Pathways to Prosperity: New Policy Directions and Innovative Local Practices for Newcomer Attraction and Retention Application to:

Goals  To work with and provide support to small and mid- sized communities across Canada in their efforts to become more receptive and better able to serve the needs of newcomers and minorities  To equip community organizations and municipal governments with the tools - analytic capacity and information – they need to devise and implement evidence-based strategies that address challenges in immigration, inclusion, local development, and economic and social sustainability  To work with practitioners and policymakers to help clarify strategic priorities, conduct analyses, and improve policies and programs through the co-creation of knowledge

 To ensure that research findings are translated into effective advice and formats that are widely used by practitioners and policy–makers  To provide a multitude of training opportunities for the current and next generation of researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners

Key Features Scholarship of engagement: Research that meets the needs of communities, and that combines local expertise with academic scholarship in order to address practical concerns and challenges Cross-regional, comparative program of research: Teams in each region collaborating on common projects that address issues of national interest Responsiveness to local needs: Regional nodes also work on issues of more local concern Sustained investment: Continual, iterative refinements as new knowledge and new questions are generated by the research process and by shifts in public policy

Innovation focus: Focus on identifying and analyzing promising practices with a view to driving policy and program innovation Support for outcomes measurement: Support for evidence-based programming through targeted research on outcomes and performance measures Evaluation research to assess the impact of interventions: Analysis of factors that permit interventions and practices to be transferred across locations and areas of practice Experimentation with different forms of evaluation in order to better understand how evaluation processes can meet the needs of community organizations and service deliverers

Potential Topics to be Addressed  Attraction and retention of newcomers in new destination communities, including Northern sites  Evaluating the institutional arrangements for delivering services, enhancing receptivity, and producing favourable integration and inclusion outcomes: roles and interactions of service provider organizations, ethno-cultural and religious associations, ‘mainstream’ not for profit agencies, and public and quasi-public institutions such as schools and libraries  Evaluation and analysis of promising practices to drive innovation and continual improvement

 Working with the francophone networks to improve and support strategies for utilizing migration to maintain vibrant francophone minority communities  Adapting mainstream services and using outreach to assist Northern and remote communities  Analyzing the implications for recruitment, settlement, and integration of the recent policy shifts emphasizing international students, temporary foreign workers, and provincial nominees  Business and labour market recruitment and support, including newcomer training, effective skills utilization, mobility, and the formation of networks

 Host society receptivity to newcomers, the role played by leaders and elites, and the drivers of public attitudes  The role of local institutions and integration programs in fostering political and civic involvement  The role of cultural and recreational services in fostering a common identity  Configuring education and justice services for sustainable, diverse communities  Question: Are there topics or areas of research that are particularly important to address, including any topics not discussed?

Knowledge Transfer  Face to Face Interactions - National and regional conferences - National and regional workshops - Community forums - Policy briefings and reviews - Annual Summer Institute  Web-Based and Electronic Products - Website - Monthly e-bulletin - Webinars and video-enabled consultations - Online training modules and e-learning courses - Best practices online presentations

 Publications - Edited volumes - Special issues of journals for targeted audiences - Policy briefs - Plain language summaries of research projects and topics aimed at non-academic audiences - Curricular resources Question: What dissemination strategies would you find most useful, including any strategies not discussed?

Educational Opportunities  Involvement of students and postdoctoral fellows in all aspects of the project, including research design and implementation, and knowledge transfer  Mentoring opportunities for junior faculty members (e.g., through participation in regional research teams)  Field placement program: Opportunities for students to work in government departments, NGOs, and other sites to obtain practical experience and explore alternative career options

 Summer Institute: Courses and training modules for students, postdoctoral fellows, community practitioners, and government officials  Student exchange programs and course sharing across universities participating in the project  Question: What educational opportunities would you find most useful, including any educational opportunities not discussed?

Governance Structure  All regions will have homologous structures that include an executive or steering committee; a governing body with university, community and government representatives; and local committees that link communities and academic institutions  Pan-Canadian institutions: - a management committee with representation from the regional nodes, responsible for executing project directions - a board of directors with equal regional representation, responsible for setting strategic directions and major decision-making - advisory councils that include community and government representatives and senior researchers, responsible for providing strategic advice

 Agreed set of high priority projects to be carried out collaboratively each year  Common dissemination mechanisms  Annual pan-Canadian conference  Integrated communications strategy  Unified website architecture with same ‘look and feel’  Common educational and training opportunities Integrative Mechanisms

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