Project Overview

The aim of the Community Intermediaries Research Project (CIRP) is to investigate the social challenges and needs addressed by Canadian non-profit community-based organizations, the social and community contexts in which they operate, and the information and services they provide to citizens.

These organizations are “community intermediaries” because they act as links between the various levels of government (federal, provincial, and municipal) and citizens, providing social services and information to their clients and communities.

The primary objective of CIRP is to investigate the opportunities and challenges facing four community intermediaries as they deliver adult formal and informal learning, skills and training services, health information and services, and general community information and community development activities. The CIRP research examines how these community intermediaries are using information and communication technologies (ICT) as well as other means of communication (e.g., in-person visits, telephones, written correspondence, etc.) to deliver government information, services and programs.

The CIRP research team is using a case-study, mixed methods approach. The four in-depth case studies will generate data gathered from fieldwork using: onsite observations; in-depth interviews with managerial and staff members; focus group discussions with staff (paid staff and volunteers) and with clients; and self-directed surveys with the organization’s staff, volunteers and clients. Quantitative analysis will produce in-depth community profiles using secondary Statistics Canada census data. Data will also be gathered from the various forms of content generated by the organizations to deliver the services and information they provide to their respective clients (web pages, pamphlets, newsletters, etc.).

At the end of the project, the research team will produce a final report in both official languages that includes the analysis and lessons learned from all four case studies. It is expected that this report will help to improve the policy and program responses of the federal government research partners.

Our research results could have an impact on the following sectors : federal policies related to delivery of public information and services.

Possible applications include : technology assessment of the ICT needs and capabilities of community intermediaries in Canada