Grand Erie Co-op Case Hack 2026
Designing a jobs-first decision framework for evaluating Ontario data centre proposals under limited electricity capacity.
Overview
The Grand Erie Workforce Planning Board challenged participants to design a system that helps Ontario prioritize data centre projects based on workforce impact, economic development, inclusion, and responsible energy use.
Role
UX Designer
Team
Timmy Fatukasi, Tiana Fairclough, Aliasgar Cuttleriwala, Rahamam Rahman
Timeline
8-Hour Hackathon
Final prototype preview
Ontario Data Centre Dashboard
A high-fidelity policy-tech dashboard for screening, scoring, ranking, and explaining data centre proposal decisions.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Ontario needs a transparent way to prioritize limited electricity capacity.
Ontario is receiving more data centre proposals than its electricity infrastructure can currently support. Not every project delivers equal workforce value, economic benefit, or community impact, so decision-makers need a faster and more transparent process for deciding which projects deserve access to limited electrical resources.
Limited electrical infrastructure
Increasing AI and data centre demand
Workforce development requirements
Data sovereignty and community benefits
Problem statement
How might we help decision-makers prioritize data centre proposals that create meaningful workforce and economic value while operating within Ontario’s limited electricity infrastructure?
This statement aligned our research, scoring model, dashboard design, and final recommendation logic during the hackathon.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Rapid discovery turned ambiguity into design direction.
We quickly studied stakeholder needs, workforce planning goals, economic development criteria, energy constraints, and comparable decision frameworks to shape a practical evaluation system.
Stakeholder analysis
We identified the decision-makers, workforce groups, communities, and infrastructure partners affected by data centre approvals.
Workforce planning research
We focused on job creation, training commitments, inclusion, local talent pipelines, and long-term skills development.
Energy and industry research
We reviewed data centre demand, electricity capacity concerns, grid feasibility, clean energy expectations, and scoring precedents.
Key insights
Three findings shaped the framework and helped us prioritize transparency, workforce value, and energy-aware decision-making.
01
Power capacity is limited
Ontario cannot approve every proposal, making prioritization essential when electricity capacity is constrained.
02
Communities need jobs, not just infrastructure
Projects should be evaluated based on workforce impact, local investment, and long-term economic contribution.
03
Decision-making must be transparent
Stakeholders need clear justification for approvals, rejections, and manual reviews.
SOLUTION OVERVIEW
A two-stage decision framework for smarter infrastructure investment.
Proposal Submission
Goal: capture project details
Check: workforce, infrastructure, and energy inputs
Outcome: proposal enters screening
Eligibility Screening
Goal: verify baseline requirements
Check: storage, clean energy, jobs, training, grid feasibility
Outcome: pass to scoring or stop early
Smart Scoring Engine
Goal: compare proposals fairly
Check: weighted workforce and energy metrics
Outcome: transparent score generated
Ranked Recommendations
Goal: prioritize strongest projects
Check: scores, grades, red flags, and recommendations
Outcome: ranked decision list
Decision Outcome
Goal: support fast approval decisions
Check: approve, review, or reject thresholds
Outcome: clear justification for stakeholders
OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
How might we create a fair, transparent, workforce-focused framework for evaluating data centre proposals while reducing approval time?
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
We translated the policy challenge into principles that kept the dashboard focused, credible, and useful for decision-makers.
Workforce First
Prioritize proposals that create meaningful jobs, skills development, and local economic value.
Transparency
Make scoring criteria, thresholds, and recommendations easy to explain and defend.
Energy Awareness
Account for electricity capacity, clean energy commitments, efficiency, and grid feasibility.
Fair Evaluation
Use consistent criteria so proposals can be compared without relying on subjective review alone.
STAGE 1 ELIGIBILITY SCREENING
Establishing baseline requirements before scoring.
Baseline checks
Projects must satisfy all baseline requirements before moving into detailed evaluation.
The screening step checks Canadian data storage, clean energy threshold, job creation requirement, training commitment, and grid feasibility.
Pass to scoring
Stage 2 Smart Scoring
Requirement: Canadian data storage and data sovereignty must be addressed.
Requirement: clean energy, demand management, and grid feasibility must be credible.
Requirement: job creation and training commitments must demonstrate workforce value.
STAGE 2 SMART SCORING ENGINE
Using weighted metrics to compare proposals fairly.
Job Creation - 30%
The highest-weighted category prioritizes proposals with strong employment outcomes and local workforce impact.
Energy & Grid Impact - 20%
Projects are evaluated for demand, grid feasibility, and responsible electricity use.
Green Energy & Efficiency - 15%
Efficiency commitments and clean energy use help separate responsible proposals from high-risk ones.
Inclusion, Training & Data - 35%
Inclusion and local talent, training and upskilling, and data sovereignty complete the weighted score.
RESULTS & IMPACT
The team delivered an interactive, workforce-focused decision framework within the 8-hour hackathon timeline.
8 hrs
Completed within hackathon timeline
4
Interactive prototype screens created
6
Weighted evaluation criteria defined
✓
Transparent scoring and decision logic delivered
REFLECTION
What this project taught me about designing complex systems.
Designing beyond interfaces
Not every UX challenge results in a consumer-facing app. This project showed how UX can shape policy, systems, and strategic decisions.
Transparency builds trust
Decision frameworks must clearly explain outcomes so stakeholders understand why a project is approved, reviewed, or rejected.
Strategy is UX
The strongest experience was not just the dashboard UI, but the logic behind how proposals were evaluated and prioritized.