# Southern Alberta Research & Industry Collaboration Hub

> **Web version:** [guidelines.html](guidelines.html) — formatted for browsers. This file is the Markdown source.

**Project guidelines and strategic plan** for the Research Connector Hub — a regional platform connecting academic researchers with industry and community partners.

| Related documents | |
|---|---|
| [Project home](index.html) | SDLC baseline, meeting notes, progress, and updates |
| [UI mockups](mockups.html) | Dated synthetic planning screens (not the live app) |
| [SDLC proposal](proposal.html) | Current delivery baseline and Year 1 timeline |
| [Questions](questions.html) | Committee discussion items |
| [Schedule](schedule.html) | Milestones through the Aug 31 infrastructure gate |
| [Data summary](schema.html) | Field-oriented overview by data domain |

**Snapshot:** July 17, 2026 · **First-year window:** July 2026 – June 2027

---

## Background

Southern Alberta has a strong foundation of collaborative practices among post-secondary institutions, research centres, and community organizations. Challenges remain in streamlining engagement and reducing barriers to sustainable partnerships.

The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge Polytechnic, and other regional stakeholders often face internal and systemic hurdles that limit the full potential of research–industry collaboration.

Recent developments with **RINSA** (Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta) and evolving governance create a timely opportunity for a strategic initiative. The **Research Connector Hub** aims to position southern Alberta as a provincial leader in connecting academic research with industry and community needs.

---

## Purpose

Operate an online **HUB** that connects researchers and industry partners in Southern Alberta through:

- A structured, **login-required partnership intake** flow
- **Deterministic matchmaking** with human review (optional Research Engine / provider assistance behind review)
- Verified, searchable researcher and partner profiles

---

## Project description

The Research Connector Hub is a centralized digital platform designed to:

1. **Showcase verified researcher profiles**, starting with University of Lethbridge and expanding only with written institutional participation.
2. **Facilitate strategic matchmaking** between researchers and external stakeholders (industry, government, non-profits).
3. **Highlight thematic areas** — sustainability, health innovation, digital transformation, agriculture, biotechnology, and community engagement.
4. **Provide a request portal** for partnership inquiries and co-development opportunities.

The initiative emphasizes **collaboration, transparency, and accessibility** — making academic expertise more visible and actionable for community partners.

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## Current status (July 2026)

The Flask app is ahead of schedule and can support a University of Lethbridge pilot once infrastructure is ready. It is **not** yet open to other institutions.

### Delivered (selected)

- Researcher directory, claim/edit/publish, profile section controls
- Discovery and Research Neighborhood (including semantic embeddings when enabled)
- Partner draft/resume intake, attachments, org member management, status explanations
- Deterministic matching with admin approval
- Messaging, alerts, outreach CRM, CSV/XLSX import review
- Network Explorer with saved views/annotations/exports
- Research Engine workbench with optional provider output for human review
- CSRF, rate limiting, Playwright browser tests, axe accessibility scans
- Search-index export and Meilisearch integration tests
- Shared file-storage foundation (local backend; production object storage pending)

### Corrected from older docs

- **PWA removed** (July 2026) — do not plan Year 1 around installable offline apps
- **Partnership intake requires login** — anonymous public submission is retired
- **Hosting is scheduled, not already live** — server + managed MySQL by **August 31, 2026**
- Matching is **deterministic first**; automated AI scraping/unsupervised writes remain planned/gated

### Launch blockers still open

- Clean MySQL migration + seed validation
- Live SMTP / provider email verification
- Manual WCAG 2.2 AA / keyboard / responsive QA
- Broader admin scoping and retention/privacy sign-off
- Durable object storage (S3/Spaces) for production files

---

## Methodology

- Ship a **controlled ULethbridge-first pilot** before multi-PSI expansion.
- Keep AI/provider features **human-reviewed**; preserve explainable deterministic matching.
- Collaborate with **RINSA** on regional innovation strategy and stakeholder timing.
- Collect structured researcher information (capabilities, offers, interests, prior partners).
- Address internal barriers to sustained engagement and platform adoption.

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## Expected outcomes

- Increased visibility of southern Alberta’s research ecosystem
- Strengthened academia–industry–community partnerships
- Clearer paths for local businesses to find researchers for R&D needs
- Measurable pilot evidence (profiles claimed, intakes reviewed, matches approved)
- Regional capacity for inclusive and sustainable collaboration

---

## Platform requirements

### Intake form

Use the existing **Lethbridge Polytechnic intake form** or **RINSA Bridge form** as a field template. Live intake is **login-required**.

