BRIDGING RESEARCH, POLICY AND PRACTICE: INTRODUCING THE UBC CLUSTER ON MIGRATION

Canada’s international reputation for welcoming and integrating newcomers is unparalleled. But ensuring that Canada remains a preferred migration destination will require risk-taking, foresight, and creative thinking.

Event Description: The two-day symposium was an opportunity for academics, government officials, and practitioners to examine immigration to Canada from three overlapping perspectives: practice, research, and policy.

Host: UBC Cluster on Migration

Background: The Cluster on Migration was established in 2018 as part of the UBC Research Excellence Cluster. The Cluster on Migration has four focus areas: 1) Social Inclusion and Integration; 2) Borders; 3) Political Behavior, and; 4) Indigeneity-Migration.

VSIR Thinking Points:

• Canada has done a lot to modernize its delivery of immigration programs and services. But more will have to be done if Canada is to remain a preferred migration destination (eg., mapping of service “pain points,” portable service platforms, improved coordination with employment service providers, wrap-around services for vulnerable youth).
• While newcomers immigrate to Canada, they settle in Canadian cities and local communities. An orderly transition to the next-generation of Canada’s migration management regime will have to delegate more program and service responsibilities to cities. This could be done by duplicating the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) at the municipal level (eg., Vancouver, Toronto).
• Given that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has a well-developed policy research capacity, the valued-added contribution of academics and practitioners may be specific to business intelligence solutions in a local context (eg., cultural intelligence, future of work requirements, innovative ways to scale-up local capacity among service providers).

Agenda and Speakers:

https://migration.ubc.ca/events/bridging-research-policy-and-practice