Impact & Results

Transforming Lives

IM&M+ has been building its evidence-base for nearly 10 years. It has been evaluated annually since its launch in New Brunswick in 2014. It was evaluated by Blueprint ADE in an Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation project, three pilot site deliveries. In 2020, it was tested in 24 sites across 6 provinces through a research project funded by the Future Skills Centre (interim results below). Currently, it is embarking on a comparative analysis in 14 sites in 5 provinces. Findings for this research will be published in 2024.

 

circle of motion

Highlights from New Brunswick (2014 - )

 

The New Brunswick Government’s analysis of 3-years of province-wide delivery of IM&M+ shows compelling evidence that participants move more effectively through the service system toward employment and that it breaks cycles of dependence on social assistance (IM&M Evaluation Report, 2018).

Since IM&M+’s province-wide introduction in New Brunswick in 2014, 2,200 people are no longer on social assistance.  Conservatively, that is a 15-to-20-million-dollar savings for the government over a seven-year period.

  • Instrumental In Igniting the Internal Motivation of Thousands of People in NB

    In Motion and Momentum+ In New Brunswick

    We are extremely proud at the New Brunswick Department of Social Development to have partnered with CCDF in the creation of the IM&M+ modules. The concept was created by front line staff to address a severe need that nobody seemed to have an answer for. How do we help people with multiple barriers light that internal flame of belief, confidence and hope for a better future and build a stable foundation for employment? We are so happy to have risked doing something completely different. We decided to provide people with a chance to participate in an experiential, hands on learning process that met them where they were, and addressed their current needs, instead of pushing them toward employment or other programming that they weren’t ready for. We wanted to provide a safe welcoming space for people to explore and grow.

    The program has been instrumental in igniting the internal motivation of thousands of people in NB to pursue a plan to improve their lives. It creates a strong foundation for employability by solidifying key components  of readiness, most importantly a belief that one can have a direct positive impact on their future. So many lives have been transformed! It has been a joy to watch people start the program in their shell and see them emerge with so much more pride, confidence and belief in self. The stories have brought many tears of joy and pride as we witness these transformations.

    Now we are so proud to have CCDF share the program across the country to improve the quality of life of so many marginalized people. We hope our valued partners at CCDF continue to shine a bright light on IM&M+ through their continuing research and roll out of the program.

    Keith McCarthy, Case Management Consultant, Dept. of Social Development, Fredericton

     

Highlights from the Ontario Pilot (2018)

 

The Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation’s (OCWI) evaluation of IM&M+ pilots replicated the findings from New Brunswick.

 

 

 

 

ontario pilot
Bar graph showing participant gains in career goal clarity when finishing In Motion & Mometum+

The Ontario research also showed significant changes in career goal clarity and perceived ability to overcome barriers to career goals.

  • Almost 40% of participants in the OCWI pilots were employed or in education 2-3 months after the program;
  • 31% were employed and 80% of those had found permanent positions.
  • Almost all participants (88%) were addressing employability needs through employment services (69%), housing supports (56%) and/or mental health services (25%).

 

In the Ontario pilots, IM&M+ demonstrated improved participant psycho-social health outcomes (i.e., self-esteem, self-efficacy, locus of control, motivation, resilience, positive building, accessing resources, networks and allies, belonging/mattering) and foundational career management skills (i.e., self-awareness, skills and strengths identification, goal setting and achieving, vison for the future).

  • 93% showed gains on at least one of these aspects of well being:
  • 33% felt positive about the future more often
  • 47% felt discouraged about how things were going in their life less often
  • 47% felt nervous or anxious less often
  • 67% felt unmotivated or like they didn't have more energy less often
Page from Participant workbook listing their assets and motivators

 

To date, IM&M+ has been transformative for its participants, their families and communities.

It has helped thousands of people move forward in their lives and careers.

Pan-Canadian Outcomes - Future Skills Centre Research (2020-2021)

In 2020, the Future Skills Centre (FSC) awarded a grant to CCDF to further study In Motion and Momentum+ across multiple jurisdictions, with diverse groups and delivery agencies. In this project, IM&M+ participant profile included:

  • 91% who were unemployed when entering the program; more than half had been out of work for at least a year
  • 71% of participants were receiving social assistance
  • 7% were receiving Employment Insurance
  • 25% did not have a high school diploma
Bar Graph

Interim Results: Participant Outcomes

Overall, participants were very satisfied with IM&M+. Around 90% of the participants found it useful, and most participants indicated they would recommend the program, and almost half of those (46%) had already recommended it to someone at program exit.

Participants shared positive experiences in IM&M+, including, but not limited to, relationship buildings, greater awareness of themselves, a more positive outlook, and increased self-esteem. Additional findings included:

  • Most participants increased their self-assessed pre-employability skills throughout the program
  • Around one-third of participants enrolled in further training programs or education at program exit
  • 16% of participants reported positive employment outcomes shortly after finishing the program.
  • After 3 months, 21% of participants were employed

** A full report on the findings will be available in September 2023.

  • IM&M+ Made me Feel Better.

    IM&M+ really made me more focused, have more confidence again. I felt lost, I felt like a loser, I can’t deal with my career---just a lot of things, so IM&M+ made me feel better.

    IM&M+ Participant

 

  • I Enjoyed... Communicating with People from Different Backgrounds

    The part I enjoyed most myself is just communicating with different people of different backgrounds.

    IM&M+ Participant

Increasing Hope

In the Future Skills Centre project, we are using a standardized tool (i.e., the Employment Hope Scale) to measure the degree to which IM&M+ participants develop greater hope towards their career and life goals. The Interim results show that participants had a statistically significant increase in employment hope scores between program start and completion. A higher employment hope score indicates that participants are feeling more empowered to reach their employment and financial goals, which is very promising.

Graph showing statistically significant increase in employment hope
Graph showing statistically significant increase in employment hope

Future Research

Whiteboard with quotes on it

 

 

In 2021, the Future Skills Centre awarded CCDF a grant to do a comparative study of IM&M+ and current service delivery provision for clients with pre-employment needs. The results of this research will be available in 2024.

  • I Repeatedly Hear of Increased Confidence

    When I chat with participants I repeatedly hear of increased confidence or a positive feeling of knowing they are able to make better decisions for themselves. 

    Cindy Leggot, IM&M+ Facilitator, Regina Work Preparation Centre, Inc