Immigration and the Metropolis:
Centres of Excellence for Research on
Immigration and Integration

A Joint Initiative of the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
and the
Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada

An extraordinary population challenge confronts the world today as millions of people move from one country to another. Large urban centres, the focal point of much of the world's immigration, are experiencing vast social, cultural and demographic transformations as a result. A number of factors appear to be driving migration, including restructuring of the global economy, demographic change, resurgent nationalism, ethnic and political conflict, environmental degradation, and expanding communication and transportation networks. Scale alone does not distinguish contemporary migration. Equally important is its ethnic, cultural, religious and social diversity. This produces complicated interactions among migrant and host populations — sometimes characterized by openness and acceptance, and sometimes by tension or hostility.

Immigration is a powerful, inescapable agent of social change. It affects governments, communities, families and individuals. It raises many important questions. For example: How does greater ethnic diversity affect the social and cultural life of cities? What factors help immigrants integrate into the wider community? Does immigration contribute to the creation of a marginalized underclass? If so, what factors are responsible? Does immigration accelerate or retard the ability of cities and countries to restructure economically? How can governments plan for appropriate social services, such as education, housing and health care?

A better understanding of immigration and how it transforms countries, cities, communities and individuals is required if Canada is to meet the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities it presents. Ways to moderate the tensions it can produce also need to be explored.

To help address these and other issues, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will establish up to three Centres of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration. The Centres will promote, coordinate, conduct and communicate multidisciplinary Canadian research in the areas of immigration and integration. Research conducted by the Centres will guide public and private institutions in developing effective approaches to managing immigration and integrating immigrants as full and equal members of society. They will also serve as focal points for research on immigration in Canada, providing the requisite infrastructure for such research.

SSHRC and CIC, in collaboration with other federal departments and agencies, will each contribute $3 million to the funding of the Centres. A maximum of $6 million will be made available to support up to three (3) Centres across Canada, with each Centre receiving up to $2 million over six years.

The impetus for establishing these Centres of Excellence on immigration and integration issues is rooted in the Metropolis Project — an international, multi-year undertaking aimed at producing a comprehensive program of immigration research as part of the policy development process. The Metropolis Project involves Canada, the United States and Italy as partners. Arrangements are also being pursued with Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, and Israel, among other countries, and with various international organizations. The Canadian research conducted by the proposed Centres is expected to complement similar research efforts in these countries.

Program Objectives

The objectives of this joint initiative are to:

• promote innovative, multidisciplinary research on immigration and integration in Canada focusing on key areas of relevance to policy and program development and to service delivery in a variety of sectors;
• develop multidisciplinary research designs and new methodological approaches to the study of immigration and integration issues;
• encourage comparative research from both a domestic and an international perspective which can enhance our knowledge base and inform strategic policy directions;
• promote sustained collaboration among academics, policy makers, business and labour groups, foundations, community organizations, practitioners, and other interested parties, in the conduct of research into contemporary issues of mutual interest;
• provide research training opportunities for students, and encouragement to graduate students and researchers in the early stages of their careers to conduct immigration research; and
• disseminate research results widely to policy makers, practitioners, community organizations and the general public.

Research Priorities

The research conducted by the Centres will have a strong focus on the city or urban system. The Centres are encouraged to undertake international comparative research projects leading to links and exchanges among Canadian researchers and colleagues abroad.

In order to provide the data infrastructure which researchers may draw on, CIC is in the preliminary stages of undertaking a number of survey design studies and developing various database projects. These are expected to include a longitudinal survey of integration, a survey of citizenship intentions, a survey of tolerance, and a longitudinal data file focusing on economic performance. Once the design studies are complete, CIC will be looking to establish partnerships for implementation of the survey instruments in the field.

The Centres must become acquainted with the policy and program priorities of stakeholders in these projects through regular exchanges with CIC and various regional contact groups (see page 6 below, section on "Community Service"). This will allow the Centres to rationalize their research and to use scarce resources wisely. Six research "domains" have been identified for this program. A Centre is expected to cover several, but not all, of these. In its funding proposal, a Centre must outline its existing strengths in each of the domains it plans to cover, and indicate the relative priority it will accord to each within the overall research agenda. Research in all domains should include analysis of pertinent gender issues.

