Vision
Research improving the understanding and quality of social life in Vancouver, Canada, and beyond.
Mission
We do research on social interaction and relationships in complex and diverse organizations, neighbourhoods, and communities. We contribute to current directions in theory and research and build young scholars’ skills and careers while working in collaboration with organizations, neighbourhoods, and communities.
The Infrastructure and Integration Lab
The Infrastructure and Integration Lab is formed in 2024 and led by Dr Sean Lauer at the University of British Columbia, Department of Sociology. With a strong focus on social infrastructure and immigrant integration, the Lab facilitates research on Social Infrastructure, Relationship Formation and Immigrant Experiences.
The Infrastructure and Integration Lab conducts bi-weekly meetings, offering an open platform for team members to share their ongoing projects and exchange emerging ideas, fostering collaborative and positive research practices. These collaborative practices spark knowledge transfer and drive innovation. Our projects often intersect three core research themes, leading to deeper insights into Interaction with the Public, Experiences of Newcomers in Public Spaces, and Primary Group Integration into the host society.
The Infrastructure and Integration Lab is a hub of interdisciplinary collaboration, bringing together team members from Sociology and Social Work Master’s and PhD programs. By encouraging a blend of diverse academic backgrounds and perspectives, the lab creates a ground for innovative research and interdisciplinary discoveries.
Discover Our Ongoing Projects
Our students at the Infrastructure and Integration Lab dive into unique projects, exploring the dynamic web of infrastructure and integration within diverse communities in Canada.
Research Team Practices and Values
Sharing of Ideas
Insights, innovations, and impact follow from the free movement and sharing of ideas. We follow the practice of open exchange of ideas from the early stages of projects through to the final outcomes. We will share updates on what we are doing in our research projects – progress, delays, obstacles. We will share feedback to each other without reservation.
Collective and Deliberate Practice
Learning and skill development follows from practice with knowledgeable feedback. Often, it is best to hone in on small areas for skill development. Our team meetings are a safe space to practice and develop scholarly skills in social research. Feedback is essential to improvement, and working collectively we can build towards our shared goals and knowledge creation.
Empathetic and Constructive Criticism
We often cannot identify our own weak spots; we need members of the team to help spot them. As team members offering feedback to our colleagues, we should always ask first what they were trying to accomplish and frame our feedback from that position. When we spot a weakness, we should always aim to combine those observations with specific suggestions for future improvement.
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