seemingly endless list of challenges was met head on — investigating the background of potential purchasers to secure the trust of union leadership whose members were asked to take a ten per cent wage cut; working with potential buyers to show local support for new ownership and the importance of bringing First Nations into meaningful discussions on participation in the forest industry; working with the Province to resolve issues related to the transfer of the forest tenure to a new owner and achieving a solution to the workers’ pension solvency issue to enable a sale to proceed.
On November 9, 2016, it was announced that Canadian Kraft Paper, a company affiliated with American Industrial Acquisition Corporation, had purchased the mill. In 2017, over $20 million was invested to upgrade the mill, with a multi-year investment plan in place to further improve the operation. Markets are strong, and the future looks bright for the forest industry in northern Manitoba.
2. Landfill - Regional Waste Disposal Ground
In 2012, through the encouragement of Manitoba Conservation, The Town of The Pas, RM of Kelsey, Northern Affairs, Opaskwayak Cree Nation and Swampy Cree Tribal Council, began discussion regarding the concept of a Regional Waste Disposal Ground (RWDG). An RWDG stakeholder group was formed and began to explore landfill options and complete a feasibility study. The feasibility study became the foundation for how the RWDG stakeholders could move forward and provided the parameters for which the stakeholder group could begin more rigorous discussions within each community and to ensure all unique local needs would or could be met.
In 2016 OCN began and completed a business plan for the RWDG, to demonstrate the viability of the site and again providing a framework for expected fees and costs associated with the project and the operations. The 2016 business plan further demonstrated that to achieve success, it was important that we all work together as a region.
In 2016/2017 the RWDG stakeholder group acquired the services of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the FCM First Nations – Municipal Collaboration Program manages the Community Infrastructure Partnership Project (CIPP) to facilitate taking the project to the next step. A working group was established to move the project forward. Next steps are to review the Terms of Reference and approve moving this project to tender.
Structures, Processes and Practices for complex projects:
The Tri-Council conducts business together according to their Friendship Accord which was signed in 2014. Within this document lies the purpose, vision, principles and values that the three entities mutually share. Additionally, there is a described process for working together including the formation of a joint committee for those projects or opportunities, such as the SMART cities challenge. The joint committee does their work, including engaging professional expertise, to assist with any aspects of a project which require such expertise outside of that within the Tri-Council region.
The Town of The Pas, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, and RM of Kelsey also have many linkages and connections within the federal and provincial governments who offer support and technical assistance with small and large-scale projects upon request.
Organizational Strengths:
The SMART cities project will be supported through the following:
1. LED Smart Farm technology already established – the community has been growing food for three years utilizing this technology. The farm experimented and learned to network Korean technology with Canadian water and electrical systems. All equipment has been CSA approved and is considered Power Smart by Manitoba Hydro. OCN has a formal agreement with the Korean government to use and operate this farm which was developed in Korea. Ongoing research and development is shared by:
• Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)
• Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST)
2. University of Manitoba Memorandum of Understanding for Diabetes Research – understanding of best foods and best production for the LED plant for the treatment of diabetes, obesity and hyperlipidemia as well as maternal care.
3. The Pas Community Renewal Corporation (TPCRC) and Paskwayak Business Development Corporation (PBDC) are two business development entities which are a subsidiary of The Town of the Pas and Opaskwayak Cree Nation respectively and will work together on the SMART cities project under a Memorandum of Understanding, using their expertise in business development to jointly support the management and implementation of the SMART cities project.
The Tri-Council region has many resources to draw upon and a long history of successful, complex project completion. At this point, there are no identified weaknesses. The success of the project is not dependant on entities outside of the region and, as such, this independence and the support of the community to proceed with the project enhances the potential of the project to be even more successful than currently anticipated.
Question 9 - Finalist grant - 500 words maximum (required)
Describe your plan for using the $250,000 grant, should you be selected as a finalist. Provide a high-level breakdown of spending categories and an accompanying rationale.
