About Knowledge Mobilizaton for Settlement (KM4S)

KM helps answer the questions: What? So what? Now what?

Yet another site?

Much activity, research & practice happens locally & below the radar of in the immigrant and refugee-serving sector. Or it's simply inaccessible. How many researchers consider front-line practitioners a key audience to outreach to or involve in KM activities? I want to surface innovative approaches to service delivery, provide information in more accessible formats incorporating effective multimedia approaches that match information consumption trends.

What is KM for Settlement

The reality is that there are many places where this information exists. But if you don't know where to look, you won't find it. Too often a great and insightful report is produced, shared in an inaccessible journal, and added to the pile. This site is driven by an expressed need identified by the sector.
In conversations I have with sector folks they constantly wish there were better ways to find, share, and discuss projects, new and promising practices, and interesting approaches to serving newcomers and communities.

Making info accessible & actionable

My goal is to identify good ideas, tools, resources & research & make information accessible to a time- & resource-strapped audience. By encouraging reflection, connections & discussion within the sector (here or on in the numerous spaces where the sector convenes), I want to work with sector actors to turn that information into actionable knowledge that they can apply directly in their organizations. Whether it leads to enhanced management capacity or front-line service efficiencies & effectiveness, the goal is not simply to read interesting research, but have it impact their daily work in some way.

What's with all the tech talk?

You may notice that a lot of the content on this site isn't only focused on settlement and inclusion, broadly. My specific interests fall into a bit of a sector niche. I'm interested in digital transformation, technology-mediated service delivery, public interest technology, information and technology practices of newcomers, and where technology can play a role in the sector. You'll see a lot of information and resources focusing on these issues.

What's a promising practice anyway?

Great question. Best practices? Not necessarily. I like the Cities of Migration approach to Good Ideas: "a Good Idea in integration is any program, activity or strategy that has made a difference in the successful integration of migrants." For me, Good Ideas don't have to be successful, yet (Cities of Migration calls them "Good Ideas We're Watching). Above all they are practical, innovative or iterative, interesting or new or a new angle on an age-old challenge, already successful or have potential, and transferable or potentially replicable. Does they need to have been rigorously assessed in an academic environment? No. We're not striving for best. We're striving for promising. Progress, not perfection. The goal here is to unearth and share interesting practices so others know about them and perhaps become inspired by them in their work.

So much to read

The overload is real. My goal here is (resources permitting) to identify interesting research, ideas, practices, and give them to you in a way that lets you know you should give them your attention. You're busy. If you're a front-line practitioner, your time is best spent with clients. But, learning is essential. I want to make it easy for you to find research, ideas, people to help you in your work. I take a Research Snapshot approach to sharing reports and studies to help you answer the question "should I spend my precious time on this?" The blog is focused on aggregating and curating for sense-making. I want to make your life easier. I want to get you the information you need, when you need it, in the format you want it in.

KM4S only succeeds with you

I want to help frontline practitioners and decision makers mobilize technical knowledge/skills and practical wisdom by disseminating and synthesizing knowledge as well as creating interactive learning opportunities in order to develop solutions to practice-based problems, change practices and behaviours, produce useful knowledge, and connect people and organizations with each other's good ideas and emerging practices.

Ultimately, I'd like to take original research & resources & synthesizing them concisely into easily consumable products like Research Snapshots, or Promising Practice Profiles. This will increase the likelihood that they get on your radar, consider them relevant to your work, & actually read or consume the information. In many cases the research is inaccessible to a busy, over-worked, settlement practitioner audience. It usually also misses the WIIFM (What's In It for Me?) factor. Why should you, busy settlement practitioners take up your valuable time reading through a 100 page report? How will it make you better at your work? How will it improve your outcomes? I'd like to provide a knowledge brokering role between researchers & other creators. Their valuable work needs to reach the right audiences in the sector.

KM for Settlement will provide the necessary sense-making so you can find resources that are clearly relevant to you & can contribute to your work in newcomer settlement and integration.

A project like this requires a national approach, to build on the excellent work being done in local & regional settings & ensure that these are shared beyond their geographic or topical restrictions. It also requires continuity, momentum and ongoing service provider engagement so that learning and sharing becomes an enjoyable habit. I want to help identify best practices, tools, resources & research & make information accessible to a time- & resource-strapped audience. Whether it leads to enhanced management capacity or front-line service efficiencies & effectiveness, the goal is not simply to read interesting research, but have it impact your daily work in some way.

I hope you find this site useful. Connect with me and let's work on it together.

Hi, I'm Marco

I'm a Communications & Digital Strategist for Immigrant and Refugee-serving organizations in Canada. I focus on digital strategy and online service development. I've worked in a variety of nonprofit sectors, including employment services, Information and Referral, and on various community-based technology projects.Over the past almost 30 years I have worked in some form of newcomer-serving sector communications and digital services, from front-line client service to the first Settlement.Org Content Coordinator.

I created and managed the Settlement AtWork site, launching OCASI’s Learn AtWork online learning site for sector workers, and have participated in a number of efforts to enhance sector knowledge mobilization. I led digital/social media strategy work at Maytree, and currently work as a freelance consultant helping agencies harness technology in client service delivery. My current focus is on digital transformation, digital inclusion/equity, demystifying technology in social services/social change, immigration, diversity & inclusion in Toronto.

I've worked in the immigrant and refugee-serving sector for 30 years. I'm really, really, really interested in helping sector practitioners get the information they need to help them in their work serving newcomers to Canada.

Have a question? Comment? Research or report to share?

Contact me any time!