Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

The practice is designed to be accessible for different groups of people, bringing the local community together with the migrant community to promote the development of their personal networks. It does this through a ‘matching process’, wherein mentor-mentee pairs are created on the basis of personal characteristics.

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

This practice is a good example of one that promotes the active involvement of the receiving society. It works to meet a need only partially addressed by the national reception system, involving local volunteers to do so. Its success in involving the receiving society is reflected in the ever-increasing number of locals requesting to volunteer. Feedback is collected from both mentors and mentees and taken into account in order to improve the practice, and new activities can be suggested by any pair.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

In keeping with the national reception system model, beneficiaries are at the centre of practice planning, monitoring and delivery processes and are actively involved in designing its activities.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

This practice supports refugees during a period of transition, and fills gaps in Italy’s national reception system. Refugee and migrant social networks alone are often not enough to promote an individual’s full integration, so with this in mind the practice works to offer migrants the opportunity to also develop social networks with local residents. The strengthening of personal networks with local people is seen as a way to not only improve integration, but also to promote independence and autonomy.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

✓ Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

The main objective of the practice is the strengthening of migrants’ personal networks. Adopting a long-term perspective, the practice aims not only to offer new integration opportunities but also to create favourable conditions for the initiation of independent initiatives and to prevent dependence on services.

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Ensure that services contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of migrants/migrant communities.

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

– Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

The project is aligned with and designed to complement EU- and national-level policies, priorities, and strategic goals.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

– Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

The practice has been developed and refined through several project phases, some of them still ongoing. The first of these, Ancora, developed and tested the model in different contexts. In the following phases the model was further developed to be shared with other actors. In monitoring and evaluating the practice, CIAC uses a set of integration indicators. Mentees must fill out a questionnaire at the beginning of their involvement and at the end. Objectives, methods and strategies have been streamlined over the course of three projects: Ancora, Ancora 2.0 and Community Matching. All projects offer training activities.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓ Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

✓ Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

✓ Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

The practice has developed tools to monitor its implementation and evaluate its results, collecting data throughout the various phases as well as after completion of activities. This includes the creation of questionnaires for both mentors and mentees, which ask questions on the development of social networks and participants’ views on their own empowerment.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

− Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

– Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

− Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

The practice relies on different sources of funding. The initial phase, involving the Ancora (2016-2018) and Ancora 2.0 (2018- on going) projects, received funding from the EU’s asylum, migration and integration fund (AMIF). In the framework of these two projects, the practice was developed and tested in other areas. Aware of the relevance of the practice, CIAC is self-financing part of the activities at the same time as working towards recognition and promotion by the national reception system.

Good practice checklist

– Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

✓ Identify new EU and national funding opportunities for long-term integration (e.g., shifting from project-based initiatives that are limited in time or dependent on one (external) donor to a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on secured funding or diverse funding opportunities).

✓ Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

The practice has developed an important partnership with UNHCR which serves to further strengthen its intervention model.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Does the practice contribute to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies?

CIAC actively contributes to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies, for example through the testing of its model in collaboration with other NGOs, the development of partnerships with relevant stakeholders such as UNHCR, and presentation of the practice at national level.

Good practice checklist

✓ Seize opportunities to contribute to the development of comprehensive integration strategies involving EU-level/national/regional/local authorities, service providers and civil society.

✓ Work with relevant partners to jointly review operations, practices, services, and integration outcomes.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

The project has a focus on newcomer asylum seekers, but there are no specific criteria for the involvement or recruitment of beneficiaries. Activities are designed and implemented on a case-by-case basis to allow for a particularly inclusive and adaptable approach. The project relies on a web platform – connected with a network of partner stakeholders – on which activity information is promoted and disseminated. Migrant artists have their own profile, space, and events section on this platform. Equality and diversity are key principles in the ways in which the project is designed and implemented (recruitment; operating principles; stakeholder partnerships), as well as in its intended outcomes (artistic productions; co-creation).

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

Homelands is a project that puts the receiving society at the centre of the support it delivers and the activities it runs. The overall point of the project is to connect non-migrant actors working in cultural institutions with migrant artists.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

Homelands is designed to ensure that migrant artists (beneficiaries) are the main actors in the design and implementation of project activities. Participants are not financially compensated, but involvement in the project offers them the possibility of starting or resuming their artistic career in the receiving context. Great importance is given to ensuring an inclusive and participatory feedback mechanism, in order to ensure that the voices of all the actors involved in the project are listened to.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

The objectives of the project are highly relevant to the needs of migrant artists, particularly those that relate to their integration and skills development, their establishment of a social and professional network within the cultural sector. The project aims to fill certain gaps in the local and national cultural sectors of Belgium by fostering the integration – and boosting the career – of migrant artists.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

– Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

The practice is extremely relevant to the empowerment and long-term integration of migrants, particularly as newcomers struggle to forge careers in arts and culture in the post-COVID-19 context. Socially speaking, the practice can help to mainstream a positive narrative around migrants and their capacity to interact with locals and be a part of public life.

