Remote and Online Services for Professional Immigrants

Many new immigrants do not access the settlement services available to them, often relying on the internet for settlement information. This project explores methods that can increase and improve access to settlement programs through the development of online and mobile service delivery platforms.

Project Information

What is the ROSPI Project?

Remote and Online Services for Professional Immigrants (ROSPI) is a research project that investigates why newcomer professionals often do not access settlement services and why the services they do access fail to meet their needs. It seeks to leverage existing technologies that settlement agencies utilized during the transition to remote service delivery necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Immigrant Education Society (TIES), in partnership with the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Michigan, will conduct research on how to configure and deliver online and mobile friendly services to improve access to newcomers whose needs are unmet in conventional, in-person service delivery modalities at Calgary-based settlement agencies.

TIES will develop both online and mobile-friendly programming and resources for professional immigrants and resources for settlement agencies to support their remote delivery. The nature of these resources and programming will be determined by data we collect from interviewing and surveying professional immigrants’ digital needs, barriers, and preferences for using settlement services and seeking information online regarding re-establishing their careers in Canada.

What are the aims of ROSPI?

The ROSPI Project aims to:

• Increase the number of newcomer professionals who access online settlement services.
• Increase the number of clients accessing existing services online.
• Increase the number of clients indicating that they would not have accessed settlement services had the service not been offered online.

Why is this important?

In TIES’ experiences of working with newcomer professionals in Calgary and surrounding areas, we find that online services receive higher levels of engagement. This is reflected in the literature, as immigrants report that the internet and social media sites play a critical role for accessing settlement information before and after arrival to Canada (Shuva, 2021). However, traditional service delivery methods do not often meet the needs of its target clientele. Newcomer professionals often do not access settlement services and those they do access do not meet their needs (Esses et al., 2013). In the last few years, settlement organizations have operated using different technologies such as digitalizing the intake process and using video conferencing platforms to conduct classes. The COVID-19 pandemic has further invoked the need to establish and bolster remote resources.

Clients’ high web usage, low settlement service utilization, and the recent shift to digital platforms suggests that there is a potential for settlement organizations in Calgary to better understand the barriers and meet the needs of newcomer professionals through a refinement of online settlement services. The ROSPI Project will explore remote and online delivery of settlement services as a potential channel for increasing the number of newcomer professionals who access settlement services, as well as increasing the effectiveness of such services to better meet their needs. Additionally, the ROSPI Project will develop and pilot services and resources to enable organizations to effectively transition their own services to professional newcomers in an online and remote delivery environment.

Research Overview

Methods

This project will be accomplished by aiming to meet five goals through four phases.

Knowledge Building Phase

• Identify (1) unmet needs and gaps in settlement services, as well as the (2) general experiences and (3) digital needs, barriers, and preferences of professional newcomers re-establishing their careers in Canada.
• Identify best practices in services for professional newcomers via an online platform or digital space.

Development of Improvements and Innovations to Existing Online Settlement Services & Other Digital Materials Phase

• Develop a process roadmap or resource toolkit and training resources for organizations to effectively transition their own services to professional newcomers to an online remote delivery environment.

Pilot Implementation Phase

• Implement mobile-friendly online programming and digital resources tailored for professional newcomers.

Pilot Evaluation Phase

• Determine the optimal approaches through which online delivery of settlement services will result in (1) improved access to services for professional newcomers and (2) improved online services that more efficiently and effectively meet needs.

Watch

As the ROSPI research progresses, we will be uploading videos that provide updates and details regarding the project.

References

Esses, V. M., Burstein, M., Ravanera, Z., Hallman, S., & Medianu, S. (2013). Alberta Settlement Outcomes Survey. Pathways to Prosperity. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/dcf0c5d1-9894-402c-b479-e31b491d6518/resource/3a1833e9-98d5-4de2-bc41-1eeee76cd9c4/download/alberta-outcomes-settlement-survey-results.pdf

Shuva, N. Z. (2021). Internet, Social Media, and Settlement: A Study on Bangladeshi Immigrants in Canada. Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 43(3), 291-315. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/781389