Good Practice Criteria
Inclusivity & Participation
Does the practice ensure that its services are accessible and responsive to diverse groups?
The Welcome Home programme is aimed at different groups of migrants, regardless of country of origin, gender, age, disability, etc., with participation determined on a case-by-case basis. To facilitate access, programme recruitment information is available in different languages and distributed via various channels. When necessary, contact with potential participants is made with the help of interpreters.
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 mainly involved through the provision of financial support for specific refugee families, including to cover rent costs (this type of contribution is transferred directly to landlords by the foundation), and through the renting of housing to refugees at reduced prices (this amounts to private sponsorship). In addition, in some cases neighbours are involved in supporting refugee families.
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?
A contract is signed with each refugee family when they join the programme, which includes a personalised plan for self-reliance. This plan is developed by an integration specialist in close cooperation with the family.
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 programme responds to the housing needs of the most vulnerable migrants, especially refugees. All actions are implemented according to the personalised plans laid out in the contracts, which are designed in conjunction with each family to ensure relevance to their needs. The programme was created in response to a gap in integration support for refugees: the threat of homelessness after completion of the one-year individual integration programme.
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.
Is the practice relevant to the empowerment of migrants, the strengthening of their autonomy and the support of their long-term integration?
The overarching aim of the programme is to promote the self-reliance of migrants, thereby improving their autonomy and 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 programme aligns with UNHCR guidelines. Other guidelines, such as those of the EU, are considered too general for the specific Polish content, and at present there are no relevant guidelines at the local or national 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?
The programme was adequately planned in that it had a long initial implementation period, during which appropriate improvements and adjustments were made. It is based on a comprehensive design, providing in addition to housing support a comprehensive social work service run by an integration specialist. An individual approach is adopted for each family, based on the personalised plans developed in their initial contracts.
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 results of the programme are monitored regularly, with an evaluation of the degree of self-sufficiency of participating families carried out every three months.
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.