Good Practice Criteria
Inclusivity & Participation
Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?
In addition to using young people to translate for and encourage the participation of others, the practice utilises a cross-cutting participatory approach to gender and celebrates diversity. Activity schedules are adapted to the needs of participants, ensuring diversity of participant groups.
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 runs specific activities aimed at the public. The course “Agents for the prevention of Islamophobia and discrimination on religious grounds”, for example, works with local people to discuss and address common prejudices. The practice also provides training for intervention professionals in the prevention of Islamophobia and religious discrimination.
Inspiring tools:
Online course; video discussion on being a Muslim woman in Spain.
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 practice uses a methodology of shared work and feedback. Individual participation is scheduled according to discussion with participants at the beginning of the year, and adjusted when needed. Following feedback, safe spaces of belonging are being created within the practice so that young people feel comfortable to express themselves freely.
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 specific objectives of the practice are adapted on an ongoing basis according to the needs of its young participants. A clear indication that the practice succeeds in meeting these needs is that young people continue to participate in the activities and have generated their own networks of belonging, beyond the realms of the project itself.
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 empowers young migrants through its support for the development of their self-awareness, and its provision of specific tools and information. It offers training sessions on religious rights and relevant available services, which both strengthen their autonomy and promote their long-term integration.
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?
The practice takes into account the broader social inclusion framework, including relevant policies, working with other actors – such as universities, municipal police, associations and religious groups – to consolidate the integration support being delivered.
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?
The practice is comprehensively designed in order to promote improvements to society as a whole. Those involved in intervention activities receive professional training, learning skills that they can also use within wider society, and the young people that participate are trained, empowered and encouraged to become key agents of social change.
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.
✓ 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 its own process for monitoring its actions and results. Regular meetings are held to discuss existing and potential challenges, and the practice’s wider network is regularly consulted for support. All training courses have a feedback period in which participants can give suggestions for improvements and future focus areas.
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?
Until 2022 the practice was funded by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and by FAMI (EU). It is now funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Agenda 2030. Additionally, funding has been received from the Valladolid City Council, and plans are in place to charge fees for some training courses, in order to further generate income.
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 is always seeking new ways to promote intercultural and interreligious encounters, including by bringing together its partners with its young participants during certain training sessions.
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.