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When I started working in the Immigrant and Refugee-serving sector many decades ago, one of the things I was trained on was Paulo Freire's Popular Education approach. Part of my introduction was Educating for a Change. It became our guide for community development. For running workshops within our sector as well as with others. And how we approach our work with Newcomers and the communities we served.

At the recent P2P 2021 Conference, I was part of the panel "The COVID Cohort of Immigrants: Tackling Settlement and Employment Challenges." My focus was on discussing the impact of technology on both clients and service providers in the pandemic context.

Sectors and organizations are increasingly being asked to create their own data ethics standards, practices, and procedures. Organizations require the skills to gain meaningful insights from data in order to unleash the strength of data. Measuring service delivery outcomes in a hybrid service model practice requires a different lens than simply the quantitative one.

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.

Technology access, literacy & infrastructure require investments in training and appropriate hardware as it evolves, and as client use of it changes. The sector uses technology and indeed has a rich history of being innovative with technology; however, there continue to be many challenges to technology implementation in agencies, particularly around service delivery and data, information, and feedback management. To achieve innovation and technology outcomes that will propel the sector forward, investments are needed to build the capacity of sector agencies and their staff.

Simply described, a hybrid service delivery model suggests a combination of in-person and online/remote (digital and non-digital) services for newcomers to Canada. It occurs when services are offered in-person as well as at a distance. It is both a tool and strategy that guides Settlement practitioners to determine how technology can be used effectively in service delivery, while ensuring support and room for in-person support.

This report from the Settlement Sector and Technology Task Group presents findings, insights, and recommendations generated through a comprehensive exploration of hybrid service delivery over 6 months in the immigrant settlement sector in Canada. The report analyzes the unique experiment in digital service delivery created by the pandemic and reviews sector innovation and collaboration while providing a roadmap for the sector and its largest funder, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) towards a hybrid service delivery model.

There are many days when I wish I was a techie. I just don't have the intuition. And maybe I could learn if I took coding courses, but... So, I've been experimenting with some no-code tools to see what I can create. And, I have to admit, it's pretty cool what can be done with a simple spreadsheet on these sites. Here's what I was able to quickly create with one, Open As App.

This session focused on how cutting-edge technology has the potential to support and enhance current models of service delivery through automation and the application of solid data analysis. Presenters shared current and practical applications of AI and other technology innovations in the sector.