Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is the lead federal department for a wide range of environmental issues, addressing clean growth and climate change, pollution prevention, nature conservation, and weather and environmental prediction. The Department operates with approximately 6,415 full-time equivalents and a $1.5 billion budget (2018-19), working across Canada from Iqaluit to Burlington and Esquimalt to St. John’s, including satellite offices, laboratories, National Wildlife Areas, and weather stations. Within ECCC, the Meteorological Service of Canada is a world data leader, processing over 100 million worldwide observations daily and generating 25 terabytes of new integrated atmospheric and environmental data and model outputs each day.

The Clerk of the Privy Council shared the Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service, asking all federal departments to develop data strategies. Within ECCC, the Office of the Chief Data Officer (OCDO) was developing the Department’s first-ever Data and Analytics Strategy (DAS) to respond to that direction and to position ECCC to leverage its data assets more effectively across its mandate. ECCC engaged Bronson to support the development of the strategy by providing technical expertise on multiple data dimensions, drafting the policy narrative, integrating consultation findings, and producing the final report.

Bronson worked closely with ECCC’s Chief Data Office and Chief Information Office throughout the engagement, incorporating multiple rounds of CDO and CIO review into successive drafts. The work combined technical knowledge across data governance, data culture, AI and analytics, data management, and infrastructure with the policy writing and editorial discipline required to produce a publication-ready strategy for senior executives.

The Challenge

Developing a first-of-its-kind enterprise data and analytics strategy for a science-based federal department is not a routine writing exercise. It requires translating consultation findings, maturity diagnostics, policy context, and operational reality into a coherent and credible plan that branches across ECCC can adopt and that aligns with broader Government of Canada direction.

The main challenges Bronson tackled:

Federal policy alignment. The strategy needed to align with the November 2018 Government of Canada Data Strategy Roadmap, the Treasury Board Secretariat’s April 2018 Policy on Information Management, the TBS Strategic Plan for IM/IT 2017-2021, the December 2018 Directive on Management of Information Technology, the 2014 Directive on Open Government, the 2016 Policy on Results, and the Digital Operations Strategic Plan 2018-2022.

Heterogeneous data maturity across branches. Within ECCC, the Meteorological Service of Canada operates at a world-class data maturity level while other branches are in the early stages of their data agendas. The strategy had to work for both ends of that spectrum.

Translating consultation findings into strategy. Findings from 25 consultation sessions with over 100 employees across nine branches had to be synthesized, validated against the maturity assessment, and converted into recommendations and action items.

Baseline data maturity at Level 2. The Gartner Consulting maturity assessment placed ECCC overall at Level 2 (Opportunistic). The strategy had to be ambitious enough to move the Department forward while realistic about where it was starting from.

Two foundations and three pillars. The strategy needed a framework that surfaced data governance and transparency as foundational, while structuring three pillars (people and culture, environment and infrastructure, data as a strategic asset) that branches could adopt at their own pace.

Indigenous data relationships and third-party data dependencies. Strategy had to handle ECCC’s reliance on third-party data agreements with provinces, territories, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and international providers in a way that supported interoperability and Indigenous data governance.

AI, machine learning, and emerging technologies. The strategy had to position ECCC for advanced analytics and data science (AI, predictive analytics, text analytics, deep learning) while acknowledging the infrastructure constraints that were limiting deployment today.

Publication-ready output. The final product had to be a polished, executive-ready document carrying the authority of the Chief Data Office and Chief Information Office, in tone and language accessible to non-technical senior management.

ECCC needed an enterprise data and analytics strategy that was federally aligned, branch-flexible, evidence-based, sequenced for delivery over three years, and ready to publish under departmental authority.

Our Solution

Bronson designed the engagement as a structured strategy development program combining technical content development, consultation integration, framework architecture, and policy writing. The work was organized into the following streams:

1. Government of Canada Data Context Synthesis

Bronson developed the Government of Canada data context that anchors the strategy, synthesizing the November 2018 Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service, the six federal areas for immediate action, and broader federal initiatives including the Canadian Digital Service, the modernization of Statistics Canada, and the 4th National Action Plan on Open Government.

2. ECCC Context and Departmental Results Framework IntegrationContext and Departmental Results Framework Integration

Bronson built the ECCC-specific context section grounding the strategy in the Department’s mandate, Departmental Results Framework, and existing data priorities. This included integration of the Canadian Centre for Climate Services, the $643.5-million revitalization of weather services, the Federal Geospatial Platform contribution, the Species at Risk Public Registry, and Strategic Policy Branch’s role in emissions projections.

3. Data Maturity Assessment Integration

Bronson incorporated the baseline data maturity assessment that established ECCC at Level 2 (Opportunistic), synthesizing it with the consultation findings to derive the five common challenges and the 8 recommendations covering 25 action items that inform the strategy.

