To execute its mission, the ABMI’s operations—that range from scientific protocol development to field monitoring to application of biodiversity data—are organized into eight functional business units:

• Executive Office
• Geospatial Centre
• Information Centre
• Imaging Centre
• Monitoring Centre
• Operations Centre
• Processing Centre
• Science Centre

Each of these units deliver components of the ABMI program, as described under the What We Do section of our website.

Each business unit is housed in (one or more of) the facilities of the ABMI’s key delivery partners, the University of Alberta, and InnoTech Alberta.

This distributed delivery model allows the ABMI to capitalize on the inherent strengths offered by each of these partners, which, in turn, ensures the optimal delivery of the ABMI’s products and services. Furthermore, it reflects that collaboration is at the heart of all ABMI operations.

Executive Office

• Acts as the primary interface between the ABMI & the Board of Directors
• Liaises between the ABMI and stakeholders
• Ensures managerial effectiveness
• Establishes and sustains the ABMI’s brand
• Manages agreements with ABMI delivery partners

Monitoring Centre (InnoTech Alberta)

• Field monitoring
• Site establishment
• Wetland verification
• Remote sensing
• Data collection
• Specimen identification
• Data verification
• Delivery of data sets
• Negotiates land access

Processing Centre

• Specimen processing
• Management of taxonomic expertise
• Short- & long-term storage of specimens and samples
• Laboratory and archival support
• Generates the ABMI specimen data

Science Centre

• Maintains and continuously improves scientific excellence
• Advances the science of biodiversity monitoring in Alberta & the world
• Oversees training and the application of quality control
• Scientific auditing
• Improves data collection protocols
• Advances methods for data analysis and interpretation
• Ensures scientific credibility

Information Centre

• Facilitates access to information
• Develops websites, reports, and online tools
• Delivers on information requests and client needs
• Manages data

​Geospatial Centre

• Develops province-wide and sample-based inventory layers for Human Footprint and Vegetation
• Creates detailed vegetation and human footprint information for ABMI field sites: wetland and terrestrial sites
• Delivers geospatial data and information to support all of the ABMI’s geospatial needs
• Develops and tests new remotely sensed methods to detect changes in habitat, vegetation and land cover
• Advances and oversees the training of GIS Techs involved in Human Footprint and Vegetation mapping
• Stores and maintains GIS and other geospatial layers on ABMI servers  

Operations Centre

• Develops projects that support a wide range of environmental planning and management needs
• Leads stakeholder engagement processes, external communications, and media relations
• Supports Indigenous community-based monitoring programs

Imaging Centre

Our team of GIS analysts, technologists, computer scientists, developers, and scientists work to:

• Improve natural resource management activities in Canada through the creation of consistent and unique scientific capacity that is foundational to practical, real-world issues.
• Facilitate the creation of high-resolution geospatial data that will be applied to environmental challenges including restoration, reclamation, climate change, species-at-risk management, land use mapping, and provincial/territorial planning.
• Utilize artificial intelligence to reach the above goals.