We build the geospatial software and data infrastructure that turns environmental science into tools agencies, researchers, and practitioners can actually use — at any scale.
The science for protecting rivers, restoring watersheds, and managing aquatic ecosystems has never been more sophisticated. The challenge is building the tools and infrastructure to put that science to work — reliably, at scale, and in the hands of the people who need it most. That is what North Arrow Research has spent over fourteen years doing.
We partner with federal agencies, universities, and conservation organizations to build geospatial software that scientists trust, data platforms that grow from pilot to continental scale, and open tools that advance the whole field. We work exclusively in environmental conservation — not as a marketing position, but because it is the work that matters to us.
14+
years of conservation software
20M+
riverscapes analyzed on our platforms
1000s
GCD installs worldwide
100%
conservation clients — always
What We Build
Geospatial Software Development
We build custom GIS software that scientists and resource managers actually use — ArcGIS Pro add-ins, QGIS plugins, and full-stack web mapping applications. Our GCD software has been installed thousands of times worldwide and remains the standard tool for quantifying topographic and bathymetric change.
Our team has deep experience across the full geospatial stack: raster and vector processing, computational geometry, spatial statistics, and interactive cartography — from a researcher's laptop to continental-scale cloud deployments.
Cloud Architecture and Development
We design cloud computing systems that are right-sized for science — not over-engineered, not expensive to run, and not dependent on a dedicated ops team to stay healthy. Conservation organizations shouldn't need an IT department to operate world-class infrastructure.
Our Cybercastor platform handles millions of parallel model runs cost-effectively. The Riverscapes Data Exchange is a petabyte-scale geospatial data warehouse serving users across North America, New Zealand, and beyond.
Databases and Data Management
Good science depends on well-organized data. We design geospatial databases built to last — optimized for performance, easy to query, and structured around your science rather than shaped by arbitrary software constraints. We work with PostgreSQL/PostGIS, DynamoDB, Athena, and purpose-built data models.
Our INSTAR platform is a live example: a cloud laboratory database with a GraphQL API and R package, tracking macroinvertebrate taxonomic data across dozens of institutions using custom PostGIS recursive functions.
Open Source
We believe publicly funded science should be openly accessible. Most of our work is released under open source licenses on GitHub — under the Riverscapes and North Arrow Research organizations — so the community can build on it, extend it, and trust it.
As part of the Riverscapes Consortium, we are committed to the FAIR principles of data management: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. We also contribute actively to the QGIS community and the broader open-source geospatial ecosystem.
Why Work With Us
Hand-on. No middlemen.
You talk to the engineer building it.
There are no sales staff or account managers at North Arrow Research. The person you meet in the first conversation is the person who designs and builds your solution. That means faster decisions, fewer misunderstandings, and software shaped by someone who cares about getting it right.
Conservation only, by deliberate choice.
We're invested in the same outcomes you are.
We work exclusively in environmental conservation — not as a constraint, but as a commitment. We have turned away business from extractive industries because we want our work to leave the world better. When your mission matters to you, it matters to us too.
From field plugin to continental platform.
Whatever the scale, we've shipped it.
Our portfolio spans single-researcher QGIS plugins to cloud platforms analyzing tens of millions of riverscapes across North America and New Zealand. We know how to right-size a solution for where you are today, and how to grow it when your ambitions expand.
How We Work
North Arrow Research is a small, debt-free company incorporated in British Columbia, Canada. We work with clients across the United States and internationally — including federal and state agencies, universities, and NGOs in Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, France, and Vietnam.
There are no investors to answer to and no growth targets to hit. We are a 100% engineering company with extremely low overhead, which means the rate you pay goes toward work, not management layers. Projects are staffed by the same senior engineers you meet in the proposal conversation. We charge fairly, we'll tell you honestly when we think you're heading in the wrong direction, and we measure success by whether your project achieves what it set out to do.
If you want to understand who you would actually be working with, visit our People page.
Have a project in mind?
Whether you are ready to scope a solution or just beginning to think through your options, we would love to hear what you are working on.