From October 29 to October 31, five teams participated in a hackathon to examine new ways of using Canadian Freight Analysis Framework (CFAF) data.
A hackathon is a sprint-like event that brings people from diverse backgrounds together to solve a problem or develop a product. This was one of several hackathons that took place this year at Statistics Canada with a variety of partners. For example, Statistics Canada worked with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in a previous event that focused on how to better understand and predict disruptions of the grain transportation and handling system. Hackathon participants work in teams over a period of just a few days, and they are encouraged to be bold in their thinking to come up with innovative solutions or prototypes. To conclude the hackathons, each team gives a presentation to their peers and a panel of judges. The judges then select an idea to develop further, until it is ready for implementation.
The first iteration of the CFAF database was released in March 2018. It integrates data from several sources to create a comprehensive picture of freight flows across the country by geography, commodity and mode of transport. Participants were asked to use the database to create meaningful tools or visualizations for Canadians.
Three of the five teams were located in Ottawa and comprised individuals from Transport Canada, Statistics Canada and Sustainable Development Technology Canada. The other two teams participated remotely: one from the University of Toronto, and the other from the Cross-Border Institute at the University of Windsor. Each remote team was supported by a member of the Transportation Statistics Research Section, on location.
The teams were working with a synthetic microdata file, which was specifically created for this event. A synthetic data file is a file that has been subtly modified to protect confidentiality, while leaving the information required for analysis unchanged.
Over the course of three days, the teams developed many compelling visualizations and proofs of concept. On the final day, they presented their ideas, which varied from a CO2 emissions calculator to a dashboard that maps freight flows onto transportation infrastructure and models disruptions. Statistics Canada and Transport Canada are currently considering which idea or ideas to move forward with.
This hackathon illustrates Statistics Canada’s push to make data more accessible and to engage a broader range of Canadians. This is part of Statistics Canada’s modernization agenda, which focuses on user-centric service delivery, leading-edge methods and data integration, statistical capacity building and leadership, and sharing and collaboration. The hackathon shows how the Canadian Centre on Transportation Data is supporting the development of new tools and applications to promote the flow of transportation-related information and knowledge and to enhance understanding and decision making. Finally, it supports Transport Canada’s efforts to provide shippers with access to transportation data to better optimize their routes and improve the fluidity of supply chains.
For more information, please contact Statistics Canada (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).