Alberta Technology Issues - 7

November 28, 2005

Canada must make biotechnology choices: Conference Board

OTTAWA, Nov. 28 - Canada cannot rest on past success in the field of biotechnology, according to a report released today by The ConferenceBoard of Canada.

Canada's modest investments in biotechnology are spread across a range ofindustry sectors. "Other leading countries are making more strategic decisions about theirinvestments to achieve international competitive advantages," said Trefor Munn- Venn, author of the report, Biotechnology in Canada: A Technology Platform for Growth.

"To achieve international success in biotechnology, we must develop critical mass in our research investments, in our talent pool and in our biotechnology companies."

Biotechnology can be applied to many economic and social sectors-it canimprove our ability to: treat debilitating diseases, clean up the environment,produce new goods and services, and compete internationally.

Through an evidence-based analysis of Canada's current biotechnologyindustry, the Conference Board report raises policy questions for industry,the academic community and government.

The report is available for free download at http://www.conferenceboard.ca/. Itsrelease coincides with the BioNorth 2005 Conference (http://www.bionorth.ca/)today and tomorrow in Ottawa.

British Transport Police: Mobile Data System

Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate:
13.12.2005 - 12:00.

This contract will supply 400 mobile devices to officers by March 2006 to support a number of policing functions including, live stop and search, access to the Penalty Notice for Disorder system and address look-up. The new solution must be based around PDAs and will use GPRS connectivity.

http://ted.publications.eu.int/official/Exec;jsessionid=E75EB14C11731EB0BF41511179E57B96.antares2005_1?DataFlow=ShowPage.dfl&Template=TED/N_one_result_detail_curr.htm&docnumber=224388

Short description of the contract or purchase(s):

British Transport Police (the Force) seek the provision of a mobile data solution based around Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) using GPRS to connect, real-time, into a number of key Force systems. We are looking for a supplier to provide a gateway solution between the mobile workforce and the back-end databases. The project is for up to 400 devices by end March 2006. Ongoing support and maintenance is estimated to be required for 4 years with the option to extend annually thereafter. The initial solution must meet the following functionality : An interface, to enable search, read & update, with the force command and control system. An interface with the Force PND (Penalty Notice for Disorder) system. An interface, to enable search, read & update, with the Force Intelligence system, including the live input of " stop and search " records. A nominal and vehicle lookup to the Force PNC interface. A nominal and address lookup to the voters' register provided by Quick Address. A single client front end that is compatible with all current Microsoft operating systems. The capability of printing to a handheld printer, for items such as penalty notices, stop and search notices. In addition, the solution must : Be hardware independent. Integrate nominal updates and searches across the different systems to avoid unnecessary repetition by the officer, key once use many. Provide auditing of all transactions, including a mechanism for searching and reporting. Be robust enough to survive GPRS signal losses. Allow for off-line storing of queries in the event of signal loss. Meet CESG guidelines and Force standards for the secure handling of data to the level of restricted. The supplier will be required to establish contractual interface arrangements with the providers of the Force systems, initially those listed above. The supplier is to be responsible for these contracts and must ensure that the interfaces between the systems and the PDAs are supported, enhanced and tested following any system release changes, patches as advised by either the Force systems supplier or the Force as appropriate.

Thank you
Norm Greenfield