Research Project Guidelines

Research guidelines

What is labour market research?

Labour market research projects generate evidence-based labour market information (LMI) and inform the development of workforce strategies and innovative pilots. Research projects will build upon existing labour market information, as applicable, by gathering and analyzing primary information on sector, occupational and regional trends.

A wide range of workforce challenges and opportunities can be examined in an SLMP project. Some examples of research questions include:

• What are our current and future workforce needs? What are the associated skills training requirements?
• How can we increase labour productivity and labour market participation?
• What are the major pressures facing our workforce? What are their causes and possible solutions?
• Who is our workforce comprised of? What are the demographics of our talent pool? What other industries and occupations are competing in the same talent pool? How competitive is our sector to retain talent?
• How is our sector implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Calls to Action as applicable?
• How are our employers addressing retention and career advancement of equity-deserving  groups? (Including women, visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity or expression (2SLGBTQ+), and others who may contribute to diversity in the workplace).
• What kinds of education, skills and competencies are in demand by employers and how are these reflected in the available training?
• What is the role of credentials in ensuring education and training standards?
• What role can technology play in addressing workforce shortages? What skills are needed to support technology adoption? How can the sector support employers with the uptake and training of new technology?
• How do shifting business models, such as gig work, create opportunities to meet workforce demand? What are some of the downsides or challenges related to these opportunities?
• How can we use strategic foresight or other forward-looking methods to better understand what effects economic transformation, such as the shift to net zero, will have on our sector?
• What is needed to increase Indigenous Peoples’, new immigrants’ and other equity-deserving groups’ participation in the labour market?

When conducting research projects, one type of research methodology that can be used is strategic foresight. Strategic foresight projects anticipate trends, risks, emerging issues, and the potential implications and opportunities of these trends in relation to the workforce or labour market.  The purpose of this type of research is to draw useful insights for strategic planning, policymaking and preparedness and to produce projections about the future labour market without an overreliance on historical data.

The SLMP program encourages applicants to explore this methodology as it will generate a different type of LMI in comparison to other, more traditional research methodologies. 

Some examples of research questions specific to strategic foresight include:

• What will the workforce needs of the future be? How can employers position themselves to compete for talent?
• How will skills requirements change as technology adoption increases and workforce needs change?
• How can technological, economic and social trends change the nature of work and the demand for related skills?

Research principles

Research ethics

Researchers are encouraged to review the Tri-Council Policy Statement 2: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans to guide ethical research and consider the following principles:

• Free, prior and informed consent for all research participants.
• The participation is entirely voluntary, and participants can decline to answer any question they choose.
• All participants will be told how their information will be used.
• Incentives for research participation should be reasonable and not impact voluntary consent. 

Research involving Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous communities have experienced a long history of exploitation by researchers and research involving Indigenous Peoples has been done without their permission or knowledge. For any research related to Indigenous Peoples, approaches such as articles 9.1 in the Tri-Council Policy Statement 2, Chapter 9: Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada (2018) must be followed. Research involving First Nations must, in addition, consider research principles related to how research data will be owned, controlled, accessed and possessed.

SLMP funded labour market research projects must demonstrate respect for Indigenous values, culture and protocols, and be mutually beneficial to the contract holder and their Indigenous partners. The Indigenous communities participating in the research project must be engaged during the design of the project.

Indigenous research methodologies

The SLMP program encourages Indigenous partners to use their unique research methodologies and methods. Researchers are invited to incorporate traditional and contemporary Indigenous knowledge in culturally safe and respectful ways. Beyond selecting an appropriate method, the context in which the research questions are conceptualized and designed has implications for the project and should be carefully considered in partnership with, or led by, Indigenous communities.

Intersectional analysis

Intersectional analysis is a tool used to understand inequity and systemic barriers in a research project and it helps ensure specific needs related to equity-deserving groups are considered. These factors impact research in several ways, including for example, the areas researched, the perspectives used and how the information generated is used. For more information, please see our Guide to Intersectional Analysis and the Government of Canada’s Gender-Based Analysis Plus training.  

