Brief description of the organization
ValuesFirst AI designs technology that catalyzes personal, social, and environmental change. As a team of researchers, engineers, and designers, they work on flagship products and short-term consulting projects that help organizations leverage AI to achieve social-impact missions.
Problem area
There has been a steady increase of immigrants, refugees, and international students settling in new countries. Canada, for instance, aims to welcome 500,000 new immigrants by 2026, including refugees. Research shows the “Healthy Immigrant Effect” (Newbold, 2006): immigrants arrive in Canada healthier than non-immigrants, but the longer they stay, the more they lose this health advantage. Social determinants of health—language barriers, social isolation, unaffordable housing, discrimination, difficulty finding family doctors, and under-employment—contribute to declining outcomes.
The Newcomer App encourages users to proactively address their well-being by recommending resources, actions, and allowing content/Q&A in multiple languages. The app was developed with the KW4 Ontario Health Team as part of Prof. Edith Law’s Augmented Intelligence Lab.
Main objectives
- Launch the Newcomer App for the KW Region by December 2025.
Scope of work
- Create and manage a content curation team (e.g., involving newcomers)
- Identify resources and create posts (articles, events, organizations, stores, groups, people)
- Develop a partnership strategy with local organizations and businesses
- Market the Newcomer App and coordinate the launch
- Create and deploy data-collection tools to understand newcomers’ impressions and experience
Deliverables
- A published KW edition of the Newcomer App on the App Store and Google Play
- Artifacts describing the launch and first-use impressions (e.g., blog post, video documentary)
Team meeting frequency
Weekly or Bi-weekly
Skills and training required
- Strong research and writing skills
- Strong interpersonal/people skills
Resources required
Access to Curatomi, the content-management tool used to publish to the Newcomer App
NDA or Commercialization Agreement
Yes — Curatomi and the Newcomer App are products of ValuesFirst AI Inc., and a commercialization agreement is required to outline IP related to app content and launch artifacts.