Oh hey, how are you. Thanks for subscribing. I hope you have some fun and relaxing Summer plans.
In this edition I continue to bring you my mixed bag of current and ongoing frustration with the lack of information and transparency on leadership in digital transformation along with innovation and leadership in our sector.
If this obsession bores you, just think how I feel! 😉
Settlement managers. Become an expert in evaluating your organization's hybrid service quality
You may have read what I’ve written about Wired: Evaluation Settlement Online (WESO) before. In this post I’m going to explain why you, a manager at an Immigrant and Refugee-serving organization, should learn about, take the WESO training, and implement the WESO toolkit. WESO has something to offer you everyone. From front-line staff to program managers to decision-makers.
First, a quick reminder of what WESO is and does
You want to enhance your remote/hybrid services. You want to engage clients, to ensure better service outcomes. You need to evaluate the effectiveness of your service delivery.
You’re wondering if your shift to hybrid services is effective for you and your clients. The WESO toolkit will help you answer that question, and more.
Why you should think of this as a manager
Your front-line staff’s work is the heart and soul of your organization. Naturally, you want to understand the impact of their work. You may have some anecdotal knowledge based on their interactions with clients and discussions with your staff. You might even conduct client surveys, evaluate specific events, workshops, and programs, or hold interviews and focus groups with clients. However, your organization may lack a formal method to consistently collect and assess the long-term impact of your work with clients.
The WESO toolkit can take care of that for you. With a few simple changes to your intake practices and some questions on your client surveys.
Find out how.
One of the many interesting IRCC SDI-funded tech-related projects, Ally has been created with the Alberta International Medical Graduates Association. In their words: "The Ally questionnaire is created by career advisors that have years of experience assisting internationally trained professionals transitioning to new careers in Canada. Our team works with your advisors to create the questionnaire in your voice, ensuring that your knowledge and experience in assisting internationally trained graduates are captured." They're piloting and testing their tool right now. Check it out and give them some feedback.
Not Canadian, I know. But a potentially interesting good idea that could clearly be replicated here. They "are creating a digital literacy program for refugee and newly arrived migrant women aged 18 to 50 years. The program is being designed to be culturally appropriate and build skills and connections in local people, support services and communities."
You may be thinking, I've heard about stuff like this before. Of course you have. We've been doing stuff like this in our agencies for some time. I try to capture some of that innovation here: Digital literacy training and opportunities for Newcomers: When it comes to digital literacy resources there seems to be a tendency to try to create new materials. There are so many excellent resources out there, many created during the pandemic. Let's build on each other's work, share openly, and complement, translate, edit for clear language resources instead of creating the same thing over and over again. Here are some useful starting points.
And there continue to be more. In fact, join this free webinar on July 20th to learn about Advancing Hybrid Service for Newcomers: WESO Toolkit & JOSOOR Insights: "WESO and JOSOOR collaborate to empower settlement service providers in adapting their services to meet the digital needs of newcomers, creating pathways for successful integration."
The next IRCC national call for proposals is coming. It might be later this year. It might be next year. Funding could roll out as soon as 2024. It might be in 2025. I'm starting to hear rumblings of sector consultations. This call for proposals is crucial. It will indicate how serious IRCC is about sector digital transformation and hybrid services. So what we can we learn from past consultations?
Remote service delivery and the path forward - a 2021 IRCC presentation
In a session with an Immigrant and Refugee-serving organization yesterday I shared a couple of slides that I tend to share in many presentations. It's a summary of IRCC's priorities from December 2021. I realized that I've never shared the entire presentation, so here it is for you to access and review. With some of my thoughts, of course.
WES Weekly Roundup July 12, 2023
The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. Includes: Ontario to require temporary foreign worker agencies, recruiters to be licensed starting Jan. 1, Canada announces First-Ever Express Entry invitations for French-speaking newcomers, Settling In: Indicators of Immigrant Integration 2023, What Canada gets right (and wrong) in economic pathways for displaced talent, Canada is getting bigger. Are we setting the country and its newest citizens up for success?, and more.
Leave No Migrant Behind: The 2030 Agenda and Data Disaggregation
"The objective of this [IOM] guide is to provide user-centric guidance on disaggregation of SDG indicators by migratory status. It is aimed at practitioners across governments, international organizations or other actors who work with migration and/or SDG data. The guide is intended to help practitioners at any stage of the disaggregation process – whether it is learning about the topic for the first time, choosing where to place and how to use available resources for disaggregation, or seeking to communicate disaggregated data better."
Virtual Conference: Online Hate, Media (Mis)Representation and Systemic Racism (with recordings)
Session recordings available from June 22 - 23. The Online Hate, Media (Mis)representation, and Racism Conference provided dialogue and understanding on the role of social, news and digital media in promoting hate-based discrimination, harassment and violence. Hate crimes have risen in recent years, targeting Muslims, Jews, women, Indigenous Peoples, Black and other racialized people, the 2SLGBTQ+ community and other equity-deserving groups. The conference explored the growing problem as well as strategies to combat it with leading academics, experts and policy makers.
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