Economic domain

The key topics within the economic domain are:

• the impact of immigration on competitiveness and industrial structure; the effects of immigration on the capital/labour ratio in the short and long term;
• the impact of immigration on the urban workforce (e.g., are immigrants complementary to or a substitute for domestic workers? are immigrants concentrated within certain industrial niches?);
• the impact of immigration on local wages and working conditions (e.g., is there a segmented labour market for immigrants?);
• the effect of immigration on the diversity of consumer goods and on investment patterns;
• the impact of immigration on entrepreneurship and technology;
• the impact of immigration on a city's domestic/international orientation (e.g., the relationship between immigration and a city's imports and exports);
• the economic performance of immigrants and of their children;
• accreditation, incomes, employment and labour market mobility;
• the effects and impacts of immigration and cultural diversity on the tourism industry.

Education domain

The key topics within the education domain are:

• the relationship between immigration and educational attainment;
• student aspirations (focusing on both host and immigrant populations with special attention to gender issues);
• the role of schools as informal agents of socialization in a multi-ethnic context;
• policies and programs aimed at improving cross-cultural relations (teacher training, extra-curricular activities and anti-racist socialization);
• the effects of mainstreaming versus culturally specific and heritage language education on immigrant integration and accommodation by the host population;
• language training on the job or in the classroom, including effectiveness of alternative modes of training; language training for homemakers;
• the impact of immigrant concentration on learning, on the transmission of cultural values, and on the academic and psycho-social integration of children and young adults in school;
• the impact of immigration on school policies, programs and curricula (with special attention to language, cultural, religious and technology issues);
• the effect of immigration on school financing, public and private;
• the impact on the host population of immigrant values regarding education.

Social domain

The key topics within the social domain are:

• the effect of immigration on the social organization and social processes of immigrant and host communities;
• immigrant integration with a focus on participation in both formal and informal social and health networks, including:
  • family (e.g., changes in family values; changes in the role and structure of the family; attendant impacts on community organization, marriage patterns);
  • friends (e.g., the dynamics and patterns of friendship; the communities from which friends are drawn; the "demands" placed on friends; the "demands" placed on immigrants); and
  • non-governmental organizations (e.g., changes in the demand for and availability of services and programs; changes in the associations that people form, including changes in membership patterns and activities; the contributions of immigrants to NGOs and the voluntary sector);
• the integration of immigrants from non-traditional sources, with emphasis on their acquisition of language skills and their socio-economic mobility;
• the effectiveness of alternative modes of service delivery, contrasting universal delivery models with ethnocultural and third language service models;
• the relationship between immigration and the social underclass;
• immigrant integration and conformity with the law, including the involvement of organized crime in illegal immigration.

Citizenship and culture domain

The key topics within the citizenship and culture domain are:

• the effects of immigration on:
  • the values, symbols and aspirations of both the immigrant and host populations;
  • social tolerance, race relations and the values of the host population with respect to social justice, equity, gender issues, etc;
  • perceptions regarding public safety and crime;
  • national policy and legal frameworks dealing with social and justice issues;
  • attitudes and values relating to civil society (democracy, equal opportunity, freedom of expression, etc.);
  • the emergence of new cultural forms;
  • the interpretation and depiction of history and heritage in historic sites and museums;
  • the production and export of cultural goods;
  • the importation of alternative health care;
  • the media and depiction of minority groups;
  • national policy and legal frameworks dealing with cultural issues (e.g., multiculturalism);
• the relationship between immigration and the consumption of and support for cultural products (such as ballet, opera, symphonies, art galleries, books, magazines, music), as well as sports and recreation.

Public services and political domain

The key topics within the public services and political domain are:

• participation by immigrants in the political process and political parties;
• the impact of immigration on the distribution of political power, on the decision-making process, on the form of state intervention, on policy mechanisms, and on the political agenda at all levels of government;
• the relationship between immigration and the emergence of populist parties;
• the effect of immigration on the demand for and utilization of public services such as health services, (un)employment benefits, social assistance, job-related services and pensions;
• the impact of immigration on the demand for and use of urban services (youth services, services to the elderly and to homemakers);
• the net impact of immigration on tax and other revenues at all levels of government;
• the impact of immigration on institutional structures for the design and delivery of health care, social assistance, employment and community services, including police and correctional services;
• the adaptation of norms, institutional rules and delivery of services to the needs and values of cultural and religious minorities;
• the impact of immigration on the variety of public services available to the Canadian public.

