Recently, ICI President Corey Tucker presented to the Atlantic Canada Association for Impact Assessment (ACAIA), an organization dedicated to making quality improvements in impact assessment, including processes, methods, and outcomes, and promoting its effective use to support better planning and decision-making.
The right digital tools are so important, and what they should do to improve the dynamics of the Canadian resource and infrastructure project ecosystem cannot be overstated; for both the regulators (actual humans!) who are tasked with the enormous responsibility of impact assessment, as well as project proponents. For this reason, effectively communicating how the tools address the pain points with project assessment and approvals is as key as describing and demonstrating features themselves.
Impact Assessment does not have to be code for “delay.” Too often we think that in order for something to be thorough, credible, and robust, that it must take A Long Time. But the thing is, society and industry have proved continuously, especially over the last 100 years, that innovation does not mean cutting corners. Do we think that having access to faster modes of transportation makes the journey any less precise? Does the advent of email diminish the accuracy of the written word, simply because it is more efficient than writing pen to paper? Of course not. So why do we think that project approvals and regulatory processes are any different?
Noting that the world is watching Canada’s next move with even greater interest in the face of global trade uncertainty, the Canadian Government has just recently announced the establishment of a Major Projects Office. A team of dedicated connectors and facilitators is a smart move, because what we need now is projects and initiatives approved effectively, efficiently, and faster than ever before – all while maintaining rigorous environmental and social impact analysis.
The good news is, this is possible – and Canadian companies are leading the charge.
Organizations like ICI, with our proprietary RIVAS solution, have shaved months and years off of project assessments without removing any standard of evaluation or care. We have taken what amounts to tens of thousands of pages of PDF information and distilled it into a dynamic, responsive, and intuitive solution that makes project management and approvals make sense. And when things make sense a lot faster, we can get where we need to go a lot faster, too.
Check out Corey’s presentation here on Digital Impact Assessment Technology: Considerations for projects thinking of adopting its use.