**Required fields:**

| Field | Notes |
|-------|-------|
| Project title | Short descriptive name |
| Project description | Scope and goals |
| Researcher specialization | Area of expertise sought |
| Industry sector | e.g. agriculture, health, energy |
| Proposed timeline | Expected duration or milestones |
| Technology Readiness Level (TRL) | 1–9 scale |
| Problem statement | Challenge to be addressed |
| Entity type | Large industry / startup / private |
| Keywords | For deterministic matching |

### Researcher participation

Researchers can claim profiles, edit bios/keywords, control public profile sections, and use Discovery / Research Neighborhood tools. Self-service photo upload and full publication editing remain planned.

### User interface

Live app: Flask/Jinja with public, workspace, and admin shells. See [mockups.html](mockups.html) for historical UI mockups only — they are dated, synthetic, and may show aspirational screens.

---

## Pilot project scope

RINSA still recommends starting **small-scale**:

- Year 1 focus: **University of Lethbridge** controlled pilot
- Additional PSIs (e.g. Lethbridge Polytechnic, Red Crow College, Medicine Hat College) only after written participation agreement and ops capacity
- No open multi-institution public launch until launch gates pass

---

## Platform decision

**Build path selected:** custom Flask + SQLAlchemy + Alembic application (not adapting an unrelated in-house CMS). Production target: DigitalOcean App Platform + Managed MySQL, provisioned by end of August 2026.

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## Next steps and timeline

### First-year milestones (July 2026 – June 2027)

| When | Milestone |
|------|-----------|
| July 2026 | MVP baseline documented; docs/web package refreshed for copy-back |
| **By Aug 31, 2026** | **Provision application server + managed MySQL**; non-public staging deploy |
| Sep–Oct 2026 | Clean migrations, SMTP, backups/restore, security & accessibility QA |
| Nov 2026 | RINSA / stakeholder demonstration; operator training |
| Dec 2026 – Mar 2027 | Staged ULethbridge pilot (profiles, intakes, reviewed matches) |
| Apr–Jun 2027 | Feedback-driven improvements; optional second institution; Year 1 report |

### Funding strategy

- Pursue **Mitacs** funding where applicable
- Explore cost-sharing partners: City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge County, Economic Development Lethbridge (possible)

### Realistic Year 1 goals

| Metric | Target |
|--------|--------|
| Quality draft / imported profiles | 75–100 |
| Claimed / published profiles | 30–50 |
| Genuine intake submissions | 10–20 |
| Approved matches / partnerships | 3–8 |
| Trained operators | 2–4 |
| Structured feedback sessions | 4 |
| Additional PSI | 0–1 (written agreement required) |

Earlier stretch claims (e.g. 150 claimed profiles, 20 first-year partnerships, six-month multi-PSI launch) are retired as Year 1 commitments.

---

## Meeting notes

### June 22, 2026 — Feature requests (status updated July 2026)

| Request | Status |
|---------|--------|
| Network exploration / embedding neighbourhood for researchers | **Implemented** — Discovery + Research Neighborhood (+ semantic mode) |
| Admin researcher activity & profile visibility | **Implemented** |
| Profile section control (visibility, order, custom sections) | **Implemented** |
| Researcher collaboration / activity visibility on dashboard | **Implemented** |
| Partner request attachments; draft save/resume | **Implemented** |
| Shared file storage (partner, workspace, researcher library, evidence) | **Partial** — architecture + local storage + partnership_files; workspace/S3 routes pending |
| Message attachments | **Planned** |
| Researcher file uploads & AI enrichment suggestions | **Partial / planned** — admin file-upload review exists; researcher document library pending |
| Keywords & interests over time | **Planned** |
| External identity providers (ORCID, LinkedIn, etc.) | **Planned** — design only |

---

## Open questions

Committee discussion items now live on [questions.html](questions.html).

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## AI / matching options

| Capability | Current posture |
|------------|-----------------|
| Deterministic keyword / profile matching | **Implemented** with explanations + admin review |
| Research Neighborhood embeddings | **Implemented** (hybrid semantic + keyword when enabled) |
| Research Engine workbench / optional provider calls | **Implemented** for admin review; no unsupervised canonical writes |
| Automated institutional scraping | **Planned / gated** |
| ORCID / Google Scholar import | **Planned** after provider-account foundations |
| Real-time unsupervised profile updates | **Not Year 1** |

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## Action items

| Owner | Task |
|-------|------|
| Project team | Provision server + MySQL by Aug 31, 2026 |
| Project team | Complete MySQL migration, SMTP, backup/restore validation |
| Project team | Operator training + November demonstration |
| David | Contact Megan Croft about SVG |
| — | Arrange meeting with Brandy Old |
| Alex & Marta | Meet with Dr. Shapiro |

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*Last updated: July 17, 2026. Part of the [Research Connector Hub](index.html) project documentation package for web-server copy-back.*