Amount Total
Revenue
Smart Cities Challenge $250,000
Total Revenue $250,000
Expenses
Project Management $54,000
Project Coordinator $40,000
IT Support $15,000
Marketing/Promotion/Community Engagement $6,500
Data Collection $8,700
Certifications/Accreditation $30,000
Legal Fees $50,000
Elder Honorariums $7,800
Travel $13,000
Food Analysis $25,000
Total Expenses $250,000
Rationale:
Project Proposal Planner-$54,000 (900 hours at $60/hr): Schedule and manage proposal development and timelines; oversee and manage consulting; solve problems in tactful and responsive manner; link between project staff and program participants; develop reports; development of assessment tools; development of business plan; manage and facilitate communication with participants; work closely with funders on project; work with participants; encourage participant engagement, provide all financial management for proposal development; develop all financial reporting on project; oversight of project
Proposal Development Coordinator-$40,000 (800 hours at $50/hr): Development of project proposal; develop reports; prepare promotional and marketing material to engage citizen/participant feedback and ideas; support Project Proposal Planner; development of budget; main contact for the project; policy development; setting up workshops; consulting activities; prepare and submit interim draft funding proposals to Tri-Council as required; prepare and provide reporting as required; primary contact for participants
IT Support-$15,000: Develop and maintain a specific web site for the project; provide forums for discussion; develop a blog; develop social medial pages and other electronic communication methods for marketing and promotions; conference call; participate in technological requirements within proposal development; develop database for research and analysis information; work with the Project Proposal Planner and Proposal Development Coordinator to contribute to the development of the business plan within the proposal
Marketing/Promotion/Community Engagement -$6,500: Publications; printed marketing and promotional material to encourage community engagement in the proposed project including online marketing and promotion using social media outlets; handouts; models; exercises, articles and related information; posters/flyers; graphic art and design services; advertising (online advertising radio, print)
Data Collection-$8,700: Compile list of potential participants; document analysis; conduct participant interviews; research existing data sources; assemble participant groups; data processing; develop and implement evaluation plan; solicit and collect documents and data; focus groups; case studies; prepare questionnaires and surveys; collect, analyze and compile project data; space, materials and incentives for focus groups
Certifications/Accreditation-$30,000: Assess services against standards of excellence to identify what is being done well and what needs to be improved; self-assessment identifying areas of strength and gaps; on-site survey; additional credibility for quality improvement; minimize risk and help provide more consistent services; engage staff in quality improvement; Certify LED Farm to provide fresh produce to food stores and restaurants
Legal Fees-$50,000; Patent registration; copyright and registration of Intellectual Property; Preparation of legal documents; assist the group to meet necessary legal requirements and obligations; Provide legal representation and advice as required; protect the group from fraudulent solicitations
Elder Honorariums: 2 elders; $100 per meeting/focus group, 2 meetings/focus groups per monthx12 months per yearx3 years=$7,800
Travel and Professional Development-$13,000: Trip to Korea for requisite participants to receive training for facility upgrade and technological advancements; data, technology and information exchange; research new developments and technology to integrate into new program model
Food Analysis-$25,000: Nutrition and Composition Analysis; Analyses for nutrients, vitamins and additives; Food Shelf Life Testing to comply with regulations that products display the appropriate “use by” and/or “best before” date(s); Food Sensory Analysis for new product development/marketing and insight into both consumer behavior and quality assurance; Nutrition and Vitamin Analysis to verify, establish and confirm the nutrient content of the products including the legal requirements for food nutrition labels
Question 10 - Partners - 500 words maximum (required)
Describe the partners that are or will be involved in your proposal. Where partners are not yet determined, describe the process for selecting them.
This section should include:
• A description of existing partners (what type of organization, what they do, etc.), their relevance, and expected contribution to the outcome (or outcomes).
• Where partners are not yet determined or where it is anticipated that additional partners are required, describe the process for selecting them.
Additional partners involved with the three entities of the Tri-Council include:
1. Northern Health Region (NHR) – the NHR is one of five health authorities created in the province of Manitoba to provide health care services to Manitoba’s northern communities on behalf of the provincial government. These health care services include primary care as well as specialist, emergent and hospital care. The NHR collects electronic health data on an ongoing basis and will partner with the project to assist with data collection necessary on this project.
2. Opaskwayak Health Authority (OHA) – operating as an independent organization with a management structure that includes a Board of Directors, the OHA provides primary care and community health services. OHA works closely with the NHR under a collaboration agreement known as the Statement of Intent. The entities collaborate on all aspects of health care delivery and together will determine the process of data collection for this project and the indicators which will determine successful outcomes as outlined by the project plan.
3. Vertical LED Plant Farm – the LED plant farm was built on OCN land in December 2015 through the development of a Science and Technology program with the Korean Institute of Science and Technology along with the Korean Academy of Science and Technology engineering who provide the equipment and technology. The plant farm will have a pivotal role in producing food and working cooperatively with the team in the development of the distribution system, wearable technologies, payment platform and other innovations associated with the project.
4. Korean Institute of Science & Technology (KIST) – KIST is the leading contributor in Science and Technology in Korea. Established in 2003, KIST has a strength on natural products research for developing high value-added commercialized products including nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmeceutical. Co-technologies developed include the smart farm system and plant factory.
The role of KIST in the partnership is to provide ongoing scientific innovation to support the smart farm to produce functional vegetables in the plant factory and secure scientific evidence based collaborative research.
Additionally, the role of KIST is to provide other co-technologies that will be utilized through Korean innovation include wearable devices that monitor individual biometrics such as blood sugar levels, heart rate and blood pressure. KIST will also provide innovation that allows the smart phone to utilize an app developed by the Korean government that provides the user with a calorie and nutritional count of food on a plate via a photo.
Anticipated Partners:
1. Distribution System
• Drone Delivery Canada
• Electric Vehicle
2. App Development – data collection and platform for food to order, education, recipe distribution, incentives, payment platform
Process for selecting partners would involve the Request for Proposals process which may include an invitation to submit a proposal from businesses that have a proven track record. The selection committee for the partners bringing technology would include individuals with specialized expertise such as engineers, health, accountants and community development.