At its simplest, data visualizations can help Labs participants gain an understanding of the current state of the system. As Frances Westley says, “Tools for producing infographics that clearly show the relationships between different data are becoming much more widely available [such as those by Hans Rosling]”. Examples of this can also be seen at … Continue reading Using data visualization to gain a common understanding of a system
Thoughts from SAP Sustainability in Business Summit
Back from a bit of a blogging hiatus! I happened to be in Toronto a couple of weeks ago and was able to attend SAP Canada's first Sustainability in Business Summit. There were almost 300 attendees for full day of presentations, workshops and networking - all interested in learning more about how to make business … Continue reading Thoughts from SAP Sustainability in Business Summit
BC Apps for Climate Action contest for developers coming soon
I'm very excited about SAP sponsorship for an upcoming developer contest by the Province of BC. The province is working with nine sponsors to develop an apps contest for climate action software applications. The contest asks participants to design fun, dynamic and innovative applications for both the Internet and mobile devices using government data. Like … Continue reading BC Apps for Climate Action contest for developers coming soon
Green Commuting Before and During the Olympics
Nice writeup in Going Green blog out of U.S. talking about SAP Vancouver's commuting initiatives during, and hopefully after, the Olympics. Great to see how we stacked up against the Vancouver and Canada averages. We have only 32% of employees driving solo as compared to an average of 67% in Vancouver, 72% across Canada and … Continue reading Green Commuting Before and During the Olympics
Virtual Cross-Canada David Suzuki Workshop with SAP 12sprints
Today I had the pleasure of delivering a David Suzuki at Work workshop at Read Jones Cristofferson Consulting Engineers. I facilitated the workshop as part of the Suzuki Ambassador program I have mentioned earlier. RJC are a Canada-wide firm with main offices in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto. A challenge when trying to build … Continue reading Virtual Cross-Canada David Suzuki Workshop with SAP 12sprints
Goals, Questions and Metrics: Building a Dashboard
Why build a dashboard? This question is often overlooked in the rush to get something done, something that looks good! When organizations look at building a dashboard, there are few quick items to check through. I have written extensively on using information in earlier posts (series here and here) so this time I want to … Continue reading Goals, Questions and Metrics: Building a Dashboard
Stimulus Reporting with SAP BusinessObjects Solution
Last year, SAP released an application to enable management and reporting of American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA aka stimulus package) Funds. The Act specifically mandates that government agencies provide transparent reporting to citizens showing monies spent and impacts made - financial, jobs and more. What's really interesting about this application is how it was developed. … Continue reading Stimulus Reporting with SAP BusinessObjects Solution
Volunteering in Reading Week: SAP and UBC at Mount Pleasant Elementary
I had the pleasure of visiting Mount Pleasant Elementary School in East Vancouver yesterday. Susanne Hempel from SAP is leading, with the help of 4 UBC student leaders, 40 UBC students in a project to raise student awareness and knowledge around Sustainability. The entire school of 200 children ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 7 are … Continue reading Volunteering in Reading Week: SAP and UBC at Mount Pleasant Elementary
Demonstrating Value – Building a Dashboard for Potluck Cafe
Last year I worked with Heather O'Hara, the Executive Director of Potluck Cafe to put into practice some of the techniques I have been writing about. As you can see from the story below, experience taught both of us a lot about the value of this work and how to make it more effective in … Continue reading Demonstrating Value – Building a Dashboard for Potluck Cafe
Reducing Costs through Mailing List Cleansing and Skilled Volunteers at Quest
Another great example of how non-profits can utilize technology and skilled volunteers to reduce costs and improve services is with Quest Food Exchange. The Quest Food Exchange, run by the Quest Outreach Society, leverages an innovative business model to rescue food that would otherwise be thrown in the garbage and headed for landfills, and redirect … Continue reading Reducing Costs through Mailing List Cleansing and Skilled Volunteers at Quest
Constructive Public Engagement 