Category: sector research - WES Canada Programs Research Summaries

The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. Includes: Canada’s labour shortage is the country’s greatest economic threat, International Students for long-term prosperity in Canadian economy: Expanding pathways to permanence for int’l students in Canada, and more.

Our sector has been having a lot of conversations and doing research on many broad and specific areas of digital transformation over the past 2 years. One of the things I've been thinking about are some specific technologies that don't typically come up in sector conversations about digital transformation, but I think we need to start thinking about and planning for.

Let’s reconceptualize what Settlement Services are from the newcomer viewpoint, with newcomers at the centre. It’s not agencies delivering programs and services. It’s a service designed to provide Immigrants and Refugees (and increasingly those with temporary or no status) with accurate, relevant information and supports, so that they can make informed decisions about their new life in Canada and begin the integration process - including preparation before arrival.

The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. Includes: Express Entry: Canada invites skilled immigrants overseas for first time since 2020, Canada’s Immigrant Advantage: A survey of major employers, Canadians support accepting more newcomers, but we need a more equitable, rights-based approach, and more.

A couple of interesting reports on the digital and information habits and practices of international students provide some useful insights that reinforce what we should know and learn about all Newcomers.

I’ve found that when it comes to technology and our sector we make far too many assumptions based on anecdote rather than data. Of course, our work should be guided by both. I’m a big believer in qualitative and quantitative feedback and data. But we should be using both when we’re coming to conclusions that guide our move to a hybrid service delivery model.

The weekly roundup includes research, stories, and events of interest to the Canadian immigration and settlement community. Includes: Express Entry: Canada’s COVID-spurred immigration backlog is hurting its economic growth, Will Canada welcome over 500,000 new immigrants per year?, Delivering on the Promise of Resettlement, Why Ukrainian newcomers are not refugees and why that matters, and more.

Over the last decade, humanitarian organizations have digitized many of their systems, from registering refugees with biometric IDs to transporting cargo via drones. This has helped deliver aid around the world, but it's also brought new risks to the people it's meant to protect. Tech and human rights ethicist Aarathi Krishnan points to the dangers of digitization -- like sensitive data getting into the hands of the wrong people -- and lays out five ethical principles to help inform humanitarian tech innovation.

This site provides information and a listing of practical projects, and client-facing tools, resources, and toolkits frontline workers can use as they progress towards digital transformation and hybrid/blended service delivery.