Disaggregated data

Disaggregated data is data that provides sub-categories of information, for example by ethnic group, gender, occupation or educational status. These are sometimes called demographic categories. People tend to provide this form of data through surveys that ask them to identify themselves in relation to these categories or others. This information is then usually anonymized or de-identified—stripped of personal information like name or date of birth—and used in statistical analysis. Unlike aggregated data, which groups information together, disaggregated data can reveal inequalities and relationships between categories¹.

It may be necessary for the applicant to collect, access or disclose disaggregated data for the purpose of making inequalities visible or to fulfill the project’s purpose. If disaggregated data will be used, it is important to set up a framework that safeguards the data in question. The framework must outline the purpose(s) for which the data is collected, how it is collected and what tools are being used. SLMP recommends using the framework developed by BC’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner in the Disaggregated Data Report – The Grandmother Perspective. Please note that disaggregated data itself is considered a tool and that the sample size must be large enough to avoid reidentification of the data.  

Research project guidelines

The SLMP program works in collaboration with the Labour Market Information Reporting and Evaluation office (LMIRE)² of the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.  Applicants will be required to attend a pre-contract meeting with the LMIRE to discuss the research scope before a contract is developed.

The following are the general expectations for an SLMP funded research project. The following is to be used as a guide only; this list is not exhaustive:

• As in all SLMP projects, a governance committee provides project oversight and input and endorses project deliverables and outcomes. Please refer to the SLMP Program Requirements  for more information.
• The contract holder must use a qualified labour market researcher and the resulting materials (final reports, presentations, etc.) must be of professional quality.
• Applicants are encouraged to consider the benefits of a secondary data review as an effective way to aid in the formulation of research questions, gain a more nuanced understanding of the primary data, and/or generate new insights into labour market challenges. The researcher is to be responsible for collecting all secondary data and arranging for custom orders of data from Statistics Canada and other sources as required.
• Indigenous research must be Indigenous-led or be conducted with the participation and oversight of Indigenous partners.

Research project deliverables are identified on a case-by-case basis as part of the contract negotiation process. Typically, contract deliverables will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Statement of proposed methodology

Research projects may use both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and should include analysis of primary and secondary data. Beyond selecting an appropriate method, the context in which the research questions are conceptualized and designed has implications for the research project and should be carefully considered. Proposed methodologies are submitted to SLMP program staff as a research project deliverable and reviewed with the contract holder, SLMP staff and LMIRE.

Description of research tools

Research tools are generally drafted after the methodology is finalized. Proposed research tools are submitted to the SLMP program as a project deliverable and reviewed with the contract holder, SLMP staff and LMIRE. 

Draft and final research reports

The SLMP program requires that the contract holder submit a draft and final research report endorsed by the governance committee. Reports must be of professional quality, carefully copyedited and proofed prior to submission so they can be publicly released by the Province.

Presentation materials 

The contract holder will be asked to submit presentation materials about the project to the SLMP program and give a presentation about their findings to applicable internal and external stakeholders.

Intellectual property license

The contract will include a broad license for the Province to use, reproduce and distribute certain deliverables, including the final research report and any presentation materials.

Statistical data sources

If you have any questions, please email LabourMarketPartnerships@gov.bc.ca, and a staff member will contact you. Response time for email inquiries is typically within five business days.

Final reports from completed SLMP projects can be found on WorkBC’s SLMP Project Reports webpage.

¹ https://bchumanrights.ca/wp-content/uploads/BCOHRC_Sept2020_Disaggregated-Data-Report_FINAL.pdf
² The LMIRE collects, analyzes and reports on labour market information for the Province of B.C., including the annual Labour Market Outlook. The Labour Market Outlook projects labour market demand and supply trends by occupation and industry over a ten-year span.