Transforming settlement and integration services during a pandemic (2024)

Settlement services are key to Canada's success in welcoming and integrating immigrants. Offered mainly in person prior to COVID-19 by non-governmental agencies reliant on and regulated by government funders, services were forced online and delivered by staff working remotely. The authors document this transition between September 2020 and September 2021 in Ontario, Canada and the conditions that influenced it.

Surveys completed by workers and managers at member agencies of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants reveal how agencies provided services and stabilized organizational resources and capacities. Their success is evident in staff satisfaction with management's responses to the pandemic.

While findings underscore the resilience of the agencies and their workforce, they also challenge many tenets of New Public Management. The survey and discussions with managers suggest that sustained and flexible funding, rapid and respectful communication between agencies and funders and collaborations with other agencies were key to overcoming pandemic challenges.

What is this research about?

This research examines how Newcomer-serving organizations (which the authors refer to as immigrant-serving agencies (ISAs)) in Ontario, Canada adapted to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic between September 2020 and September 2021. It investigates the conditions that influenced the successful transition of these agencies to online service delivery and remote work while maintaining organizational stability and worker well-being.It also documents the positive relationship that developed between the largest sector funder, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) during the pandemic.

What do you need to know?

• ISAs in Canada are funded by the government but operate under the principles of New Public Management (NPM), which emphasizes competition, efficiency, and strict accountability: "It imposes a rigid accountability system restricting how funding can be used and does not pay the ongoing costs of operating an agency. By failing to pay the operating costs of the agency, NPM rarely pays the full cost to organizations of the programmes that they deliver. These funding practices have created organizations and workforces that are tightly controlled by the funder."
• The pandemic forced ISAs to quickly move services online and have staff work remotely, threatening their ability to fulfill funding agreements and requiring them to use limited resources to adapt.
• The research identifies the benefits of suspending NPM principles during the pandemic, such as maintaining funding levels, relaxing service targets, and encouraging collaboration among ISAs and other public sector organizations.

What did the researchers do?

• Conducted surveys of managers and staff from member agencies of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI) between November and December 2021. Researchers received 183 worker surveys and 49 from managers.
• Held four focus groups with Executive Directors of ISAs and representatives from Local Immigration Partnerships in five Ontario municipalities.
• Analyzed survey responses and focus group transcripts to identify trends and themes related to ISAs' pandemic experiences and the conditions affecting their resilience.

What did the researchers find?

• ISAs successfully transitioned to online service delivery and remote work while maintaining staff-management relations and increasing the total volume of services delivered.
• Stable government funding, suspension of service targets, and relaxed funding rules enabled ISAs to invest in technology and training for hybrid service delivery.
• Enhanced communication and collaboration among ISAs, government funders, and other public sector organizations facilitated information sharing, innovation, and rapid response to emerging needs in migrant communities.

How can you use this research?

• Advocate for moving beyond NPM approaches and adopting practices that promote true collaboration, flexibility, and organizational capacity building in the immigrant-serving sector
• Emphasize the need for sustained, flexible funding that covers the full operational costs of ISAs and allows for innovation and adaptation to changing circumstances. Foster responsive communication and equitable partnerships among ISAs, government funders, and other public sector organizations to enable effective service delivery and support for immigrant communities

Previous related research can be found here:

Pandemic Response Survey Results - OCASI Agency Management (2022)
The survey provides insights into the experience and reflections of managers in Ontario settlement agencies beyond the first wave of the pandemic.

Pandemic Response Survey Results - OCASI Agency Frontline Workers (2022)
The survey provides insights into the experiences and reflections of frontline settlement workers in Ontario beyond the first wave of the pandemic that are critical to the sector itself and policymakers from all levels of government who are concerned with the integration of migrants.

The Future of Immigrant-Serving Agencies in Ontario: Meeting the Challenges of Hybrid Service Delivery - Policy Preview (2022)
This report discusses the rapid shift to online delivery of settlement services as COVID-19 took hold, outlining some of the major challenges during the first eighteen months of this transition in the Immigrant and Refugee-serving sector.