The Latest News from Inside Infonaut.

August 21, 2008: Infonaut Newsletter :: Summer 2008

Get Infonaut's newest news in our Summer 2008 issue.  Find out about Infonaut North, see how we transformed hard-copy data to soft-copy information for Doorways to Care, meet our Director of Knowledge Management, and our COO's tiny protege. 

It's all online here.

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August 18, 2008: Now Hiring: Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

As we continue to grow, Infonaut is looking for a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) to join our senior management group and lead our development team. We’re seeking an IT professional who has the experience to become an expert with our existing technology, and the vision to push it to the next level.

Qualified applicants will have extensive and well-rounded knowledge of GIS technologies, database management systems and system development across various technical environments. The ideal candidate will have a Masters or PhD in computer science, business administration or a related field.

An applicant who is Infonaut material is passionate about continuous learning, is able to work in development, management and technical spheres, and is looking for an opportunity to take a leadership position with a young, growing company.

We want to take our products further, and are willing to invest the resources necessary to build next-gen technology. We offer a flexible work environment where you’ll be supported by an experienced team.

Infonaut offers competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package.

If you are up for the challenge, Infonaut would like to hear from you. Contact Matt McPherson at mmcpherson@infonaut.ca or 416-607-6260.

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August 14, 2008: New Director of Knowledge Management

Infonaut is pleased to bring Colin Furness on board as our Director of Knowledge Management. With Colin on the team, we’re accelerating Infonaut’s internal expertise in system design, and enhancing our ability to identify and take advantage of new networking technologies.

Colin is completing a PhD at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information, studying predictors for the effective use of collaborative information systems for knowledge work. He has fifteen years’ experience in cognitive & social psychology, information systems analysis, interface design methods, usability and user-centred design, and the social impacts of technology.

Funding from the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) made this hire possible. Successful applicants to the OCE are provided grant funding to employ an academic researcher. This facilitates the exchange of ideas and experience between academics and industry, providing relevant practical knowledge to researchers while keeping industry informed and in touch with the latest academic advancements in their field.

Only one-third of applicants to the OCE program this year were successful in receiving funding. Companies must prove that they will make good use of an academic researcher's time, and that hiring the researcher enhances the competitiveness of their organization. We're pleased that OCE decided to make this funding available to Infonaut. We look forward to Colin's contributions to the Infonaut team, keeping our products and services on the cutting edge.

To get in touch with Colin directly, send him an email at cfurness@infonaut.ca.

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August 6, 2008: Andrew Bostelaar Joins Infonaut North

Infonaut continues to grow, and now in a new direction -- North. Andrew Bostelaar joined Infonaut at the beginning of August, and is supporting our team as a developer in the Sault Ste Marie office: our first Saultellite.

Bringing Andrew on board is another step forward in improving Infonaut’s ability to bring effective, timely solutions to market. Building our in-house development team allows us to be more responsive to innovation opportunities, to build topical prototypes and lightweight solutions, and to customize our products to meet our client’s needs.

Andrew's work will be central to Infonaut's future growth, as he assists with research and development on our Hospital Infection Control application, co-developed with the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre.

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August 1, 2008: Infonaut North

Northern Ontario is well represented in many of Infonaut's projects, clients, and partners, and now we are there in person.

As part of our continued expansion and pursuit of new opportunities, Infonaut have opened a satellite office in the North. Infonaut services have been available virtually all across Ontario (and Canada) since 2003. But we're crossing over from the virtual to the concrete, and setting up a new branch office in Sault Ste Marie -- Infonaut are becoming Saulties.

Our downtown Toronto office will remain the same, operating in the centre of trendy Liberty Village in the King West area. So while we're still at 43.638039 by -79.425584, you'll also be able to find us at 46.5183 by -84.34793.

This expansion represents another joint endeavor with Infonaut's longtime partner, the Sault Ste Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC). Our Sault Ste Marie location will be specialized in the continued improvement and pursuit of excellence in applying GIS to hospital health decision-making. Development staff at this location will be engaged in the development of three GIS-based solutions: Community Pandemic Simulation, Live Syndromic Surveillance, and Hospital Intelligent Tracking.

Both of our offices are growing, and we're always looking for dynamic individuals to join our team. For a complete list of opportunities with Infonaut, visit us at http://infonaut.ca/about/jobs.html, or contact us at careers@infonaut.ca.

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July 19, 2008: CCAC Provider Mapping: Doorways to Care

From zero service coverage to redundant service delivery, Infonaut is working with the Central CCAC and community agency partners to track the locations, gaps, and overlaps of the health service providers within their region.

This project was based on previous efforts to create geographic information for the innovative service access initiative "Doorways to Care” (DWTC). DWTC involves the Central CCAC services and also the many community support provider agencies including: day programs, social work, recreation, transportation, delivered meals and home health.

Working directly with the service providers, Infonaut asked them to self-identify their delivery area.

The way this self-identification was done demonstrates the versatility of Infonaut’s solutions. Providers did not have to become familiar with any new technology, instead they were able to draw the boundary around their delivery area on a hard-copy version of the map. Literally outlining their service region with a coloured pencil.

Infonaut then translated the hard-copy maps into boundary files, digitally delineating the service area for each provider and service type.

Different service providers may use different methods to keep track of their geographic boundaries, but it all becomes consistent when you draw it on a map.

The process Infonaut used to make this data available to all of the twenty-one DWTC organizations (including the CCAC) in a GIS-format is very simple, easily replicable, and aligns existing data in dramatic way.

Infonaut will enable the Central LHIN’s DWTC network to understand when an under-populated area is receiving a higher than required level of service, when a heavily populated area is receiving a lower than adequate level of service, as well as all the combinations in-between. Overlapping service areas are immediately apparent, as are areas which are receiving no service at all.

Efficiency in the day-to-day operations of community agencies is also supported by this project. Using postal code data, the DWTC members can more efficiently match calls requesting service with the nearest service provider. This is especially useful for services which are targeted to elderly or disabled clients, where proximity may be a significant factor in how comfortable they are accessing the services, as well as influencing the "feel" factor -- how satisfied the clients are overall with their services.

In addition to the more obvious benefits, the maps have a number of bonus applications. DWTC agencies will now, for instance, have the opportunity to make their services more eco-friendly -- by using the geographic data to determine optimal routes within delivery areas. Improved efficiency on car-based services, such as the meals-on-wheels program, saves the volunteer drivers excess driving time, saves the program gas and depreciation expenses, and makes the program greener and more effective.

For details on how to create a similar service provider map for your area, contact Hugh Williams at hwilliams@infonaut.ca.

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