Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

This paper discusses human migration from a social innovation perspective. Social innovation involves creating and implementing new solutions to social and/or environmental challenges – and making a difference. It includes collaboration among government, business and non-profit entities, such as NGOs. Sustainability is a cross-cutting theme. The method is case-based, with the city (in this case Winnipeg, Canada) as the unit of analysis. Sources of evidence include published reports, news items, press releases, web-sites and interviews. Identification and description of social innovations that address migration issues highlight the findings. The study is limited to only one city in one destination country. Destination characteristics imply unique migrant needs, migration routes and dominant nations of origin. However, the findings can be cautiously generalized beyond the City of Winnipeg in Canada. The paper includes a research agenda. Among the implications are practical suggestions for collaboration among various stakeholders and entities (businesses, governments, NGOs) working with migrants or impacted by flows of migrants. Particular innovations are matched with specific destinations and routes. Migration has important implications for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), along with social sustainability in general. These implications inspire public policy recommendations. Ideally, migration would be a positive experience for all stakeholders, including migrants, those left behind at the country of origin, and destination country communities. Due to the current pandemic, the paper includes a discussion of COVID-19 implications for migration. This appears to be among the first studies linking social innovation and migration.