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓Ensure that services contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of migrants/migrant communities

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

– Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

Ensuring diversity in the cultural and artistic sector is a national priority for Belgium. By focusing on the individual careers of migrant artists, and targeting newcomer refugees, the project represents a step forward in the traditional policy/practice scenario in Belgium (in which there is usually strong emphasis on diversity in the cultural offer, while concrete action in support of ‘diverse’ cultural actors is weak, particularly at the grassroots level).

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

– Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

Homelands relies on consistent planning of training, preparation/co-creation of project activities, implementation, dissemination and evaluation. The project demonstrates clear planning of its potential impact on the target group of beneficiaries, as well as on the cultural stakeholders involved as partners and the general public. Recruitment of staff members is conducted on a case-by-case basis. One of the project’s objectives is to enhance the capability of partners to work with immigrant artists. The practices is built around an integral communications strategy.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓ Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

– Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

✓ Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

The practice relies on systematic monitoring of its beneficiaries. Qualitative data on implementation and impact are collected, analysed and reported at different stages, and monitoring and risk-management mechanisms – such as constant interaction between beneficiaries and stakeholder partners to facilitate necessary adjustments – are embedded within its activities. Beneficiaries remain in close contact with coordinators after their involvement has ended, and they have a personal page on the practice’s website.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

✓ Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

− Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Is the practice prepared to sustain its positive effects after completion?

The practice is designed to ensure that both beneficiaries and partners develop the connections and skills necessary to continue to benefit from their participation in the long term. Further, a key aim is that partners and other stakeholders will adopt innovative approaches as a result of their involvement in the practice, thereby extending its reach and impact. The practice also contributes to the creation of business opportunities for artists and cultural stakeholders in the long term.

Good practice checklist

✓ During the design phase, anticipate opportunities to continue the intervention after completion.

– Prepare and apply a well-defined sustainability plan to ensure the continuation of positive effects / outcomes.

✓ Devote resources to building capacities during the implementation phase, in order to ensure that the necessary human resources, expertise and infrastructure are in place to sustain the services upon completion of the action.

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

Homelands has the potential to attract structural funding from cultural institutions and other important stakeholders, as well as to generate its own resources through monetising the work of its artists (e.g. through a programme of paid performances). Furthermore, by using its network of participating partners, the practice can potentially access a wide range of private and public funding and other support.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

– Identify new EU and national funding opportunities for long-term integration (e.g., shifting from project-based initiatives that are limited in time or dependent on one (external) donor to a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on secured funding or diverse funding opportunities).

✓ Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

Public authorities (such as cultural policy makers) and cultural stakeholders among institutions and cultural hubs are in constant communication with the practice, if not directly involved in it.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Does the practice contribute to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies?

The project contributes locally to discussion on improvements to integration support policies, particularly in the cultural sector. The potential for successful representation and advocacy depends on the involvement of important cultural institutions and stakeholders.

Good practice checklist

– Seize opportunities to contribute to the development of comprehensive integration strategies involving EU-level/national/regional/local authorities, service providers and civil society.

✓ Work with relevant partners to jointly review operations, practices, services, and integration outcomes.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

The practice applies multiple strategies to ensure its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups. Some services are open to all groups; others are aimed at specific target groups such as women, children, and families. A large variety of inclusive, participatory activities is offered, all of which are delivered in such a way as to ensure equal opportunities. Some activities are aimed particularly at children, families or women. Basic information on available services is provided in several languages and formats. Efforts are made to actively include the target group (refugees and asylum seekers) in service delivery (through cooking, translating and so on). Adjustments are made at the individual level to ensure the accessibility of basic reception and counselling services for all at the refugee reception centre, from where people are referred to more specific services. Childcare is offered at certain hours in both the reception and service centres.

I

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

Several activities raise awareness of the situation of refugees and asylum seekers at the local level, and their needs are met though collaboration with local institutions. The involvement of local volunteers is a guiding principle of the practice, and beneficiaries are also involved as volunteers.

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

The objectives of the practice are relevant to the needs of its target group of refugees and asylum seekers, and its delivery is flexible in order to respond to emerging needs. Relevant needs are identified by employees and volunteers through their daily work with beneficiaries, and integration support measures are designed around this. In exceptional situations, beneficiaries are consulted to ensure full understanding of their immediate situation. Systemic improvement through collaboration with relevant stakeholders is a goal of the practice’s public and policy outreach activities.

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

✓ Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

The practice works to empower and strengthen the autonomy of its participants, mainly through information provision, counselling, and teaching and tutoring activities. Beneficiaries are supported to actively help themselves, for example though explanation of relevant options and procedures and referral to relevant responsible stakeholders. Activities that bring beneficiaries and the receiving society together, such as cooking, cultural and artistic activities, aim to foster these two groups’ joint engagement. Discrimination and information gaps are partially addressed as part of other activities.

