Training Guide
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Regionalization of immigration: Enhancing the ‘warmth of the welcome’ in northern BC Training Guide Prepared by: Catherine Nolin, Anisa Zehtab-Martin, and Katie McCallum Geography Program University of Northern British Columbia October 19, 2007 Training Guide Page 1 of 67 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT .................................................................................................. 3 KEY QUESTION: ..................................................................................................................................... 3 OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................................................ 3 METHODS................................................................................................................................................ 3 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 4 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................... 4 DETAILED DESCRIPTION INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 4 PROGRAM OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................ 5 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................................ 6 CONTEXT .................................................................................................................................................... 7 TRANSNATIONALISM .................................................................................................................................. 7 SPATIALIZATION OF IMMIGRANT SETTLEMENT IN CANADIAN CITIES .......................................................... 9 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................ 11 COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS ................................................................................................................. 12 UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA REB .................................................................. 19 PURPOSE OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................ 19 SUMMARY OF METHODS ........................................................................................................................... 20 RESEARCH ETHICS BOARDS AND RESEARCH REVIEW COMMITTEE PROCEDURES................... 21 UNBC RESEARCH ETHICS BOARD ........................................................................................................... 21 THE NORTHERN HEALTH AUTHORITY (RRC) .......................................................................................... 21 FIELD WORK .................................................................................................................................. 22 GENERICS OF FIELDWORK ........................................................................................................................ 22 STAFF ROLES ............................................................................................................................................ 23 STARTING THE FIELD SEASON - FIRST STEP ............................................................................................... 25 FIELD RECRUITMENT STRATEGY .............................................................................................................. 26 FIELD NOTES ............................................................................................................................................ 31 INTERVIEW PROCESS ................................................................................................................................ 31 FOCUS GROUP LOGISTICS ......................................................................................................................... 33 4.8 FIELD TEAM TRAVEL ASPECTS .................................................................................................. 37 BUDGET : GRANT INFO , COPYING , BOOKSTORE , MAILROOM ...................................................................... 40 MEDIA RELEASE INFORMATION AND PROTOCOL ...................................................................................... 43 DIGITAL RECORDING TIPS AND SAVING PROTOCOL ................................................................................. 44 DOCUMENT SAVING PROTOCOL ............................................................................................................... 46 CONTENT ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................. 47 DEVELOPMENT OF THEMES ...................................................................................................................... 50 APPENDIX...................................................................................................................................... 51 INTERVIEW SCRIPT ................................................................................................................................... 51 ROUNDTABLE SCRIPT ............................................................................................................................... 54 FORMS ...................................................................................................................................................... 58 FORMAL THANK YOU LETTER SUMMER 2007.......................................................................................... 64 UNBC FORMS .......................................................................................................................................... 65 CHEQUE REQUISITION .............................................................................................................................. 65 TRAVEL CLAIM ........................................................................................................................................ 66 TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION ......................................................................................................................... 67 Training Guide Page 2 of 67 Introduction to the Project (SSHRC application) This research employs a transnational migration framework, informed by social geography's interests in place, social space, identity, and urban settlement, to examine Citizenship and Immigration Canada's (CIC 2001a) new strategies for achieving a "more balanced geographic distribution of immigrants" and refugee settlement to small cities, towns, and rural areas of Canada. In partnership with the Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society (IMSS) of Prince George, I plan to examine the settlement, integration, and retention experiences of immigrants and refugees in British Columbia's (BC) northern communities to highlight the opportunities and challenges of a more geographically-even national settlement strategy. Both social and economic integration of newcomers is a desirable outcome of settlement and is considered an important factor in the ability of communities to retain newcomers. KEY QUESTION: How are immigration and settlement experiences shaped by both settlement services and social networks in the northern BC communities of Prince George and Terrace ? OBJECTIVES : Two major objectives are: 1. To network with local and regional community organizations and municipal governments to examine their efforts to stem ongoing regional out-migration through renewed immigrant settlement and retention strategies, as well as; 2. To connect with the diverse immigrant populations to understand the opportunities and obstacles to non-metropolitan settlement. These alliances are necessary: (1) to improve our understanding of the place-specific, gendered, and racialized implications of CIC's regionalization strategy for northern BC communities; and (2) to improve our understanding of the access to and availability of settlement services as well as the social networks (local, regional, national, and transnational) created and maintained by immigrant women and men in non-metropolitan locations. METHODS A multi-method approach will be employed. The first stage, already completed, involved sustained engagement with settlement service providers. In October 2004, I followed-up on two initial research trips through the communities of Prince George, Smithers, Terrace, Kitimat, and Prince Rupert conducted in July 2003 and 2004. I invited community organization representatives to Smithers for a workshop on the regionalization of immigration to identify concerns, strategies, varying experiences. Training Guide Page 3 of 67 Building on this place-specific knowledge, the second phase involves immigration policy analysis and the development of detailed statistical profiles for the communities' immigrant, labour, socio-economic, and service capacities. In the third phase, key informant interviews will be conducted with service providers (formal and informal) in the communities of Prince George and Terrace to better understand the political and budgetary climate within which these organizations operate. Additionally, a series of focus groups