Improvements on the way for settlement services
Image credit: Ashwini chaudhary via Unsplash
As part of its commitment to deliver high quality settlement services to newcomers, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched an expression of interest process for service delivery improvements (SDI) funding on October 15, 2020.
Since 2017, SDI projects have centred on developing innovative approaches to better support the settlement and integration of newcomers.
As part of a government-wide response to the current pandemic, IRCC will allocate approximately $30 million in SDI funding in the first year toward settlement services for newcomers to safely and sustainably recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic, many settlement services have moved online. SDI funding will help IRCC determine the kinds of services newcomers need, while taking into account the increased reliance in online service delivery. Funding will continue to support newcomers’ successful integration in the COVID-19 recovery period.
As part of this funding process, projects will address the following priorities:
• Leveraging technology: IRCC is looking for projects that will identify technologies that can deliver remote settlement services. Projects will also identify barriers that newcomers face in accessing and using these technologies, and how these barriers can be addressed.
• Increasing employer involvement: The pandemic is having a major impact on the short- and long-term employment prospects of newcomers. Projects under this priority will test approaches that encourage employers to get more involved in the integration of newcomers.
• Building the capacity of the sector: Under this category, organizations with expertise in social research and development will partner with IRCC-funded agencies to help them develop the skills and tools needed to research, design and evaluate services for newcomers. This will help address some of the challenges faced by newcomers, including racism and marginalization.
Throughout the projects, funding recipients will provide regular reports to IRCC about outcomes and lessons learned. The goal of these projects is to find ways to improve IRCC’s high quality Settlement Program so that it’s more effective and better equipped to adapt to the needs of newcomers and support them in their integration journey.
“The government of Canada is committed to ensuring that the strengths newcomers bring to this country can be fully realized, and that there are services to support their integration journeys in these challenging times,” said Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. “The service providers funded through IRCC help newcomers make the most of their talents and experience in order to fully integrate and contribute to the Canadian economy and to their communities.”
A few quick facts:
Letters of interest will be accepted until November 24, 2020.
Successful projects will be announced in the summer of 2021; funding will begin in the fall of 2021.