Pathways to socio-economic and civic-political inclusion of ethnic minorities in Britain and Canada: The influence of family capital

Social cohesion is perceived as an important social goal within academic and policy circles. A crucial precondition to this goal is social inclusion, i.e. ensuring that individuals become full members of society by accessing societal resources and institutions (i.e. schools; the labour market; civic and political life). In recent decades, fast-growing ethnic diversity has led to intensifying policy and academic debates on how this is affecting processes of social inclusion and cohesion. Examining the factors influencing ethnic inclusion has thus increased in importance but has often focussed on specific, separate spheres - e.g. socio-economic, cultural or spatial. Recent research has shown, however, that exclusion (i.e. a lack of inclusion) in the socio-economic sphere is linked to exclusion in civic-political arenas for certain minority groups. This calls for further research on the dynamics of ethnic inclusion into the economic and civic-political spheres, the interplay of these two spheres, and how these lifelong processes are shaped by family influences.

Given this, our aim with this project is to take a collaborative, comparative, and policy-oriented approach to investigate the patterns of ethnic minority inclusion within British and Canadian socio-economic and civic-political institutions over time and assess the role that family capital plays in determining the inclusion trajectories of individuals. We use the best available data sources (including Understanding Society; the Millennium Cohort Study; the British Election Study in Britain and National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Youth in Transition Survey, and the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics in Canada) and the most sophisticated longitudinal statistical analyses to do so. Our research team, which includes investigators at the University of Manchester, McGill University and the Runnymede Trust, has extensive experience to address the following questions:

1. What are the pathways to inclusion of ethnic minorities into British and Canadian institutions?
We are interested in identifying and defining outcomes of socio-economic and civic-political inclusion; the interplay of inclusion in these two spheres; whether outcomes observed at one point in time vary over time (i.e. pathways); whether outcomes and pathways are consistent across ethnic, gender, generational and class lines; and whether there are similarities and differences in the inclusion outcomes and pathways in comparison to the 'majority' population.
2. What role does family capital (financial, human, social and cultural) play?
We wish to explore the impact of various forms of family capital on the observed outcomes and pathways of inclusion as well as the points in individuals' lives where these family influences are most important. We also seek to shed light on how the role of family capital is affected by family structure and characteristics as well as the composition of the local areas in which families are embedded.
3. What are the best ways to address the differentials in family influences?
Drawing on the full body of evidence from data analysis (as described above) and feedback from research and policy stakeholders, we want to reflect on how issues of exclusion linked to varying levels of family capital could be tackled by policy makers, with an emphasis on identifying the most effective measures of family capital.
4. Do different policy environments generate different types of outcomes?
We wish to explore the role that varying policy context (i.e. Canada and Britain) may play on inclusion outcomes and pathways and on the role of the family capital, with a focus on building a strong evidence base for shaping policy debates.

Outputs of the project will be made available to a wide-ranging audience via diverse dissemination and impact activities such as the publication of policy briefings, press releases, and dissemination events.

We have identified research beneficiaries in four main spheres:

Public sector
The main public stakeholders include local and national government departments and agencies in the UK and Canada (e.g. departments of education, electoral commissions), as the project tackles important policy issues such as educational and labour market attainment and involvement in political and civic activities, which are closely related to the broader policy areas of social cohesion and inclusion. The main policy value of the project is the outputs through which we will provide evidence-based recommendations on possible areas of intervention. Opportunities for links with the third sector and academia will also be provided. The dissemination of outputs will rely on the close collaboration with the Runnymede Trust, which will help shape and manage the dissemination plan in the UK. Professor Smith's established links will facilitate similar connections in Canada. The project's findings will be disseminated and actively discussed with beneficiaries, firstly, through roundtable workshops (both in Canada and the UK), press releases, and a final project event (in the UK). Secondly, this audience will be reached through online channels such as the project website, social media, newsletters (primarily the one distributed by Runnymede Trust but also by other third sector organisations which we aim to liaise and develop stronger ties with), and blogs on existing platforms (e.g. research blogs in the UK and Canada).

Third sector
The involvement of Runnymede will be crucial to maximise impact in this sphere in the UK and Canada. Third sector organisations dealing with issues of cohesion and inclusion will benefit from the online and face-to-face dissemination and discussion of the project outputs. The outputs will constitute a relevant evidence-based source of information for the work carried out by these beneficiaries. Moreover, the events will provide a space for networking and collaboration with other stakeholders (e.g. public sector, academics). In this sphere of impact, we will capitalise on existing connections with the Third Sector (i.e. local and national think tanks and organisations), established as part of our past and current research, and will aim to expand these networks with liaising with other organisations.

General public
The social value of this project will be mainly represented by the dissemination of research outputs. This will contribute to improving the quality of public debate by providing evidence-based information on the issues of interest. More broadly, the public, and particularly ethnic minorities affected by issues of social exclusion, would benefit from the influence that the project might have on policy implementation. By disseminating the project's outputs through online channels, we aim to reach out to this wider public. The general public will also be invited to take part in the roundtable workshops (both in Canada and the UK) and the final project event so as to allow this audience to directly contribute to the discussion about the project's findings. Runnymede will issue press releases for the briefings (and for the final project event), and target relevant national and specialist print and broadcast media for wider coverage in the general public.

Academia
The main academic beneficiaries of this research would be researchers from a various disciplines (e.g. sociology, politics, demography, economics, education, and geography) in the UK, Canada, and elsewhere. The main benefit will be the production of empirical and theoretical knowledge on the issues studied and the use of new methodologies. This will be achieved by disseminating academic outputs via publications, conferences, and workshops; inviting academics to the project events; and sharing the methodological skills acquired via talks and training workshops delivered as part of university's training programmes or departmental seminar series.