CSPS Digital Academy/CSPS Digital Accelerator/Team 1 - DND-CJOC
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Advanced Data Analytics Program
Our team
We are members of the Canadian Joint Operational Command (CJOC), an organization in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). CJOC is responsible for all domestic and international CAF operations. Our team is made up of DND/CAF members with diverse skillsets and experiences – everything from combat trades to data analysts.
Our mission
Our team was tasked with developing a tool for determining the impact of CAF operations on local populations through a media lens. The proposed tool needed to identify trends within the media that reflected public perception of our operations. This was to give CAF leadership an easy way to see whether our actions on the ground were having the intended impact and help ensure that resources were not being wasted on ineffective activities.
First steps
Initially, our team focused on gathering real-life data that could be used in our solution. As we dug deeper into the problem, we discovered some significant legal and ethical issues related to the collection of big data, even though it is open source. As a result, we focused on the analysis and visualization of data and created a dummy dataset to provide proof of concept for our solution while avoiding any possible legal issues.
Our prototyped solution
We found a platform that can take organized data from any source (dummy, traditional media, etc.), and create an interactive dashboard to showcase it both in time and space. This interactive dashboard will allow analysts to find trends in a dataset and quickly create high-quality visuals to assist senior leadership in operational decision-making.
Based on our research, the CAF currently has no broadly available program that can perform the functions our platform will be capable of when it is finished. This is important because the CAF needs to be able to accurately interpret available information to judge operational impact and effectiveness.
Journey to our solution
First, we had to refine and specify the problem. This process was a struggle, but it helped us grow as a team. We then reached out to other organizations to get a broader perspective on our topic. This included the RCMP and Transport Canada, who both use their own analytics programs. We met with representatives from Microsoft, who used their expertise to help us develop our product. Our team also reached out to multiple offices within the CAF to research the policies and authorities relevant to our project. At this time, we have not received clear direction on the legality of using real media data in our solution.
Takeaways
At first, we found it difficult to work within the ‘agile’ environment of the CSPS Digital Accelerator and the adjustment took some time. Once we made this adjustment, it gave us a new way to approach problem solving. Our team also learned a lot through discussing our solution with other departments, thus discovering new perspectives on our problem from the experience of others.
The story behind the logo
Charles Darwin studied finches in his research on natural selection, noting how the birds chose features that were advantageous to the survival of the species. Canaries – of the finch family – were used in mines as an early warning system for toxic gas levels. Our team’s program acts as a metaphor for these two concepts, acting as a warning signal for when our operations are not having the intended effects and allowing the CAF to adapt more quickly to changing events.
