The Alberta Business Information System (BIS) is a collection of documents containing information on business-related programs, services and selected regulations from the governments of Canada and Alberta, and from the partners of The Business Link Business Service Centre. Each document in the BIS collection represents a specific program, service, or regulation. The BIS is designed to act as a "single window" for accessing relevant information from all federal and provincial departments and other organizations that are partners in the Canada Business Service Centre (CBSC) and The Business Link initiatives. The goal of the Internet version of the Alberta BIS collection is to assist visitors to The Business Link Web site locate relevant information promptly.

What Are the "Links" Files?

If you choose to browse the BIS via the over 30 categories, you'll notice that the first item for some of the categories has a title something like "Links to Other . . . Sites on the Internet". These pages include hyperlinks to other sites that offer information or other services via the Internet (in the category you've chosen) of potential use to Canadian businesses. These Links pages are organized according to the province of their generally intended audience. If a site is geared more to a national or international audience, then it is listed in the "National or International Links" section.

There are currently Links pages for around sixteen of the BIS categories. In the coming months there will be a Links file for every BIS category.

We are working on a capability that will allow you to search the full-text of the BIS items and information from most of the linked sites, in the same structured fashion as we've designed the BIS search capability: you'll be able to choose a category or categories of information, choose your province, and type in some full-text search terms and your search results will be from the BIS, other CBSC/Business Link information, and external sources of information.

A BIS document is comprised of the following components:

1. Title - name of the program or service.
2. Sponsoring Department - name of the federal or provincial department or agency or Business Link partner offering the program or service.
3. Summary Description - a three or four sentence summary of the program or service.
4. Eligibility Criteria - which individuals or organizations may use the program or service? What types of projects are eligible?
5. Full Description - includes other useful background and detailed information.
6. Contacts - contacts for each BIS item are noted.

When a BIS item has a contact noted for your province, you should use that contact to request further information on that item.

For further information on this Internet service, please contact the CBSC Internet site manager:

Sylvie Chartrand
National Internet Site Manager
Canada Business Service Centres - National Secretariat
235 Queen Street
4th floor
Ottawa
K1A 0H5
Fax: (613) 957-7942
E-mail: cbsc@ic.gc.ca