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In this 2022 Pre-Arrival Virtual Conference follow-up I wanted to be a bit more practical. Still future focused, but perhaps more narrowly now. The practical future window I’m focused on today is about 2 years. From now until the next national Call for Proposals. Still looking at what our sector can aspire to. But more practical.

In this episode, I’m chatting with a few folks from the Somerset West Community Health Centre in Ottawa about their experiences with digital equity and virtual care. On the line with me are Sue Merrill, Manager of Quality Improvement, Planning and Evaluation, Lisa Vadeboncoeur, Digital Equity and Virtual Progamming Project Assistant, Magda Osman, Community Health Promoter.

Our preliminary report identified that settlement practitioners gradually acquired digital technology knowledge and integrated digital skills into service delivery. Digital literacy is a foundational skill that must be developed in a hybrid service delivery model, alongside established skill sets. This section reviews the discussions and available digital literacy frameworks to enhance support to digital inclusion in the sector.

Addressing digital inclusion is complex. It requires recognition of the challenge and sustained effort to address it. There is no single strategy or method that could address all populations’ needs. Instead, localization and customization of different programs in Service Providing Organizations (SPOs) requires flexibility. Digital inequity is multifaceted, and intersects with culture, gender, age, class, and educational background.

COVID 19 has shed a light on Digital Inclusion and brought many new fields, practitioners, and activists to the community. Digital Inclusion practitioners have been working to end the digital divide for decades, creating their own community, definitions, resources, and gaining knowledge of what works and doesn’t. Digital Inclusion is a multifaceted issue that takes time to understand.

This section explores new skill sets and roles that are emerging and will be important in a hybrid service delivery model. In many cases, these will not be entirely new roles in organizations. They will become part of someone’s role. It is important to explore these emerging roles not only to identify them, but to also explore the skills required and how hybrid professional roles (such as Frontline Practitioner/Digital Navigator) will emerge, be developed, and workers trained.

This dissertation uncovers a dual accountability regime in Canadian settlement services, where relational, empathy‑driven practices coexist, and often clash, with rigid, number‑focused reporting demands. The work exposes a temporal bias that privileges speed and quantification, shaping data cultures, technology choices, and ultimately the quality of support offered to newcomers.

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a significant aspect of how we look at digital transformation in the sector right now, too much of our focus is on AI. In this piece, I'm offering an AI-generated summary of 30 webinars (yes, 30) conducted over the past 4-5 years. The cover a broad scope of digital transformation within the settlement and immigrant-serving sector.

This research report details the Josoor Project, an Arab Community Centre of Toronto (ACCT) project aimed at improving settlement services for vulnerable newcomer and refugee women in Ontario.