CivTech 5 Challenge 2 - How can we use technology to estimate herbivore populations and their impacts across Scotland in a greener and more cost effective way?

Description

The current preferred method of herbivore population assessment is expensive and has a high carbon footprint – we need to find greener and more cost-effective ways of collecting, collating, quality assuring and sharing the data relating to this task. Scottish Natural Heritage undertake herbivore population assessments in order to determine and manage populations. This challenge will specifically focus on deer counting. The current methods of gathering data – primarily through helicopter flights – are costly and have a high carbon footprint. Furthermore, methods of collating, quality assuring, presenting and sharing the data are also fairly costly in terms of staff time needed to ensure a high level of accuracy to generate stakeholder confidence in findings. So how can we use technology to estimate herbivore populations and their impacts across Scotland in a greener and more cost effective way? Please note: Scottish Natural Heritage will soon be changing its name to Nature Scot Please visit our website for information on CivTech and how to get involved https://www.civtechalliance.org/civtech-innovation-flow About CivTech CivTech brings together public sector expertise and private sector innovation to solve real problems, develop new products, and deliver better, faster and easier services for everyone. Central to the approach is co-production with the citizen. Part of the Scottish Government’s Digital Directorate, CivTech’s approach is helping transform public sector engagement with tech and innovation, delivering significant benefits to public services, producing genuine uplifts for the Scottish economy - and along the way, making lives better. Across the country there are problems public sector organisations would like to solve and in the current environment the need for smart, efficient and effective products has never been greater. The Scottish Government is aware innovation is a good way to create them and is committed to ensuring a large part of its tech spend goes to smaller, innovative businesses. This is where CivTech comes in. The CivTech Innovation Flow is designed to create solutions to public sector problems as quickly and effectively as possible. For you – whether you’re an individual, team or company – it’s an opportunity to take a Challenge, solve it, and win contracts with a blue-chip public sector organisation. You’ll build a product, and a business to take it as far as possible. Because here’s the kicker: the Challenges we issue aren’t ‘single organisation’ problems – most exist worldwide. In short: open Challenges are set. Any organisation, team or individual can respond to them. Applications are assessed, and shortlisted proposals go into an Exploration Stage where they’re developed further. The best go through to the Accelerator – a period of intensive work to create the solution, and through CivTech’s unique business workshop system, a business capable of taking the emerging product to the world. Please visit our website for information on CivTech and how to get involved https://www.civtechalliance.org/civtech-innovation-flow