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Ensure that services contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of migrants/migrant communities.

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

✓ Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

The practice contributes to the wider integration framework at both the local and national level. It is not in a position to effect immediate change within institutions, but through its outreach activities it is able to connect with policy makers, politicians and institutions in order to raise awareness of key issues affecting refugees and asylum seekers and to offer support in the implementation of processes that meet the needs of project beneficiaries.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

The action is based on a comprehensive design and is able to respond in a flexible way to emerging needs, ensuring successful outcomes at the individual, community, and institutional level. Employed staff members are selected based on their skills, and the effective delivery of most project activities relies on the involvement of volunteers. Project ccommunication processes use a variety of channels to connect with both host communities and authorities.

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

– Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓ Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

– Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

✓ Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

Project monitoring is mostly guided by the requirements of different funders, with annual reports providing records of overall project performance. Project coordinators, the board and its working groups ensure the achievement of relevant goals. There are no structured or consistent strategies for identifying the successes of the practice, rather situational consultations, feedback and regular observation is used for this purpose.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

− Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

− Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

Structural funding has been secured for individual parts of the practice, including for core staff positions, and it has the potential to attract new sponsors. Long-term partnerships to ensure its continuation have been established, and additional funding opportunities are being sought. A diverse funding model has been established which includes a form of social entrepreneurship.

Good practice checklist

✓ Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

✓ Identify new EU and national funding opportunities for long-term integration (e.g., shifting from project-based initiatives that are limited in time or dependent on one (external) donor to a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on secured funding or diverse funding opportunities).

✓ Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

Multiple stakeholders are involved in the project, including via multi-stakeholder consultation. The practices provides training to professionals, runs discussion events on relevant specific topics, and organises awareness-raising events.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Does the practice contribute to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies?

Through multi-stakeholder collaboration and policy and stakeholder outreach, the practice contributes to the development of comprehensive integration strategies at the local and regional level. It works with multiple partners (e.g. NGOs, universities, public and local authorities, the municipality) to review practices and integration outcomes.

Good practice checklist

✓ Seize opportunities to contribute to the development of comprehensive integration strategies involving EU-level/national/regional/local authorities, service providers and civil society.

✓ Work with relevant partners to jointly review operations, practices, services, and integration outcomes.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

PartecipAzione is a community-based protection programme designed in line with UNHCR’s sensitivity policy on age, gender, and diversity. It provides participants with opportunities to meet local authorities and communities, and develops links with local stakeholders in refugee integration.

Inspiring tools:

Inspiring tools: Report: A promising practice on age, gender and diversity in Italy 

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

The main goal of PartecipAzione is to foster the socio-economic integration and participation of refugees, by empowering refugee-led and community-based organisations that apply a participatory approach. This promotes a two-way integration process. Designed around a “whole of society’ approach, this community-based protection programme focuses on enhancing the role of refugee communities, strengthening their resources and their interactions with other host society actors.

Inspiring tools:

PartecipAzione fact sheet  

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

In line with UNHCR participatory approaches, refugees involved in the programme act as its analysts, implementers, and evaluators. Assessments and consultations are structurally incorporated into the programme’s design and implementation. Specifically, beneficiaries are consulted across all phases of delivery: coordination processes, training, outreach activities, evaluation, assessment, and feedback

Good practice checklist

✓ Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

The relevance of the programme’s objectives to the needs of refugees is ensured through the adoption of participatory approaches, which engage organisations and refugees meaningfully in the design process. Participating organisations are selected according to criteria that examine their capacity to respond to the needs of refugees and migrants. The practice has been developed to promote the public participation of migrants and refugees in Italy, mainly through association involvement and voting. Objectives are updated annually, according to emerging needs and ongoing evaluation.

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

✓ Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

At the core of the programme there are key principles, according to which action is carried out. These state that integration occurs within the community, that full integration happens when a refugee feels like an active member of the local community, and that participation is a right that will lead to the fulfilment of other rights.

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ At the core of the programme there are key principles, according to which action is carried out. These state that integration occurs within the community, that full integration happens when a refugee feels like an active member of the local community, and that participation is a right that will lead to the fulfilment of other rights.

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

✓ Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

PartecipAzione is a UNHCR programme, so all the guidelines and policies applied within it are in line with international standards. It also upholds relevant EU integration guidelines. Delivery partners UNHCR and INTERSOS aim on the one hand to consolidate the capacity of refugee-led and community-based organisations, and on the other to mainstream participatory approaches in the integration work of institutions and civil society organisations.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

The practice is adequately planned based on a comprehensive design, allowing for inclusion of UNHCR and INTERSOS policies and procedures and collaboration by the two organisations. The programme receives support across different areas (such as finance, administration, human resources, logistics and technical expertise), and communication and visibility are key elements of its design.