4. Strategy Framework Architecture

Bronson articulated the Data and Analytics Strategy Framework structured around two foundations and three pillars:

• Foundation 1: Data Governance — establishing accountability, roles, and responsibilities for managing data as a strategic asset.
• Foundation 2: Data Transparency — leveraging data to facilitate reporting on results and performance to Canadians and open government.
• Pillar 1: Empowering People and Culture — ensuring ECCC has the talent and capacity to manage, interpret, use, and understand data, including building advanced analytics and data science capacity (AI, machine learning, predictive analytics).
• Pillar 2: Enabling Environment and Data Infrastructure — improving data infrastructure, adopting emerging technologies, facilitating data integration for priority data, and supporting strategic use of data while protecting privacy.
• Pillar 3: Treating Data as a Strategic Asset — making priority ECCC data discoverable, accessible, and usable; improving data service products through user segmentation; and advancing priority third-party data relationships including Indigenous data partnerships.

5.Pillar Specific Strategy Content Development

For each foundation and pillar, Bronson developed the strategic objective, why it matters, opportunity, current situation at ECCC, expected outcomes, and key early action items. The pillar content integrated federal policy references, sector-specific best practices, and concrete branch-level examples spanning Environmental Protection, Enforcement, Science and Technology, Human Resources, Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office, and Canadian Wildlife Service.

6. Third-Party Data Relationships and Indigenous Knowledge Integration

Bronson developed the third-party data relationships section, covering provincial and territorial agreements, the Oil Sands Monitoring datasets, the Open Science and Data Platform for Cumulative Effects, the World Meteorological Organization data sharing arrangements, and ECCC’s developing Indigenous knowledge systems framework with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners.

7. Digital Strategy Alignment

Bronson aligned the Data and Analytics Strategy with ECCC’s broader Digital Strategic Framework, ensuring the data and analytics priority connects coherently to the service modernization and workforce and workplace transformation priorities.

8. Crawl-Walk-Run Implementation Roadmap

Bronson developed the three-year phased implementation approach: the Crawl Phase (2019-20) focused on critical enablers; the Walk Phase (2020-21) focused on prototyping and key initiative implementation; and the Run Phase (2021-22) focused on appropriate scaling across the Department.

9. Successive Draft Production and CDO/CIO Revision Cycles

Bronson produced successive drafts of the strategy report, incorporating Chief Data Office and Chief Information Office comments across multiple revision cycles, integrating CDO Team infographics, and ensuring consistency of tone, formatting, and senior-executive accessibility throughout.

Key Deliverables

• ECCC Data and Analytics Strategy 2019-2022 – The complete published strategy document, jointly authored by the Chief Data Office and Chief Information Office, presenting the framework, foundations, pillars, recommendations, and phased implementation approach for ECCC’s first-ever data and analytics strategy.
• Government of Canada Data Context Section – Synthesized federal data context establishing alignment with the November 2018 Data Strategy Roadmap for the Federal Public Service and the broader federal data, digital, and open government agenda.
• ECCC Departmental Context and Existing Data Priorities Section – Integration of ECCC’s raison d’être, mandate, Departmental Results Framework, and existing data investments including the Canadian Centre for Climate Services, the high-performance computing investment, the Federal Geospatial Platform contribution, and Strategic Policy Branch emissions analysis.
• Data Maturity Assessment Integration – Strategy integration of the baseline maturity assessment establishing ECCC at Level 2 (Opportunistic) and the five common challenges identified across nine branches through the consultation process.
• Crawl-Walk-Run Three-Year Phased Implementation Roadmap – Sequenced three-phase implementation approach (2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22) with critical enablers, prototyping initiatives, and scaling priorities defined for each phase.
• Data and Digital Definitions Annex – Reference annex defining data, advanced analytics, AI, big data, business intelligence, data governance, data lake, data literacy, data mining, machine learning, master data management, open data, predictive analytics, and other key terms grounding the strategy in consistent terminology.

The Impact

Bronson’s work gave Environment and Climate Change Canada its first comprehensive enterprise data and analytics strategy, equipping the Department to respond to federal direction and to advance its own data agenda across all branches. Specifically, the engagement delivered:

• A federally aligned data and analytics strategy connecting ECCC’s data priorities directly to the November 2018 Government of Canada Data Strategy Roadmap and the related Treasury Board policy framework.
• A two-foundation, three-pillar framework that branches can adopt at their own pace, accommodating the wide range of data maturity across ECCC from the world-leading Meteorological Service of Canada to branches still building their data agendas.
• A baseline maturity picture (Level 2 Opportunistic) supported by 25 consultation sessions with over 100 employees across nine branches, giving leadership a credible starting point for measuring progress.
• 8 recommendations covering 25 action items, structured into early action plans within each foundation and pillar so that progress can begin immediately rather than waiting for further planning.

The result is a foundation that positions ECCC to be a Government of Canada leader in leveraging data for the benefit of Canadians. As ECCC continues its work on clean growth and climate change, pollution prevention, nature conservation, and weather and environmental prediction, the data and analytics strategy Bronson helped develop provides the analytical, governance, and infrastructure foundation that connects the Department’s data assets to its mandate, its branches, its strategic partners, and the Canadians it serves.