Organization Name / Toronto Area Quadrant Local Immigration Partnerships
Organization Description / The Local Immigration Partnership (LIP) is a federally funded program designed to build networks and collaborations among agencies that work with newcomers.
The Parkdale Interagency Referral Network is a consortium of four agencies from different sectors in Toronto’s Parkdaleneighbourhood. These agencies are Parkdale Community Information Centre, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Parkdale Intercultural Association and Kababayan Multicultural Centre. This network seeks to engage in strong inter-agency communication, partnering, collaboration, and efficient use of services. Through effective and efficient referral, the goal of this partnership is to provide “one-stop” access to the full continuum of support services that might be required to serve newcomers.
Division or Department / Toronto East Quadrant Local Immigration Partnership
Website /
(east)
+ two more
PROJECT INFORMATION
Project Description
PLEASE BE AS CLEAR AND SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE, i.e. What is the problem that your organization is trying to solve?
Why is it an important problem?
How does the project fit into your organization’s regular operations?
PGI is a student-led organization. Why/how could you benefit from student-run consulting? / Study on feasibility of:
o scaling up a neighbourhood-based common assessment and referral system (Parkdale Common Referral Protocol) or
o implementing it in a different neighbourhood
Include:
A. Description of current model / Assessment on how the system currently works in Parkdale (2 months, October – November)
o History and development: how was it established, how does it work
- Environmental: community, partners involved, resources needed
- Key informant interviews (maximum of four) with our Parkdale partners. The consultants will be asked to develop a list of interview questions, and we will provide guidance for what we’d like consultants to look for.
o Key ingredients necessary for its success
B. Feasibility of scaling it up (2 months, December – January)
a.Key informant interviews/focus group in Kensington-Chinatown to assess feasibility of scaling the program up.
b. How can it be scaled up? What is needed (partners, technical requirements/conditions, $$)
c.Recommendations for scaling – what needs to be in place (e.g., technical requirements, collaboration among agencies, human resources/training on using the tool, additional funding, agreement contracts by partners to participate) for it to be scaled up successfully?
C. Feasibility of implementing it in another community – case study with Malvern (2 months, February – March)
a.Review of environmental/community context, partners, existing collaboration via 4-5 key informant interviews and potentially a focus group.
b. Conditions needed for implementing it –what is available, what is missing, cost/benefit considerations
c.Recommendations for implementation
d. There may potentially be another focus group in this phase with another network downtown.
D. Overall conclusion and recommendations for next steps (1 month, April)
Consultants will be expected to travel to Parkdale, Kensington and Malvern to conduct interviews/focus groups. Many meetings will be held downtown.
Desired Project Start Date / October 2015
Project Duration / 7 months – ending April 2016
Research and Analysis Required / Series of interviews with key informants in Parkdale; Focus group/ key informant interviews in Kensington & Malvern; Documentation analysis
Deliverables Expected / Midterm Deliverable (due in December): Completion of assessment of Parkdale model, detailing history and development, and identifying the key ingredients to its success presented in a report. Preliminary feasibility estimates and/or a plan for completing the feasibility study.
Final Deliverable: Final report summarizing findings from the midterm deliverable, in addition, including the full feasibility study of Parkdale, results from the case study in Malvern/Kensington, and final conclusions and recommendations. Final Presentation deck with findings looking specifically at feasibility of expansion. /
Timelines / An update to the task group on the project status at the beginning of December/January and a final presentation in April 2016. /
Resources to be Provided / Students would have access to a desk space, computer, printer and photocopier and telephone if needed. There will also be at least 2 staff onsite and students will be able to consult with the project partners where appropriate. Apart from meetings and interviews, most of the work can be completed remotely.
Project Impact / This project is designed to:
*capture key learnings from a cross-sectoralneighbourhood- based model already in action
*leverage the learnings to provide a vehicle for other agencies to replicate the same strong partnership.
The project will provide a proven approach to help the LIPs develop a multi-sectoral common referral system on a larger scale. It will also allow the development of a smaller existing system in a controlled way that will allow it to be scaled up and available for application to a larger partnership.
We expect the following outcomes:
- Impact on partner agencies – Through collaboratively exploring the potential of a standardized, multi-sectoral referral system, this project will facilitate increased collaboration and networking between the regional LIPs and for our partners.
- Impact on the social services sector – This project has the potential to contribute to greater service coordination and integration within the larger social services sector (not just the settlement sector) which will help facilitate “one-stop” access to various services needed by newcomers. This will result in easier and more holistic access to services to support the successful settlement of newcomer clients.
- Impact on organizational effectiveness – Funding is increasingly scarce and most funders are demanding more efficient use of resources by organizations. This is especially the case for agencies and programs serving newcomers, where resources continue to diminish. Our partners agree that a standardized multi-sectoral referral protocol for service providers serving newcomers would go a long way in reducing the amount of staff time involved in needs assessment and referral, thereby leaving more time for staff to focus on programming, service delivery and better supporting newcomer clients. Also, given its multi-sectoral approach, this type of system would also serve clients better by facilitating access to different service sectors (not just settlement) in an efficient and timely manner. For this reason, this initiative is of great importance.
CONSULTANT INFORMATION
Number of Consultants Required / A team of 4 /
Expected Hours per Week, per Consultant / 4 hours per week /
What the Consultants can Expect / Hone their facilitation skills through collaborative planning and decision making with large group of diverse agencies
Gain experience analyzing data from a variety of sources.
Develop Knowledge Transfer and Exchange skills by creating easy to read info graphics and other visual documents
Increase awareness of newcomer and settlement issues
Increase awareness of service collaborations /
Desired Qualifications* / Strong understanding of partnership and service collaboration /
PROJECT COORDINATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact Person and Title / IrmtraudHutflessProject Manager |
Address / Toronto East Quadrant Local Immigration Partnership
Catholic Crosscultural Services
55 Town Centre Court, Suite 401, Scarborough, ONM1P 4X4 /
Telephone / Tel:416.757.7010 ext. 214|Fax:416.757.7399|
Fax
Email /
OTHER INFORMATION
A more in-depth plan was drafted for an earlier application to a large funder. This work may strengthen that unsuccessful application. Consultants will have access to this plan so that they can understand how the project fits in our overall operations. /
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