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Jessie-Lynn MacDonald David Kurfurst Research and Evaluation Branch Citizenship and Immigration

Research and Evaluation in the Domain of Refugees – A CIC Perspective RAP Conference February 21, 2007. Jessie-Lynn MacDonald David Kurfurst Research and Evaluation Branch Citizenship and Immigration. Research and Evaluation Branch Mandate.

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Jessie-Lynn MacDonald David Kurfurst Research and Evaluation Branch Citizenship and Immigration

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  1. Research and Evaluation in the Domain of Refugees – A CIC PerspectiveRAP ConferenceFebruary 21, 2007 Jessie-Lynn MacDonald David Kurfurst Research and Evaluation Branch Citizenship and Immigration

  2. Research and Evaluation Branch Mandate • Ensure Department has adequate evidence to support/direct program and policies. • Develop and maintain statistical information to support program monitoring, analysis, and evaluation. • Provide Department with evidence needed to develop sound policy and programs (research, statistical information). • Assess the effectiveness of existing policies and programs (evaluation). • Liaise with Provinces and Territories, and OGDs to ensure common set of information and understanding of immigration and citizenship.

  3. Research Division - What We Do Data development: • Meet departmental policy and program statistical requirements. • Develop data to support government-wide research initiatives (eg. Metropolis, HRSDC, provinces) and research activities (IMDB, LSIC, IALSS, etc.).

  4. Research Division - What We Do Research • Strategic research to assess immigrant economic, social and cultural outcomes. • Specific research to meet the needs of other branches within CIC. • Support for policy development.

  5. Examples of Macro-Level Research Questions • How do we measure successful integration? Socially? Economically? From whose perspective? • Can we improve economic and social outcomes for immigrants and refugees? How? • What are barriers to integration? • What impacts do immigrants / refugees have on shaping Canada?

  6. Key Policy Research Interests For Refugees • Asylum system and integration challenges of asylum-seekers. • Resettlement and integration challenges of refugees from protracted situations. • Policy challenges associated with the changing characteristics of the refugee population.

  7. Specific Refugee Research Needs • Need to determine if and how integration needs differ between immigrants and refugees (including different refugee groups). • Need to determine adequate indicators/measurements for social inclusion, resettlement and integration. • Need to gather evidence to assess potential gaps and provide essential services (e.g. physical/mental health, basic skills & abilities, etc). • Need to gain a better understanding of short-term and long-term refugee outcomes.

  8. Existing Data Sources of Refugee Information • Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC). • Longitudinal Immigrant Database (IMDB). • Longitudinal Administrative Database (linked with the IMDB) LAD-IMDB. • Interim Federal Health Database (IFH). • Permanent Residence Data System (PRDS) – no data on outcomes. • Refugee Continuum.

  9. Refugee Research Challenges • Applicability of research results to a pan-Canadian context. • Refugee groups are not homogeneous and have different needs. • Hard to establish a representative sample. • Small sample sizes make it difficult to generalize findings.

  10. Refugee Research Challenges - cont’d • Difficult population to locate. • Interview challenges i.e. language barriers, issues of trust. • Timeliness of research results. • Resource capacity.

  11. Evaluation Division - What We Do • Provide Deputy Minister, senior management and program managers with objective, timely and evidence-based information and conclusions on the results of programs, policies and initiatives. • Strategic approach to evaluation work: results informing ongoing policy development and program design. • Studies, evaluation frameworks/RMAFs, performance measurement.

  12. Evaluation Challenges • Availability and quality of data, particularly regarding certain refugee groups. • Outcomes and success indicators are not clearly defined. • Research and results often limited: project and/or group specific.

  13. Addressing Challenges • Draw on existing data sources. • Importance of SPOs/NGOs as data sources/info providers. • Employ multiple lines of enquiry. • rigorous evaluation methodology. • Conduct primary research. • Interviews, focus groups, survey, etc. • Recognize limitations.

  14. CIC Examples • Privately Sponsored Refugees (PSR) Program Evaluation. • Karen Refugees cohort study / performance measurement framework. • Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) Program Evaluation.

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