 

The impact of PartecipAzione is assessed regularly through the achievements of its participating associations. The results, measured by qualitative and quantitative questionnaires, show that it has been able to significantly affect the development of each association

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓ Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

✓ Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

✓ Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

Monitoring and evaluation is carried out regularly across all levels and implementation phases of the programme. There is also a risk management strategy and participant feedback process

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

✓ Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

✓ Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Is the practice prepared to sustain its positive effects after completion?

ParticipAzione is an empowerment programme, so most resources are devoted to strengthening the capacity of beneficiary organisations to sustain their activities once the involvement of INTERSOS and UNHCR is concluded.

Good practice checklist

✓ During the design phase, anticipate opportunities to continue the intervention after completion.

– Prepare and apply a well-defined sustainability plan to ensure the continuation of positive effects / outcomes.

✓ Devote resources to building capacities during the implementation phase, in order to ensure that the necessary human resources, expertise and infrastructure are in place to sustain the services upon completion of the action.

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

The practice promotes sustainable funding solutions for beneficiary organisations by strengthening their partnerships and relationships with relevant stakeholders. INTERSOS and UNHCR also advocate to promote these organisations’ access to national and European funding opportunities. Additionally, private sector partnerships are being developed, and some beneficiaries are social enterprises which aim to ultimately diversify their revenue and generate their own funding.

Good practice checklist

✓ Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

✓ Identify new EU and national funding opportunities for long-term integration (e.g., shifting from project-based initiatives that are limited in time or dependent on one (external) donor to a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on secured funding or diverse funding opportunities).

✓ Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

The practice facilitates dialogue and coordination between all relevant stakeholders, including through yearly roundtables gathering national, regional and local authorities. INTERSOS and UNHCR also advocate for greater frequency of such consultations, especially those involving institutions and government stakeholders.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Does the practice contribute to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies?

Once a year, INTERSOS organises a roundtable discussion for national, regional and local authorities, as well as the project’s participating organisations, and through this is able to advocate for improvements to integration support policies.

Good practice checklist

✓ Seize opportunities to contribute to the development of comprehensive integration strategies involving EU-level/national/regional/local authorities, service providers and civil society.

✓ Work with relevant partners to jointly review operations, practices, services, and integration outcomes.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

Meeting the specific needs of LGBTIQ persons in all matters related to asylum is the core objective of the Queer Base project. Information is available in English, German, Persian, French, Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Ukrainian and Arabic, via a multilingual telephone hotline and contact form. Project services are delivered by mixed teams and interpreters with experience of the asylum procedure, in order to ensure both accessibility and suitability for the target group.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

Queer Base follows the innovative approach of community organising with the local LGBTIQ community: the “Friends of Queer Base” platform connects the target group and local civil society via a buddy programme.

 

Inspiring tools:

the Friends of Queer Base platform.

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

Queer Base is a grass roots organisation wherein activities are planned and implemented by both beneficiaries and organisers. The practice is innovative in its combination of professional support, other service provision and grassroots organising, and the interpreters hired tend to be queer refugees themselves.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

The project was conceived in response to the overwhelming and well documented need for support of the LGBTIQ migrant community. Besides the provision of individual counselling and support, integral objectives of the practice include structural lobbying, awareness-raising and capacity building.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

✓ Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

Queer Base takes an emancipatory approach, working to empower LGBTIQ refugees with the involvement of receiving communities. Ensuring that their asylum applications are professionally dealt with guarantees a refugee individual access to a residence permit, which is essential to their long term integration and reduces the time they are required to spend in temporary reception facilities.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Ensure that services contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of migrants/migrant communities. 

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

✓ Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

Queer Base cooperates with all relevant stakeholders in the asylum sector and beyond, to ensure the mainstreaming of support for the particular needs of LGBTIQ refugees. It also takes into account EU standards for the inclusion of particularly vulnerable groups with specific needs. Further, it participates in discussion fora and lobbying, and writes position papers on legislative and policy amendments. In 2017 Queer Base provided substantial input to expert recommendations on first interviews in asylum procedures, and a position paper on fair and high quality asylum procedures.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

he project is a reaction to the well-documented need for individual and structural support of LGBTIQ refugees, and was planned within the community and in consultation with relevant external stakeholders. Statistics in the annual report show the impact and relevance of its support (legal; administrative; psycho-social). Given the sensitive context, knowledge and understanding of the particular needs of the target group is a prerequisite for all staff, and is key to ensuring the trust of participants and the effectiveness of the work.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓- Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

✓ Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

✓ Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

Regular monitoring and evaluation of project results is not only key to ensuring the functioning of its services, but also forms part of its annual planning and reporting. Positive feedback from beneficiaries, ongoing cooperation with partner NGOs, and consistently high demand for the project’s counselling and support services shows that the outcomes of the practice are so far successful.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

✓ Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

✓ Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

After an initial phase built on crowd-funding and other donations, the project secured structural funding from the municipality of Vienna. It remains in need, however, of more structural funding and new sponsors.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

✓ Identify new EU and national funding opportunities for long-term integration (e.g., shifting from project-based initiatives that are limited in time or dependent on one (external) donor to a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on secured funding or diverse funding opportunities).

– Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

Cooperation with all relevant actors in the field is necessary not only to support individual cases, but also to work towards structural change and the sustainable integration of LGBTIQ refugees in Vienna / Austria.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Does the practice contribute to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies?

The organisation regularly takes public positions and cooperates with other actors to highlight areas in which improvement is needed to ensure the better inclusion of LGBTIQ refugees. While the project is primarily focused on securing access to safe legal status for its participants (as a foundation for long-term-integration), as well as on developing safe reception environments, broader educational and support activities are also offered depending on available resources.

Good practice checklist

✓ Seize opportunities to contribute to the development of comprehensive integration strategies involving EU-level/national/regional/local authorities, service providers and civil society.

✓ Work with relevant partners to jointly review operations, practices, services, and integration outcomes.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

The practice ensures equal access to appropriate services for all, taking into account the specific needs of different groups. Several communication channels are used: informative text messages, WhatsApp groups for different activities and interests, and informative posters. A monthly newsletter is also distributed to institutional and associative partners, and published on social networks.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

The practice offers a successful example of receiving society involvement, providing local people with opportunities to co-design activities with new arrivals and to play a key role in their integration.

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

✓ involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

The practice is exemplary in its involvement of beneficiaries in its design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation at both local and national level. Once a year, in each city where the programme is run and at national level, the most active local and migrant participants are invited to a roundtable to dicuss the successes of and challenges faced by the programme that year.

Good practice checklist

✓ Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

The objectives of the practice meet the needs of the beneficiaries. This is ensured through co-design and facilitation of the activities by the beneficiaries themselves.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

✓ Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

The practice promotes beneficiaries’ self-confidence, their language skills and their development of local networks, in so doing supporting their longer term integration. It also builds bridges between migrant communities and the receiving society, promoting sustainable and comprehensive social inclusion.

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓Ensure that services contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of migrants/migrant communities.

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

✓ Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

The practice follows the guidelines of the national strategy for refugee integration, and thanks to its promotion of refugee inclusion and participation is considered as a good example for replication.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

The practice is designed to trigger a positive change in the behaviour of participants, based on individually designed activities and targets. All activities are built around numerical targets.

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

– Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

✓ Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

− Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

Evaluation of the project takes place regularly, and is published both on the website and in the annual social report alongside relevant financial data. Achievement of intended outcomes is measured via both a survey distributed among teachers and participant feedback. Proof of its success can also be found in its securing of new funders and supporters.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

✓Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

− Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Is the practice prepared to sustain its positive effects after completion?

Kicken ohne Grenzen is well established and has the funding and plans in place to continue its projects for at least another three years. It attracts sponsors and has established sustainable cooperation between stakeholders (NGOs, schools, and football players, for example). Furthermore, sustainability of the activities is secured through the training of former participants in coaching, and their eventual hiring within the project.

Good practice checklist

✓ During the design phase, anticipate opportunities to continue the intervention after completion.

– Prepare and apply a well-defined sustainability plan to ensure the continuation of positive effects / outcomes.

✓ Devote resources to building capacities during the implementation phase, in order to ensure that the necessary human resources, expertise and infrastructure are in place to sustain the services upon completion of the action.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

The practice collaborates with cultural partners and educational institutions to allow for social and cultural exchange between the receiving society and new arrivals, thus contributing to the wider integration framework. Debates – coordinated by both refugees and local people – are conducted in high schools and universities, creating space for younger generations to share knowledge and ideas on migration and inclusion.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

Participation is considered the basis of the entire project, which is designed to be accessible to all, with individual focal points set through activity selection. Services and activities are open to everyone, including hotel guests, residents, asylum seekers, volunteers, locals and internationals. The restaurant is the main meeting point of the project, and works to bring people together against a backdrop of different cultures and related foods. The project’s framework and activities are flexible and can be easily adapted to the needs of the target group.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

– Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

The receiving society can participate in the project – in so doing benefiting from the cultural exchange – if desired: it is open to everyone and offers many opportunities for (passive) participation. Both building residents and guests can contribute creative ideas to further develop the project.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

The project is designed to encourage strong collaboration between and input from asylum seekers, hotel guests, neighbours, and volunteers. The active participation of all those staying at the hotels is explicitly welcomed.

Good practice checklist

– Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

– Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

The practice strengthens the autonomy of its migrant participants through early integration measures such as language courses and support with the search for accommodation. The involvement of migrant participants in the design of the project and its services also serves to empower them, as well as reducing the costs involved for the government in maintaining accommodation.

Good practice checklist

– Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Ensure that services contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of migrants/migrant communities.

– Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

– Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

The practice aligns with common integration measures and strategies and contributes to the wider integration framework. It collaborates with the migrant counselling service of welfare organisation Diakonie, for example, as well as the government of Swabia, and offers practical support with key integration-related issues such as housing and language. The practice is well-known in the integration environment: it has received much media coverage and has been granted various awards.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

The practice was planned via a comprehensive design process involving many actors. It aims to promote new ways of cohabitation and to bring together different parts of society, including through collaboration with local authorities. At the project’s inception, the local community was engaged in discussion around its design and objectives.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

– Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓ Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

– Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

− Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

− Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

− Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

According to the available information there is no structural funding, but the practice receives project funding and generates its own income through the hotel/hostel, the restaurant, the kiosk and its (online) shop. It also receives support though its long-term cooperation with the local government and Diakonie, although this does not finance the activities and services of the Cosmopolis Grandhotel.

Good practice checklist

✓ Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

– Identify new EU and national funding opportunities for long-term integration (e.g., shifting from project-based initiatives that are limited in time or dependent on one (external) donor to a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on secured funding or diverse funding opportunities).

✓ Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

The services of the practice are accessible and responsive to diverse groups, mainly migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well others including the LGBTQI+ community and women. Efforts are made to ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of all activities.

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

There is active participation in the project from individuals, institutions and organisations, including many volunteers. Those that complete the MigraCode course find themselves more appealing to recruiters and employers, and in a stronger position for labour market participation.

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

MigraCode includes both its volunteers and students in the development of the course. Volunteer teachers are consulted on the inclusion of a new element or module, for example, to ensure it fits the curriculum. A feedback form is also made available at the end of every module for both teachers and students.

Good practice checklist

✓ Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

Participation in MigraCode gives migrants a stronger profile in the labour market and secures them more opportunities to secure work at tech companies. Apart from the coding course itself, MigraCode offers psychosocial, legal and mentoring support that contributes to their long-term integration, and raises awareness of racism and discrimination through social media and events.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

✓ Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

As the goal of many similar institutions and organisations is to promote the integration of migrants, MigraCode aligns well with these stakeholders. The project also implements various tools and methods that are in line with EU human rights standards, and could encourage institutional and legislative reform through setting a precedent for migrant involvement in the tech sector.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

MigraCode promotes upskilling for vulnerable communities to help them find new and better labour opportunities. This not only strengthens migrant communities as a whole, but also meets the demand for skilled talent in the tech sector and thus contributes to a more inclusive and diverse society.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓ Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

✓ Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

✓ Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

MigraCode monitors the implementation and results of every course cycle. During team meetings, challenges are discussed and activities correspondingly adjusted. Jobs and other opportunities secured as a result of a migrant’s participation in the project are kept track of, feedback is requested from students and teachers, and student progresss is monitored through homework and final project results. Specific goals are set to measure student, volunteer and labour market success. The project also keeps in touch with those who ultimately hire their students, in order to measure the impact of the course on both the host society and on the integration of former students.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

✓ Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

✓ Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Is the practice prepared to sustain its positive effects after completion?

MigraCode has a stable sustainability plan, developed through analysis of past courses and expectations for the future. As the project is run by the Open Cultural Centre, it is financially sustained by the centre’s budget. At the same time, due to the technical aspects of the programme, MigraCode can also strongly rely on stable CSR funding.

Good practice checklist

✓ During the design phase, anticipate opportunities to continue the intervention after completion.

✓ Prepare and apply a well-defined sustainability plan to ensure the continuation of positive effects / outcomes.

✓ Devote resources to building capacities during the implementation phase, in order to ensure that the necessary human resources, expertise and infrastructure are in place to sustain the services upon completion of the action.

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

MigraCode attracts donations and funding from other organisations and the European Union. MigraCode Barcelona is part of a larger European network also organised by the Open Cultural Centre, which aims to develop long-term, shared funding opportunities and educational improvements through transnational collaboration.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

✓ Identify new EU and national funding opportunities for long-term integration (e.g., shifting from project-based initiatives that are limited in time or dependent on one (external) donor to a comprehensive, multi-year strategy based on secured funding or diverse funding opportunities).

✓ Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

Migracode collaborates with various tech companies, NGOs and civil society actors. For example, some students know of MigraCode because they were referred to it by their local government.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Does the practice contribute to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies?

Since MigraCode promotes the integration of migrants, it is also likely that it contributes to improvement of integration support policies.

Good practice checklist

✓ Seize opportunities to contribute to the development of comprehensive integration strategies involving EU-level/national/regional/local authorities, service providers and civil society.

✓ Work with relevant partners to jointly review operations, practices, services, and integration outcomes.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

The practice’s services are accessible and responsive to the needs of the defined target group: young people who are disadvantaged due to their socio-economic status, learning needs or immigration background, including – but not limited to – refugee students. Access for these young people is facilitated by cooperating organisations. Diversity is ensured in the sense that the ‘buddy teams’ that form part of the programme usually comprise both locals and newcomers. Buddy teams shape their own activities according to individual needs.

