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WHO OR WHAT IS GDSOURCING?
GDSourcing (Government Data Sourcing) is an Internet based research and retrieval company that specializes in helping researchers access statistics collected by the Canadian Federal government as well as other non-government organizations and agencies.
Why We Exist
The company was started in 1997 to help meet the need for a single, accurate and accessible reference point to the data holdings of the Canadian Federal Government. A wealth of detailed and specific statistical information is collected by the Federal government but each individual department has its own data holdings. GDSourcing facilitates your research to ensure that you waste neither your time nor your money searching for the information you need.
The Boss
The founder of the company, John White, worked for Statistics Canada for a number of years both in data collection and dissemination. He has a detailed understanding of their published and unpublished databases. He also has reliable and accessible contacts throughout the government who can identify the availability of special tabulations and upcoming reports.
John frequently deliveries seminars on researching a small business. He is currently involved in two seminar series in the Toronto Area. One is conducted in conjunction with the Self-Employment Assistance at the Toronto Business Development Centre while the other is delivered monthly at the Richmond Hill Business Centre. For more information on seminars click here.
John has also been a guest speaker at the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, University of Western Ontario and Small Business Expo 2001.
Over the summer of 2001, he was involved in a pilot long distance learning project with the Community Futures Development Corporation of Alberni-Clayoquot. Through a series of on-line workshops John helped entrepreneurs with disabilities on Vancouver Island research their business ventures.
John has appeared on the television program CareersTV as a expert guest on two occasions and has been published and quoted in a number of entrepreneurial publications including Small Business Canada magazine and the Globe & Mail.
He stresses a practical approach to researching a new business that is geared towards a small or moderate research budget. His popular seminars have been expanded into the research guide Researching a Small Business. This guide is in use in business development centers across the country. The sixth edition was published in August 2002. It now includes a February 2003 update.
What We Do
Small Business education is the key reason GDSourcing exists. Our primary service is to teach Canadian entrepreneurs how to research their own business themselves.
Our web site provides free direction to Canadian statistics which are available on-line free of charge.
We have also collected together the most commonly sought data sold by Statistics Canada and by private sources. Through our Small Business Data Centre you can quickly locate and order the data you need. The most popular include:
- Canadian Industry Profiles (Small & Medium Business Benchmarks),
- Canadian Business Sales Leads (Mailing lists)
- Canadian Market Estimates (Consumer Market Size)
We also provide research assistance through our BR Newsletter, our popular research guide, Researching a Small Business in Canada and our QueryDesk where you can submit an e-mail query.
Where is the telephone number?
We are a "virtual" company. All our research associates work from their homes or from various libraries in the Toronto area. This is strictly an economic strategy so that we can maintain low overhead costs and ensure that all data can be provided to you at very reasonable cost.
For this reason, we do not have someone acting as a full-time receptionist. We encourage researchers to contact us by e-mail. Our Query Desk will provide you with FREE direction to your research needs.
It is not that we shun telephone contact, only that the volume of queries we receive makes it impractical for a small company such as ours to maintain full telephone service.
If you are concerned about dealing with a "virtual" company, and prefer more tradition contact, please do not hesitate to telephone us toll free at .
Please leave a message if you are transferred to our voice mail. We will respond promptly.
You can also contact us by fax () or by e-mail and we will respond within two working days.
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