Setting a Research Agenda:

1
Setting a Research Agenda
Human Resources and Social Development
2
Seven Knowledge Strategies

• Demographic shifts changing needs
• People with Disabilities
• Child Development
• Challenges for Canadian Families
• Seniors
• Well-being and Participation over the Life Course
• Social interactions and networks
• Social and Economic Inclusion
• Inclusive Communities, the Voluntary Sector and
  the Social Economy

3
People with Disabilities

• Major Questions
• Inclusion to what degree do people with
  disabilities enjoy equal opportunity in all
  elements of Canadian society?
• Participation what works in assuring the voice
  of people with disabilities is heard?
• Access/Accessibility where do barriers to
  inclusion and participation remain

4
Child Development

• Main Conclusions
• The development of older children and youth.
• Data required on users of child care, care
  providers and the quality of child care.
• The NLSCY new cohorts of children are required.
  
• Research methodologies need to be sensitive to
  cultural differences.
• Major Questions
• How effective are policies for childrens
  development over time?
• What is the relationship between families, their
  communities and child development?
• Why are there apparent differences in gender
  development, and in sub-populations, among older
  children?

5
Challenges for Canadian Families

• Main Conclusions
• Continue to closely monitor the dynamics of
  family change.
• Expand the examination of families beyond the
  co-residential unit.
• Multiple research approaches should be used to
  examine families.
• Major Questions
• What are the values and attitudes of Canadians
  across various dimensions of family living?
• What are the major influences impacting the
  balancing of work and family across the life
  course?
• How do family units provide care for each other
  over the life course?
• What are the factors impacting low fertility in
  Canada?

6
Seniors

• Main Conclusions
• Institutions need to adapt to changing interests,
  needs and abilities of seniors, particularly
  those of the senior subgroups.
• There is a continued need for longitudinal data
  on senior individuals, families and communities
  in order to address the multidisciplinary
  knowledge gaps on well-being and participation
  over the senior life course.
• Major Questions
• What are the capabilities and barriers of
  different subgroups of seniors to participation
  in institutions?
• What is the capacity of institutions to adapt to
  seniors interests, needs and abilities,
  particularly those of the senior subgroups?
• How are seniors perceived by non-senior
  individuals and by institutions?

7
Social and Economic Inclusion

• Main Conclusions
• Social inclusion is a valuable concept for
  understanding the dynamics of exclusion and the
  pathways to inclusion.
• We can learn from the approaches developed in
  other countries and also from work on systemic
  racism, ethnicity, citizenship, gender, and on
  caring.
• There is important work to be done in the areas
  of data development, indicators,
  modeling/experimentation and causal analysis.
• Major Questions
• What are the drivers of social and economic
  exclusion?
• How does social exclusion affect different
  population groups ?
• What data, indicators, models and types of
  analysis would help us to better understand the
  dynamics of exclusion and inclusion?

8
Inclusive Communities, the Voluntary Sector and
the Social Economy

• Main Conclusions
• There is a need to further engage stakeholders
  before developing a full knowledge strategy.
• Major Questions
• What is the state of knowledge on communities and
  community actors? What do we know about existing
  knowledge production and transmission networks?
• What data do we need in order to get a better
  profile of communities, the social economy and
  the voluntary sector?
• What are the dynamics of relationship and
  capacity building within communities? What are
  the best practices and lessons learned?