Physical infrastructure domain

The key topics in the physical infrastructure domain are:

• the effect of immigration on the demand for and use of public space, including parks, playgrounds, clubs, sports facilities and community centres;
• the impact of immigration on the location and pattern of entertainment in the metropolis;
• the effect of immigration on housing demand and housing stock;
• the effect of immigration on urban development, including issues of renewal of the urban core;
• the relationship between immigration and the formation of ethnic, cultural or religious enclaves; the dynamics of enclaves — their role in integration (bridging or isolating), their economic role, their effect on city life, on urban renewal, on public safety, and so forth;
• the relationship between metropolitan infrastructure (the quantity, quality and distribution of housing and public space) and immigrant integration;
• the impact of immigration on the carrying capacity of the physical infrastructure and the need for public investment (e.g., public transport, the provision of sewers and water).

Annual Conferences

The Centres will participate in an annual workshop involving representatives from each Centre and relevant stakeholders. The Centres will take the lead in organizing and hosting this event, which will allow researchers, partner organizations and other stakeholders to share information and present their findings. The workshop will also provide an opportunity for Centres to coordinate their activities and plan possible joint projects. Proceedings of these annual workshops will be published.

Researchers from the Centres may also be invited to participate in annual international conferences (scheduled to begin in fall 1996) organized within the framework of the Metropolis Project. These conferences will allow researchers to share and discuss their findings with colleagues from Canada and abroad. The conferences will include policy makers and other stakeholders who can benefit from the research findings and exchange information on domestic and international policies and best practices.

The annual workshop may serve as a forum to identify papers which would be submitted to the international conference. Papers for both the domestic and international events must address policy issues and are encouraged to be comparative in scope.

Community Service

In a number of Canadian cities, CIC is launching a process to help identify issues and policy concerns. These will emerge from the formation of contact groups of stakeholders including different levels of government, NGOs, business firms and local agencies. The groups will identify issues that would benefit from research and from information about best practices at home and abroad.

The Centres will establish a process for engaging the contact groups and for making expertise available to address their concerns. This will require attendance at meetings, the establishment of a process for acquainting researchers and students with the policy issues identified by the regional contacts groups and a method for taking account of policy concerns in the research conducted by the Centres. Once funding is awarded, the Centres will be expected to participate with SSHRC and CIC in exploring different models for promoting policy relevant research.

Eligible Applicants

Applications to establish a Centre are invited from Canadian universities, or consortia of post-secondary institutions led by universities, capable of undertaking research activities relevant to the objectives of this program.

The formation of inter-institutional consortia (i.e., joint centres or multi-node centres) is strongly encouraged. Such consortia will be accorded priority in this program. Innovative arrangements for the coordination and management of the proposed consortium will be required, including steering committees or boards made up of academic researchers from each participating institution as well as partners and stakeholders from the relevant sectors. Agreements among the members of a consortium will need to be put into place, setting out their respective roles and responsibilities and formalizing the coordinating mechanisms. These need not be finalized at the time of application but will require confirmation before a grant is made.

No more than one application will be accepted from an institution, and an institution may appear as an applicant or consortium member on only one application. As communities are expected to collaborate actively in the work of the Centres, applicants must demonstrate that structures facilitating the active involvement of the community and stakeholders will be set up.

The host institution(s) is expected to provide substantial support to the Centre. At a minimum, this should include general infrastructural support (provision of space, furniture, equipment, etc.), and access to university resources and facilities (library and archival services, computing services, etc.) greater than that normally available to research faculty. Other more substantive types of support are also expected, such as course release for the director and other key academic staff of the Centre. The strength of the university commitment and support will be a criterion in the evaluation of a proposal to establish a Centre.

Award Value and Duration

The program will support up to three Centres of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration. A maximum of $340,000 a year will be available to each Centre for a period of up to six years.