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

The receiving society is significantly involved in the practice, via the buddy teams, and service delivery starts from an understanding of integration as a two way process. Evaluation of the practice indicates that this leads to greater intercultural exchange and understanding, and promotes the development of acceptance, tolerance and empathy. These effects have been mentioned by participants both with and without a refugee background.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

Beneficiaries are systematically involved in evaluation of the practice, but their participation in the design of the practice is more informal.

 

Good practice checklist

– Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

– Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

The objectives of the practice are relevant to migrants and are continuously adjusted according to migrant participants’ needs, which are identified based on evaluation findings and the previous experience of implementing organisation Stiftung Bildung. Initial creation of the practice came about from the identification of a gap in integration support.

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

– Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

Evaluation findings so far indicate that the practice facilitates refugee students’ adjustment and orientation in Germany, promoting their sense of belonging, personal development and development of personal relationships. The practice does not specifically foster migrants’ community engagement, but this could be considered a secondary outcome. Through the personal relations that they develop, migrants’ language and educational outcomes are also improved, and generally speaking buddy teams contribute to decreasing prejudice, developing mutual understanding, and strengthening cross-cultural awareness and appreciation.

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

– Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

✓ Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

Through its close links with national ministries, the practice contributes to national integration frameworks. It also strengthens the capacities of cooperating organisations.

Good practice checklist

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

✓ Make sure that the services offered contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of relevant institutions to support future development.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

The practice is adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design. The objectives and planned results are clear and are regularly assessed through internal evaluation. The indicators used are measurable and relevant. The main aim of this programme is to facilitate the arrival of newcomer children and youth through personal interactions with local youn people, and evaluation findings indicate that it is successful in doing so.

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

– Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

✓ Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

✓ Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

Implementation is regularly monitored, and – in addition to internal evaluation – external evaluations are conducted annually. Training and supervision regularly take place for those involved in delivery of the programme. Stiftung Bildung offers supervision, seminars and information events to support buddy teams.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

− Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

− Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Does the practice attract structural funding and support from new sponsors and individuals, or have the potential to develop a business model to generate its own resources?

National funding is already being used by the practice, strengthened by contributions from sponsoring associations which might facilitate continuation of the practice after the primary funding ends. Due to the nature of the practice model, it is unlikely that it could become self-financing.

Good practice checklist

✓ Develop partnerships and relations with relevant stakeholders at the early stage of the action to ensure that the practice has strong support and potential partners for after the primary funding terminates.

✓ Diversify funding opportunities and identify options for self-financing through business activities or social entrepreneurship.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

Communication and coordination with other relevant stakeholders, especially with the implementing organisations, is established to foster the integration of newcomers. Multiple types of stakeholders are involved in the implementation of the practice, including schools, language course providers, sponsoring associations, parents, youth, policy makers, and kindergartens.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Does the practice contribute to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies?

The contribution of the practice to the integration of newcomers is being reviewed in conjunction with cooperating organisations and policy makers.

Good practice checklist

– Seize opportunities to contribute to the development of comprehensive integration strategies involving EU-level/national/regional/local authorities, service providers and civil society.

✓ Work with relevant partners to jointly review operations, practices, services, and integration outcomes.

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

Relevance & Complementarity

Effectiveness

Sustainability

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?

The Multicultural Centre in Warsaw is open to everyone, whether migrant or Pole. Information concerning its services is available in different languages and in different formats, both online and offline. All potential visitors to the centre are asked about their own specific needs, and special attention is paid to the needs of those with a disability. Sign language interpreters are also arranged when necessary. If it is known that mobility impaired participants will attend an event, it will take place on the ground floor.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Adopt a participatory, gender mainstreaming, age sensitive, inclusive approach and secure equal opportunities for beneficiaries.

✓ Make sure to provide precise and accessible information on how to access services in different languages, formats and through different communication channels

✓ Ensure that equality and diversity are an essential part of how services are delivered, taking into consideration different needs and capacities.

✓ Make reasonable adjustments to service delivery in order to take into account particular needs of the target group.

Does the practice involve the active participation of the receiving society?

Most of the centre’s events are aimed at both migrants and the host society, and representatives of the host society can both participate in and organise events. The centre welcomes Polish volunteers. Its mission is to promote tolerance and the image of Warsaw as a multicultural metropolis; diverse and open to all. The centre organises educational events for children and adults, including lessons in schools to familiarise children with multiculturalism.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Consider integration as a two-way process, and aim for change on the side of the receiving society.

✓ Foresee an active role for the receiving society in the design and implementation stages of the practice, and involve actions that encourage native communities and beneficiaries to work together.

Does the practice consult its beneficiaries and involve them in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the action?

