Who We Are
We are group of local, economic-focused representatives, individuals, and academics who have come together to take on the third phase of the One Nova Scotia work called for by the Commission and the Coalition – measurement.
Our independent group includes representatives from economic organizations, as well as economists and experts from, for example, Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s University, the Atlantic Province’s Economic Council, the Halifax Partnership, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, private businesses, and the Province of Nova Scotia.
Participating Organizations
- Nova Scotia Community College
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
- Nova Scotia Business Inc.
- Office of Regulatory Affairs and Service Effectiveness
- Halifax Partnership
- Atlantic Institute for Market Studies
- Now!NS - Chronicle Herald
- Halifax Chamber of Commerce
- SimplyCast
- Cape Breton Partnership
- Atlantic University Presidents
- EY
- Atlantic Provinces Economic Council
- Saint Mary’s University
- Province of Nova Scotia
- Dalhousie University
How We Work
We began our work in 2016 by reviewing the 19 One NS Goals and figuring out where reliable data that shows us how we are doing could be found. Our criteria:
- the data must be publicly accessible, so anyone can review our work;
- it must come from established, trusted sources; and
- it must be replicable year after year.
With the data in hand, together we come to an objective consensus about the story it tells and we share the information and data with you. We have decided to present this information in a digital dashboard — available to anyone at any time, and updated on a quarterly basis as new data becomes available — rather than as a traditional annual report.
The One NS Goals are ambitious, and progress is expected to take place over a decade or more. Our intent is to provide information on the long-term trends affecting the economy and demographics of our province. We will track and report on progress over the next several years to ensure Nova Scotia is headed toward a brighter future.
The One NS Digital Dashboard will be updated as soon as new source data becomes available for any measure – at least on an annual basis. As we move forward, we will also consider what other indicators or information can be included to better measure our progress.
The Data
The One NS Digital Dashboard is a work in progress.
In preparing this Dashboard it became clear that some of the 19 Goals are more challenging to measure than others, while other indicators may not be entirely consistent with the Commission’s original intent. The Commission expected this, writing: “more in-depth analysis, consultation and refinement will be required before the goals are formally adopted.”
We continue to develop new data sources and methodologies to measure a few of the Goals. Those will be added as soon as possible.
Any changes to the items on the site were carefully considered and discussed with the researchers who helped formulate the 19 One NS Goals. They are also explained in the deep dive section underlying the related Goal. We remained as close as possible to the letter and the spirit of the Goals. In some cases, however, historic data revisions necessitated adjustments. In others, the original data is not regularly available or reproducible, or the calculation of a baseline needed revision.
In some cases, the 19 One NS Goals identified target numbers. The Dashboard expresses some of these as percentages because the Canadian benchmarks the Nova Scotia goals are measured against are constantly shifting.
Any of these minor adjustments allow for accuracy, consistent reproduction, data accessibility, and year-over-year comparison.
Contact Us
We welcome input that would help us continue to improve the measurement of the Goals.