Application Procedure

Applications must be submitted on letter-size (8½" x 11") paper and include the following information (on the maximum number of pages noted for each part listed):

Part A: Signature Page

State the name of the proposed Centre and the names of the principal applicant, the director of the Centre and the president(s) of the post-secondary institution(s) making the application. The principal applicant need not be the same person as the proposed Centre's director. The principal applicant will be responsible for the administration of any grant awarded, whereas the director will be responsible for the Centre's intellectual direction and day-to-day operations.

The principal applicant must sign the application. The signature confirms:

• the accuracy of all information provided
• acceptance of the terms and conditions of the grant
• that the applicant understands the Access to Information and Privacy Acts as they pertain to grant application information
• that the applicant has read and agrees to comply with the Tri-Council Policy on Integrity in Research and Scholarship (copies of which may be obtained from SSHRC)
• that the applicant understands that competition results will be made available through the university research office shortly after completion of the adjudication committee meetings.

An original signature is also required from the president(s) of the institutions implicated in the application. The signature(s) certifies:

• accordance of the budgetary estimates with the university's rates and policies
• the university's willingness to administer any grant received according to SSHRC policies and the terms and conditions of the SSHRC/CIC joint initiative
• the university will release funds to the Centre once all conditions have been met, in accordance with a payment schedule to be worked out with SSHRC/CIC
• the university will notify SSHRC of any change in the status of the grantholder(s) during tenure of the award.

Part B: Summary (maximum one page)

Provide a summary of the proposed Centre. Include a statement of the objectives of the Centre and how the activities of the Centre will advance those objectives. Also identify the research domains to be pursued and their priority. Write the summary in a form suitable for general audiences since it may be used by SSHRC and CIC for publicity purposes.

Part C: Research Team (maximum one page, plus résumés)

Describe on one page the research team and the roles and contributions of each member. Include brief résumés of the Centre's director and all co-investigators. List (on two pages maximum) the person's academic and professional experience, degrees (including name of the degree, as well as where and when it was earned), languages, areas of research expertise, academic awards and distinctions, and relevant research publications.

Part D: Research Program (maximum 15 pages)

Describe the Centre's research program, including the conceptual framework, general methodological approach, and analytic framework. Include a research plan that sets out milestones. Outline the proposed Centre's existing strengths in each of the research domains it plans to cover, and the relative priority it will accord to each within the overall research agenda. Discuss the potential policy implications of the proposed research.

(Note: Proposed research involving human subjects must undergo an ethics review by an appropriate university committee. Applicants may wish to consult SSHRC's Ethics Guidelines for Research Involving Human Subjects, copies of which are available from the Council on request.)

Part E: Partnerships and Collaboration (maximum two pages, plus letters of support)

Partnerships are defined as ongoing, active working relationships with organizations in the private and/or public sectors, excluding post-secondary institutions.

Describe how sustained partnerships and collaboration will occur among the academic researchers and other stakeholders in the public and private sectors. Outline the roles and contributions of the actual and potential partners, specifying the nature of their support for the Centre.

Letters of support from partners or other stakeholders, describing the nature of their role and contribution may be appended to this section. Applicants are not required to provide letters of support but are encouraged to do so. Funding for successful applicants may be conditional on securing and finalizing partnership agreements.

Part F: Management Structure and Consortium Arrangements (maximum two pages)

Describe the location of the Centre within the structures of the applicant university or consortium members, including pertinent reporting relationships. Outline linkages with departments, faculties, institutes and other bodies both within and external to the host institution(s). Describe the proposed management structure of the Centre, including the makeup of boards and mechanisms for effective coordination, communication and networking. Also describe the structures envisaged to facilitate the active involvement of partner organizations, community and stakeholder groups.

In an application involving a consortium, the proposed agreements governing inter-institutional collaboration and setting out the respective roles and responsibilities of the members must be outlined. (These agreements do not have to be finalized at the time of application.)

Part G: International Linkages (maximum one page)

Describe actual or anticipated linkages with international efforts in related areas.

Part H: Research Training (maximum one page)

Outline the training opportunities for students and young researchers, including the impact of the Centre on teaching and degree programs.

