Three roundtables, one document
On January 28, 2026, DAVI published the Roundtable Synthesis Report, a 24-page analysis drawing together the findings from all three stakeholder roundtables held between November 2025 and January 2026. More than sixty participants had contributed their knowledge, experience, and perspective to that process. The synthesis report was the effort to honour that contribution by turning conversation into evidence.
The report is publicly available for download on the About page. This post summarises its key findings for those who want the essential picture without the full document.
What the six assumptions tell us
The consultation process was built around six founding assumptions about south Vancouver Island's data and AI opportunity. Testing those assumptions against the direct experience of regional stakeholders was one of the core purposes of the roundtable series.
The headline finding: the assumptions held. The region does have the anchor institutions, the technical talent, the sector depth, and the collaborative culture needed to support a data services cluster. The opportunity is real.
But the assumptions were refined in important ways. The most significant refinement was about the nature of the coordination challenge. It was not just that the region's assets were siloed; that was expected. It was that the silos were actively reinforced by structural factors: incompatible data standards, risk-averse procurement cultures, and a regulatory environment not designed with data collaboration in mind. Closing those gaps would require more than relationship-building. It would require specific policy, infrastructure, and governance interventions.
Five priorities validated
The synthesis report confirmed five strategic priorities as the organising framework for DAVI's work:
- Data Services Foundation: building shared infrastructure and governance that make the cluster possible
- Sector-Focused Pilots: demonstrating value in ocean tech, health, and public sector, where the region already has depth
- Literacy and Adoption: closing the gap between the roughly 11 to 14 percent of SMEs that are AI-ready (a North American benchmark from the Cisco AI Readiness Index, consistent with regional conditions) and the 40 to 50 percent that are AI-curious but not yet acting
- Barrier Reduction: addressing the permitting, procurement, and policy constraints that slow data innovation
- Infrastructure and Capital: aligning the region's approximately 400 megawatts of available clean energy capacity with the strategic investment needed to build and sustain a competitive cluster
The five pillars are described in full on the Priorities page, including the specific activities and outcomes DAVI is working toward in each area.
Recommendations for the Leaders Forum
The synthesis report concluded with five recommendations directed at the Leaders Forum, scheduled for February 25. They were:
- Formally adopt the Constellation Model as the governance structure for DAVI
- Confirm the five strategic priorities as the organising framework
- Identify and nominate Action Team leads for each pillar
- Set a formal launch date and begin public communications
- Align DAVI's work with Canada's emerging 2026 federal AI strategy
The Leaders Forum acted on all five. Read about the outcomes from the Leaders Forum to see what was decided and what comes next.