Selkirk College RDI announces the Selkirk-SME Adoption of Digital Technologies (ADT) pilot project

Selkirk College's Carlos Rodriguez is one of the liaison officers for this project.

Selkirk College has announced that its application for funding to support the Adoption of Digital Technology (ADT) by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Columbia Basin and Boundary region has been approved. The college will receive up to $306,644 in funding through the Digital Technology Adoption pilot program (DTAPP) to support ADT activities from January 2013 to February 2014.  Delivered by the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program, DTAPP is a component of the Government of Canada’s overall strategy to boost the productivity of SMEs and improve Canada’s digital economy.

The goal of this project is to increase productivity and spur innovation in SMEs as they adopt digital technologies and integrate them into their business models. Targeted businesses are those with fewer than 500 employees that could benefit from productivity improvements through technology adoption but need not be technology businesses themselves. For example, geospatial technologies could be used by businesses to better understand existing or new markets or be used to improve distribution processes.

The Selkirk-SME Adoption of Digital Technologies (ADT) Pilot Project will help accelerate SME adoption of digital technologies through the provision of ADT training for SMEs, advisory services from an Industry Liaison Officer, and direct support in geospatial and digital media ADT from faculty and students.

“One of the goals of Selkirk College’s Rural Development Institute (RDI) is to support innovation and knowledge transfer to SMEs. This project represents a significant step forward in advancing this goal. By connecting faculty and student expertise to SME needs, Selkirk College is further increasing our ability to have a direct impact on rural economic development in our region,” said Dr. Terri MacDonald, regional innovation chair in rural economic development for Selkirk College and Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute.

Phase One

The project will break down into phases; the first will be to gain a better understanding of the needs of SMEs in the region and the capacity of Selkirk College to meet these needs. This phase will include interviews with a minimum of 20 SMEs. The output of this phase will be a Regional ADT Needs Assessment Report, including highlighted opportunities for College training and support.

Phase Two

The second phase will involve the delivery of ADT Training to SMEs. The Selkirk College Community Education & Workplace Training Department (CEWT) will work with the Selkirk Geospatial Research Centre (SGRC) and Digital Media faculty to develop and host between 4-6 short courses and / or workshops based on ADT needs as identified in the ADT Needs Assessment of SMEs report.

Phase Three

Phase three relies heavily on Selkirk’s College-Industry liaison officer Carlos Rodriguez and involves the provision of ADT advisory services and direct SME support through pilot projects. The liaison officer will draw on referrals and implement a minimum of 10 ADT SME-College pilot projects. 

These projects will include direct ADT support from SGRC and Digital Media faculty in an effort to help accelerate the adoption of GIS and digital media technologies. It is anticipated that GIS and Digital Media students will also support these pilot projects through course projects and co-op placements. "The SGRC team is looking forward to the challenge of working with local business to find ways to increase productivity using leading-edge digital mapping technology.” states SGRC co-ordinator Ian Parfitt.

The project expects to provide a minimum of 50 SMEs with training, advisory services, and direct ADT support. The industry liaison officer, with the support of a project co-ordinator, will track metrics over the course of the project including cross-referrals and the number of SMEs receiving training, advisory services and direct support.

Learn more about the Selkirk-SME Adoption of Digital Technologies (ADT) pilot project and the Columbia Basin Regional Development Institute.