Strategis, the bilingual
Web site of Industry Canada, was created to make available the
information resources of that government department. To quote from About Us,
accessible from the Web site's home page, "we are committed to business and
we dedicate ourselves to the success of all Canadian businesses at home and
abroad." An ambitious undertaking, to be sure, which has resulted in the
pulling together of over 300,000 documents in less than a year. While it would
be difficult to determine a direct link between their efforts
to date and the success of all Canadian business, I feel that they are
succeeding admirably in improving the accessibility of useful Industry Canada
information and providing links to valuable information from other sources.
The site is suitable to business people, researchers, consumers,
and students. Use is currently free but charges will apply for use of
certain segments in the future.
Content
The site was reorganized in October 1996 in response to user feedback.
There are currently eight main categories, which can be accessed either from
the main menu itself or from a useful, bird's-eye site map available both in
text and graphical format.
From the Company
Information category's Canadian
Company Capabilities
page, the user can access the BOSS Directories with which many business
people and researchers are already familiar in other formats. In fact, the
FAQ for the Company Capabilities database tells us that the BOSS print
directories will eventually be phased out in favour of the Web version.
For those not already familiar with BOSS, these very valuable sources allow
the identification of companies that produce specific products, and further
show the geographical areas to and from which they export and import. This is
one of the databases to which a future fee will be applied. The Corporations
Database, also within Company Information, provides information on the
incorporation of Canadian companies. Both are searchable and both
provide the opportunity for companies to register themselves and add or
update information about themselves, thus improving currency. The process
that ensures the integrity and security of the information added or changed is
fully explained on the FAQ page.
International
Business Opportunities, Trade and Investment includes
monthly graphically-presented data on trade statistics and foreign markets for
Canadian goods and services. I would particularly like to draw attention to a
feature recently added to Investments in
Canada. Why
Invest in Canada is structured as a visual presentation to potential
investors and can be downloaded for use as such. Furthermore, there
are additional, more specific, presentations on industries such as aerospace
and information technology.
Business
Information by Sector provides an in-depth look at a number of
Canadian industries. For each industry, coverage may include industrial
analysis and statistics, links to trade associations, links to relevant
statutes and regulations, and information about trade shows and conferences.
The currency of the reports varies. Some of the subsections of
the health industry report, for example, were dated 1993, while most of the
report on information technologies was dated 1996. The new
Sector
Competitiveness Frameworks is linked from this page. Ten industries are
investigated from the point of view of current overview and prospects. An
additional ten industries will be added in the spring of 1997
and ten more in the summer of 1997. A second phase is currently planned,
which will eventually present action plans for improving the global
competitiveness of all thirty industries.
Microeconomic
Research and Statistical Analysis presents statistics on
leading indicators, consumer and business confidence, price movements,
exchange rates and interest rates, to name a few. Special reports on topics
such as international competitiveness, corporate taxation, the information
economy, and small business facts can be found here. Quarterly provincial
industrial overviews and a link to the Statistics Canada
Daily are just some of the other features of this category.
Technology,
Innovation and Licensing contains the Canadian
Patent Database, which is searchable by keyword and provides access to
licensable technologies from forty countries worldwide.
From Business
Support and Services you can retrieve pathfinders that outline
how to incorporate a business, how to prepare a business plan, how to obtain
a sales tax license, and whom to contact for useful information. At this point
you could elect to call up the Small
Business Loans Act or access Canadian
Industry Statistics to benchmark your company against others in your
industry.
Consumers
and the Marketplace lays out the mandates of and services provided by
Industry Canada sections such as the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. No
actual bankruptcy statistics are provided here, just the telephone number.
This category is also the home of Consumer
Quarterly magazine, which examines such issues as voluntary standards,
biotechnology and changes in the financial services sector.
Finally, Human
Resources and Training provides links to experts in the
human resource and management fields, with an obvious emphasis on upgrading
technological competencies.
Evaluation
Apart from the usefulness of the content, numerous other features make
this Web site
attractive to repeat visits. First, there is a lot of background information available as to
how and why the data has been gathered. The About Us
button provides some
of this. Also, the provenance of each report is clearly stated on a consistent spot at the
top of the page. For each report the author, the author's department or directorate
within Industry Canada, and the date are provided. For the most part, the information in
the reports is current. Navigation within the site is relatively easy and clearly marked,
offering several different methods depending on the user's level of familiarity. A more
seasoned searcher can click on the Site
Map on the home page and from this map
click on the precise subcategory desired. This allows for quick retrieval and exit.
The Search
feature is
effective and includes a help function that explains the logic
behind the search. In searching the company databases, you can elect to simply
search by keyword or take advantage of multiple field searching. The
What's New
feature, also accessible from the home page, is particularly informative.
By clicking
here, not only can you see what has been added to the Strategis Web site in
the last month, but you
can also choose to look at the What's
New Archive, which documents the history
of additions to the database since its launch in March 1996. The user can also
elect to register to receive by email weekly alerts about changes and additions to
the Web site. I did so and received acknowledgement of my registration
within one
half hour. I now receive an update clearly organized by the same main categories
used on the Web site. The links provided to other relevant Web sites,
such as
Statistics Canada, provincial government departments, and international organizations
such as the World Trade Organization, help save valuable research time.
Help is available both through the Help
buttons on nearly every page and through
a toll free helpline (1-800-328-6189). When I called the toll free number I found the personnel responsive and well-informed. Finally, there is an opportunity to provide feedback. By
clicking on Your
Opinion, which appears on most pages, you have access to a questionnaire
that poses specific questions and provides space for comments. Feedback from users has
to date resulted in modifications to both the organization of the information and the
navigational tools available.
It is true that the look of the site may not be as attractive or exciting as that found on some
other Web sites. However, limiting the use of graphics does make retrieval
and printing faster.
This point was also part of the feedback from serious users. I would suggest, however, that
the grey buttons such as the Site Map, What's New, and Search on the
home page be made
more eye-catching, so that the first-time user is more tempted to use them. Also, I would hope
to see bankruptcy statistics on the site. Last on my list is the wish that some of the long
industry documents such as Sector
Competitiveness Frameworks could be printed off
in larger chunks. Overall, this is a worthwhile site to bookmark, as it is constantly evolving,
and in a direction that is responsive to the information needs of its users.
Notes
[1] May be cited as/On peut citer comme suit:
"Strategis: Review," Government
Information in Canada/Information gouvernementale au Canada 3, no.
2 (1996). [http://www.usask.ca/library/gic/v3n2/spindler/spindler.html]
Back to text.
[2]
Marilyn Spindler
Senior Information Specialist
CIBC Business Information
Toronto, Ontario
tel: (416) 980-3053
fax: (416) 861-3666
spindler@cibc.ca
Back to text.