Part I: Dissemination of Findings (maximum five pages)

Outline the Centre's plans for communicating its research findings as broadly as possible to both academic and non-academic audiences. The use of both traditional and non-traditional dissemination vehicles (e.g., multimedia presentations) is encouraged. Centres are also encouraged to use state of the art communications technology where available. In their dissemination activities, Centres may draw upon the services of the communications or public relations departments of the host universities or upon the services of independent communications professionals.

Part J: University Commitment (maximum one page)

State the nature and extent of the participating universities' commitment and support for the Centre.

Part K: Budget (maximum six pages)

Provide a detailed 12-month budget for each of the six years the Centre will operate, breaking down expenditures by major budget categories. Identify other sources of support that are available or which will be sought. Provide a brief justification for the budget, including, for example, the rationale for hiring staff.

Identify direct research costs consistent with the program objectives, including research coordination activities, networking, workshops, training, dissemination, and liaison between researchers and other stakeholders. Include the costs associated with participation in the annual workshop and conference (described on page 6 above), including funds to defray the costs of organizing and holding the annual workshop.

Funds awarded may be used to defray direct research costs only. Eligible costs include:

• administrative and support staff salaries;
• research assistants (both students and professionals);
• travel and subsistence for data gathering and consultation;
• office expenditures such as stationery, postage, photocopying and telephone calls;
• small-scale equipment such as personal computers and related software;
• fees for communications professionals engaged to write material for specific audiences, and for the preparation of audio-visual materials.

The program will not cover salaries or release time stipends for participants who hold faculty appointments. Grant funds may not be used to defray costs incurred by partner organizations.

Protection of Personal Information

All information provided in the application is subject to the Access to Information and Privacy Acts. The confidentiality of applications is governed by the Privacy Act, the specific purpose of which is to protect the privacy of individuals with respect to personal information about themselves held by a federal government institution and to provide individuals with a right of access to such information. The Act also stipulates that personal information obtained shall not, without the consent of the individual to whom it relates, be used except for the purpose for which it was collected or for a use consistent with that purpose.

All personal information provided in an application will be maintained in Personal Information Banks SHR PPU 020, SHR PPU 035, and SHR PPU 055, which are protected under the provisions of the federal Privacy Act.

Co-applicants on group applications should be aware that the comments of the peer review committee are accessible to all team members, it being expected that the principal applicant will make these available to the team members. As a matter of procedure, however, SSHRC normally provides feedback only through the principal applicants.

SSHRC may be required to provide the full contents of a file pertaining to an organization which is successful in a competition in response to a request for information submitted by a third party under the Access to Information Act. Comments made about the applicant or any other individual would, however, be excluded since they would be considered personal information and would not be accessible under the Access to Information Act.

Applicants may obtain certain information from their files and, if necessary, request that any errors be corrected. For more information on the right to inspect and correct personal information, consult SSHRC or Info Source: Sources of Federal Government Information.

Info Source is available in book form or as a computer database across Canada, including major public and academic libraries, and federal government offices.

All information gathered by SSHRC is used for reviewing applications, administering grants , establishing databases for program planning and evaluation, and developing a bank of potential external assessors and committee members. Personal information will be disclosed to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada for purposes of monitoring and evaluating the progr Post-Award Administration and Monitoring

A progress report, along with a financial report, must be submitted annually by each Centre. The report should include a statement of the objectives, schedule of activities and workplan for the coming year. The report will be reviewed by a committee of peers, and feedback will be provided. During the third year of the award, each Centre must submit a detailed mid-term progress report. An in-depth review of progress, which may involve a site visit by experts, will take place at this time. The final three years of funding will depend on satisfactory progress.

The funding partners (CIC and SSHRC) reserve the right to conduct periodic visits to the Centres to exchange information and to assist the award holders as needed. Detailed terms of reference for grant holders, including instructions on reporting requirements, will be provided to the successful applicants.

Application Deadline

Only one competition will be held under this program. Deadline for the submission of applications is September 15, 1995.

Applications are to be sent to the Strategic Grants Division, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, 350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1610, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 6G4.

Announcement of Awards

Applicants will be notified of the results of the competition by December 12, 1995.