PROMOTING AND ADOPTING GUIDELINES OF PRACTICE IN CANADIAN LANDSLIDE STUDIES

The Geological Survey of Canada embarked on a multi-year project to develop technical guidelines for landslide studies. The guidelines addressed all aspects of practice from identification and classification to mapping and monitoring to risk assessment and liability. The strategy adopted for this part of the exercise was successful and involved representation and input from multiple sectors, contributors as well as phased delivery of outputs. The more important issues now facing this project are the strategies being employed to adequately inform the professional community of practitioners, promoting the guidelines to all geographic regions, employment sectors and elevating the degree of support/buy-in from these and other individuals and groups. In this regard, endorsement and promotional support from learned societies and professional organizations is paramount to ensure that the document becomes well known and widely adopted. The GSC is working with different levels of government, representatives from national and regional organizations and societies, using several means of communication (Newsletters, Linkedin, and others) to disseminate the guidelines. More difficult are the measures of success in this strategy. Immediate metrics are obtainable from online download statistics but the real measure of success will be in citations which in some cases, grey literature for example, will not be possible. Citations provide the best proxy indicator for adoption and assimilation in the field of study. Finally the long term implications of this project are evaluated.