Beneficiaries have ample opportunity to co-create activities within the project, including by organising their own events in the centre’s space. They can also reserve space at the centre to work. In addition, they are asked to evaluate the services provided by the centre, primarily through an anonymous satisfaction survey.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Organise consultation activities with migrant beneficiaries in order to co-create actions where possible and secure their feedback on the design and evaluation of the action.

✓ Provide appropriate feedback mechanisms by which beneficiaries can safely express their opinions on service quality.

✓ Use flexible and interculturally-adapted formats and compensate participants for their contribution.

Relevance & Complementarity

Are the objectives of the practice relevant to the needs of the migrants?

The project was preceded by a needs assessment, although not all needs – such as those related to the massive influx of refugees from Ukraine, for example – could be foreseen. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war the centre was able to adapt its activities to become a central support point for refugees from Ukraine, running a hotline with 12 operators and a transportation service to take individuals to their accommodation. To identify gaps in integration support, the centre analyses relevant research conducted by academics, think tanks and NGOs. Its representatives do have the capacity to effect significant systemic change, but are involved in official consultations on urban policies that relate to diversity and migrant integration.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Identify and analyse the needs of the relevant migrants and prioritise methods which directly ask them about their needs.

✓ Identify and analyse gaps in integration support and design actions to fill these gaps.

– Aim for systemic improvement, satisfying the needs of the majority of target groups in the target area.

Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?

The centre’s activities contribute significantly to the empowerment of migrants and the strengthening of their autonomy and long-term integration. Visitors can partake in language courses, access information services and counselling – including career counselling -, organise their own events, and even run micro-offices in the space. In addition, the centre itself employs foreigners, giving them the opportunity to improve their linguistic, social and professional competences. It runs an information desk and provides legal advice, including by handling discrimination cases. It also organises anti-discrimination workshops.

Good practice checklist

✓ Devise actions with the overarching goal of providing positive feedback and making migrants more confident, autonomous and independent.

✓ Contribute to migrants’ engagement with the community for the common good.

✓ Ensure that services contribute to the strengthening of the capacities of migrants/migrant communities.

✓ Include (or create the preconditions for) actions that facilitate long-term integration.

✓ Address discrimination and information gaps as obstacles to long-term integration.

Does the practice align with the priorities, strategic goals and policies of other relevant stakeholders, and contribute to the wider integration framework?

As the centre is a City of Warsaw project, it forms part of the strategies and policies of the city.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure that all actions are in line with international and European human rights standards.

✓ Employ regional/local, national and EU/international level integration-related guidelines and tools.

Effectiveness

Is the practice adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design?

Most of the centre’s activities are within the framework of the project devised by the Warsaw authorities, and are planned for a duration of three years. The project has a budget and a timetable, and activities correspond to 17 measurable and achievable performance indicators. A communication strategy is a requirement of the project.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Aim for actions that achieve observable outcomes among the target group or contribute to changes during the implementation of the action.

✓ Make sure that the objectives and planned results of the activity are feasible and clear.

✓ Develop a communications strategy during the design phase of the action and pay attention to communication with host communities and local authorities.

✓ Ensure the practice is based on indicators that are measurable, achievable, and relevant.

− Develop a staff management plan to identify team members with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, and their needs for training and further qualification.

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

The centre’s performance is monitored and evaluated monthly, according to certain indicators. External evaluations are also carried out from time to time. Satisfaction surveys are also conducted among beneficiaries, and these show that activities are considered successful by participants.

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure regular monitoring of action implementation and compare actual performance to goals set during the design phase.

− Anticipate obstacles that might occur and plan alternative scenarios during the design phase of the action.

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

✓ Determine whether practice outcomes are considered successful by beneficiaries, the host and practitioner communities, funders, and policymakers.

− Assess whether interventions contribute to long-term sustainable change.

Sustainability

Is the practice prepared to sustain its positive effects after completion?

Since the Warsaw authorities run the centre, the practice is treated as a permanent fixture.

Good practice checklist

✓ During the design phase, anticipate opportunities to continue the intervention after completion.

✓ Prepare and apply a well-defined sustainability plan to ensure the continuation of positive effects / outcomes.

✓ Devote resources to building capacities during the implementation phase, in order to ensure that the necessary human resources, expertise and infrastructure are in place to sustain the services upon completion of the action.

Partnership & Collaboration

Does the practice establish communication and coordination with other relevant actors to foster the integration of migrants? (e.g., migrants, civil society, public authorities, businesses)

The centre is run jointly by four NGOs, including three migrant organisations, which collaborate with city authorities. In addition to this, other actors organise events and activities free of charge in the centre’s space.

 

Good practice checklist

✓ Ensure the involvement and participation of key stakeholders in the development phase and create strategies to involve them in the action.

✓ Include multi-stakeholder consultation with professionals, institutions, and citizens, in order to promote the meaningful participation of refuges and migrants and support a joint sense of ownership of decisions and actions.

Consortium

Non- EU Partners

Associate

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