This project considers integration as a process that requires contributions from all of society and by all communities (not just immigrants but also locals), is multi-faceted (has physical, socio-economic, cultural, civic and identity dimensions), is spatially defined (happens locally but involves national frameworks as well as transnational linkages), and evolves with time (at different paces, in different spheres) (Dahinden 2016; Triadafilopoulos 2022). We consider integration as an interactive process, (of becoming ‘integrated’), that involves phases of personal and social change among individuals, communities, and institutions (Spencer and Charsley 2016; 2021). We adopt a life course perspective that acknowledges the importance of individual migration trajectories. We consider integration to be linked to the pre-arrival phase. The pathway through which one has entered a country (e.g. as a student, asylum seeker, spouse, worker and so on) contributes to shaping their integration pathway. Moreover, migrants’ education, work experience, family situation, expectations, and access to information or networks shape the opportunities and barriers they face after arriving in Canada. We adopt the notion of a pathway as a heuristic device that helps us operationalise the interaction between the individual migrant and their family – their decisions, actions, preferences; the integration infrastructures (including services and service providers, local authorities, civil society organisations, education institutions, employers, community networks); and policies and regulatory frameworks which provide the macro-framework within which integration happens. We conceptualise different integration spheres (status, housing, employment, health, education, feelings of belonging, everyday socialisation) as different lanes alongside the integration pathway. These lanes are closely intertwined and interdependent. For instance, health is crucial for employment but also for education; employment is conducive to good health as well as supports adequate housing; but adequate housing can facilitate employment or training; the different dimensions may all be supportive, or not, of feelings of belonging and of social relationships with other people in the community. The integration pathway is non-linear, and each lane may be navigated at different paces. Progress along the integration pathway can be fragmented with different ‘stops’ and intermediate way stations on each lane. Each lane involves nodal points where the migrant experiences barriers or enablers of access to services, which in turn may speed, delay, interrupt or restart their integration process. For instance, a migrant that has access to an employment or retraining program may restart their labour market integration which had previously stalled. A migrant that loses access to healthcare because of a change in their legal status or employment situation, experiences a barrier to their integration in this domain. We consider access to services as a nuanced process rather than as an on/off, yes/no situation. Access to services involves barriers and enabling conditions. For instance, the provision of an employment service in multiple languages makes it more accessible, the provision of free childcare during a retraining or upskilling program increases its accessibility particularly for young mothers. By contrast the lack of cultural sensitivity in health provision may put off some migrant or refugee patients; the absence of a service in a given locality or the lack of public transportation, or the timing of an upskilling or orientation program may create barriers to access. The integration pathway can best be visualised as a game of Chutes and Ladders – where people can climb but can also fall in their effort to ‘become integrated’. The metaphor of this game is particularly apt because it signals the existence of nodal points – where you climb up a ladder or fall down a cliff. Such turning points are both objective – related to effective access to a service or change in one’s situation (e.g. acquiring a secure legal status, finding a job, completing a course, starting a health treatment) – but they are also subjective – related to how the migrant feels or perceives specific events (e.g. their decision to shift career path or downplay their career aspirations, or a moment when they feel they belong to a place or a phase in which they feel helpless). This project considers settlement support organisations as an integral part of the pathway to integration conceptualised above and thus pays close attention to the current challenges facing the settlement sector. During the last year, important funding cuts have seriously threatened the capacity of the settlement sector to support migrants’ across different dimensions of integration. The project looks at how these cuts are impacting the capacity of the settlement sector and what can be the role of ADTS in offsetting the cuts. Importantly, the project does not treat digital technologies as simple solutions to funding cuts or service gaps. Instead, it examines both their potential and their risks, including inequalities for migrants facing language barriers, limited digital literacy, lack of internet access, privacy concerns, or distrust of institutional systems.