In March of 2008, Ag-West Bio launched go-BiO: Biofuel and Bioproduct Resources Saskatchewan, a one-stop source of information about individuals, companies, funding agencies, service providers and other organizations involved in bioproducts, biofuels, and bioprocessing in the province of Saskatchewan.

In its first year of operation, the site has averaged 4,700 search requests per month – that’s over 61,000 searches this year!

The site functions as a referral portal by housing brief profiles that facilitate targeted searches. Along with a profile, each listing includes a back link to the participant’s website, key search terms and direct contact details.

Participation in go-BiO is free, however, organizations and companies must have a Saskatchewan presence to be included. Potential participants apply online to become part of the database. Once the application is approved, participants can customize and update their entry at their discretion, thus providing flexible and up-to-date reporting of activities.

The key benefit to participation is exposure. Besides being accessible through searches, participants receive extra search engine recognition whenever go-BiO is re-catalogued.

Searching go-BiO is also free. The database portal has received praise from several Canadian and international organizations as a valuable tool for seeking Saskatchewan-based partners for business and research ventures. In addition to pan-Canadian and international networking, Ag-West Bio hopes that listed participants will search the database to find collaborators within the province.

“Go-BiO helps make connections within the Saskatchewan biofuels and bioproducts sector,” stated Terry-Lynn Quadri, Vice President Strategy and Business Development at Ag-West Bio, “The traffic on the go-BiO site indicates the value of this comprehensive online resource. Go-BiO is clearly a benefit to Saskatchewan’s growing bio-industrial sector.”

Harms & Company Consulting was pleased to participate in the original development, design, and population of go-BiO and hopes that the tool will continue to be of benefit to the Saskatchewan bioproducts, biofuels, and bioprocessing sector.