Community Employment Innovation Project (CEIP)

Detailed information for 2000 to 2002 (implementation phase)

The Community Employment Innovation Project (CEIP) is a research demonstration project that is testing a new approach to the income security system for individuals on Employment Insurance (EI) or Income Assistance (IA). Individuals who agreed to take part in the study had a chance to be offered an opportunity to participate in community employment for three years. The CEIP is conducted in the Regional Municipality of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Data release - December 15, 2003 (No public use microdata file was produced by Statistics Canada and data will not be made available through the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI).)

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) (formerly Human Resources Development Canada) funds the CEIP. The Social Research and Demonstration Corporation (SRDC) has overall responsibility for the project design, coordination, research and evaluation. The SRDC has contracted Statistics Canada (STC) (Special Surveys Division) to select a sample of potential participants and to undertake various data collection and administrative activities for this demonstration project.

The project will take eight years to complete. The gradual enrolment of volunteers for the study began in July 2000 and concluded in June 2002. In the first year, potential participants were selected from a population of current Employment Insurance recipients. The Nova Scotia Department of Community Services (DCS) supported the inclusion of Income Assistance recipients in the second year of this initiative. The project recruited 1,006 volunteers among eligible Employment Insurance recipients and 516 among Income Assistance recipients.

Reference period: 2002

Collection period: 2000 to 2007

Subjects

• Employment insurance, social assistance and other transfers
• Labour
• Workplace organization, innovation, performance

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The target population for the Community Employment Innovation Project consisted of Employment Insurance and Income Assistance recipients residing in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality at a specific point in time. The EI and IA target population had distinct characteristics.

The sampling unit for EI recipients was the EI claim and the observation unit was the person who filed the claim. Every four weeks, between July 2000 and April 2002, Statistics Canada created a population file of people eligible to participate in the project using administrative data supplied by Human Resources and Social Development Canada. The target population consisted of EI claimants, at least 18 years of age whose EI claim met the following criteria:
(1) claimant must have received at least $1 in regular benefits in the four-week sampling reference period,
(2) claimant must not be participating in another EI work initiative;
(3) there were at least 12 weeks remaining from a total entitlement of at least 22 weeks; and
(4) the number of weeks paid on the claim must be between 10 and 13 weeks inclusive at the last week processed.

The CEIP also targeted employable Income Assistance recipients aged 19 years and over. The employability criterion was defined by the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services and the target population determined from their administrative files based on monthly IA payments for the period covering May 2001 to March 2002.

Sampling

This is a sample survey with a longitudinal design.

The sample design is specific to the "stream", Employment Insurance recipients (EI) or Income Assistance beneficiaries (IA).

Individuals selected by Statistics Canada received an invitation to attend an information session conducted by CEIP staff in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Attendees interested in joining the study were required to complete an enrolment form consisting of a short survey (the baseline) and an informed consent form.

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) provided a data file of EI beneficiaries every four weeks between July 2000 and April 2002. The information provided on the file was limited to that which was necessary to apply the selection criteria for CEIP and to allow Statistics Canada to make contact with eligible participants. The survey population was stratified by age (under 30 versus 30+). The sample was allocated so that the younger group would not be over-represented in the group of people enrolling in the project. The number of individuals selected (simple random sampling) each cycle was adjusted at various times to accommodate for changes in take-up-rate and the availability of community-based projects. Over the enrolment period, 5,980 eligible EI recipients were selected by Statistics Canada and sent an invitation to attend an information session. Of this number, 1,622 attended a session and 1,006 volunteered to join the random trial study.

The selection of individuals from the IA caseload required a two-step process. Each month, the Nova Scotia Department of Social Services (DCS) provided Statistics Canada with a file of current IA recipients. The file was void of personal identifiers but contained the information required to apply the eligibility criteria. Statistics Canada would select a sample and communicate the results of the selection to DCS. This enabled DCS to establish the first contact with their clients and asking those interested to identify themselves to Statistics Canada by returning a signed card especially designed for this purpose. Individuals had three weeks to return the card in order to be included in the eligible population. Between June 2001 and May 2002, DCS mailed 3,232 letters to potential eligible IA participants. A total of 1,014 of them returned their signed card to Statistics Canada. From this list, Statistics Canada randomly selected 804 individuals and sent them an invitation to attend an information session at the CEIP Office; 557 attended and 506 volunteered to join the random trial study.

Eligible EI or IA recipients could only be selected once.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

No public use microdata file will be produced by Statistics Canada and data will not be made available through the Data Liberation Initiative (DLI).

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology does not apply to this survey.