2011 Diversity Research Forum

In Hamilton, New Zealand on August 22, as part of the National Diversity Forum, CACR ran the National Forum for Diversity Research. Professor James Liu from CACR was MC, and three research presentations were given. These follow below. 

New Land, New Life – New Refugee Research Findings from the Department of Labour

Keith McLeod & Wendy Searle (IMSED, Dept of Labour)

We will begin by outlining the work of IMSED Research at a high level, particularly in the context of recent changes within the Department of Labour, and will discuss the likely work programme over the next year or two.  We will then talk more specifically about the Quota Refugees Ten Years On: Perspectives on Integration, Community and Identity  research programme, which is coming to a culmination. This research examines the long-term outcomes for people who originally came to New Zealand through the Refugee Quota Category between 1993 and 1999.  Information was primarily gathered through a face-to-face survey of 512 former refugees, but this was complemented by other approaches.  Preliminary findings across a number of domains will be presented.

Economic research on diversity: international perspectives

Jacques Poot, University of Waikato

In recent years there has been growing interest in measuring and analysing the economic impacts of diverse populations, communities and work forces. This research has been facilitated by new data: micro-level linked data from administrative sources and surveys; and also cross-country comparative data. In this presentation I will present some of the findings. As co-principal investigator of the Migrant Diversity and Regional Disparity in Europe (MIDI-REDIE ) programme, I will focus in particular on European findings and comment on their relevance for New Zealand.

Settlement and Integration Outcomes : Research Findings From the Integration of Immigrants Programme

Paul Spoonley

The Integration of Immigrants Programme (Objective 2) is in the process of conducting repeat interviews with immigrant employers and employees for five key immigrant groups : Indians, Chinese, Koreans, British and South African immigrants. The aim is to explore how they experience settlement and the strategies they employ as they seek to establish a new life in Auckland and Hamilton. But there are other important dimensions to settlement including the importance and nature of networks, the co-location of same-ethnic businesses in precincts and the narratives of immigrant entrepreneurs - as well as external opportunities, gatekeeper attitudes and policies. A key component is the nature of the "relational embeddedness" for some immigrant groups and a relatively laissez-faire policy environment (as represented in the Royal Commission on Governance for Auckland). A summary of this material will be presented at the Diversity Research Forum.