Professionals Who Work with Immigrants Wanted as Research Participants

(Text below copied from the Wellesley newsletter)

Wellesley Institute is conducting research building on our Thriving in the City framework to better reflect the additional resources and services that new immigrants require to live a healthy life in the GTA.

For the purposes of this study, new immigrants are immigrants who obtained permanent residency through an economic immigration pathway within the past five years.

We are holding consultations with professionals with relevant experience to provide feedback on the existing Thriving in the City framework to understand if the listed items address the needs of new immigrants in the GTA and would help them thrive.

We are recruiting up to 30 stakeholders to participate in the consultations.

We are seeking research participants who are professionals working with immigrants.

Participants must:

• Provide direct services, support, or advocacy for new immigrants (immigrants who obtained permanent residency through an economic immigration pathway within the past five years) in the GTA (e.g., settlement, healthcare, social services, or employment support).
• Have professional experience working with recent immigrants within the past five years.
• Be able to participate in a virtual focus group in English and comfortable with audio recording.

What will I do?

The focus group will take up to 90 minutes and will be conducted virtually. The discussion will be audio recorded via Zoom and transcribed for analysis. You will be asked to complete a brief screening process via phone or zoom to confirm your eligibility before the focus group. We will be conducting focus groups between summer and fall 2026.  

If you are interested in participating in this study or would like more information, please contact:

Yu-Ling Yin, Principal Investigator

yuling.yin@wellesleyinstitute.com

416-972-1010 ext. 257

Anoushka Chandarana, Principal Investigator

Anoushka.Chandarana@wellesleyinstitute.com

416-972-1010 ext. 257

Reviewed and approved by the Toronto Metropolitan University Research Ethics Board [REB protocol number 2026 - 199]. If you have questions about your rights as a participant, please contact the Research Ethics Board at rebchair@torontomu.ca