Integration and Welcome-ability Indexes: Measures of Community Capacity to Integrate Immigrants

We develop two indexes to measure the capacities of communities to welcome and integrate newcomers: (1) a welcome-ability index – an indicator of integration capacity and opportunities in communities, and (2) an integration index – a measure of economic, social, and political integration of individuals. The latter is an outcome of the processes measured by the former. The first, a community-level measure, takes into account opportunities and facilities, including employment and educational opportunities, facilities for health care, positive attitudes towards immigrants, and opportunities for political participation. The second, an individual-level measure, takes into account the multi-dimensionality of societal integration, specifically, economic inclusion and parity, social recognition and belonging, political involvement that insures the legitimacy of institutions, and civic participation. The welcome-ability index is illustrated with data gathered for a project that collated baseline information on Ontario communities served by local partnerships specifically tasked with enhancing the capacities of communities to welcome newcomers.
The integration index is developed with data from the 2008 Canadian General Social Survey on Social Networks.