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 works to erase all obstacles to information about COVID-19, as well as to its prevention, detection and treatment (including vaccination). The involvement of local communities is an essential part of the INTERSOS approach, and awareness-raising is at the centre of this vaccination intervention. Timetables for services and focus group discussions have been diversified in order to facilitate the participation of all groups, and to accommodate limitations imposed by third parties (women victims of sexual exploitation, for example, have a regularly scheduled day for medical visits).

Inspiring tools:

Inspiring tools: INTERSOS report.

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 views its interventions as temporary and functional, empowering local institutions, services and individuals and helping them to interact with each other independently. INTERSOS actively supports public institutions in their efforts to improve intake capacities and to overcome bureaucratic, cultural, linguistic, and practical barriers to accessing healthcare. The training of community-based organisations reinforces this.

 

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 INTERSOS community-based approach involves beneficiaries in the implementation of its practices.

In each informal settlement, some beneficiaries are trained to support the service in reaching potential beneficiaries and collecting relevant information 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 practice supports the most marginalised migrants to improve their health conditions and protect their rights. The involvement of volunteers and the use of focus groups helps in the identification of needs and design of actions.

 

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 active involvement of migrants is a constitutive element of the INTERSOS intervention model. In this way individuals are empowered, and supported for further intervention where needed. Awareness is at the centre of the vaccination intervention process: the aim of the practice is not persuasion, rather increased awareness. This can be achieved only in the long run, through small steps and the establishment of mutual trust (and this mutual trust in itself promotes integration in the longer term). The involvement of local institutions in the practice is pursued in order to improve public services in the long run.

 

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 aims to strengthen the services of public institutions, rather than to substitute them. Such institutions are supported to increase their intake capacities and to overcome bureaucratic, cultural, linguistic, and practical access barriers. Since the beginning of the vaccination period, INTERSOS has carried out related advocacy at both regional and 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 practice is monitored in a systematic way, based on analysis of previous interventions. Specifically-determined indicators are used to monitor two of the three main activities: information dissemination and practical support.

 

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 actions of INTERSOS and the community-based organisational partners are monitored on either a weekly or a daily basis. Previous experiences and relevant expertise was taken into account in the creation of the practice, and it was designed to be flexible enough to accommodate new elements as needed.

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 initial design phase, the practice has improved the ability of both local communities and public services to accommodate the needs of migrants and others who are socially excluded. INTERSOS aims to make relevant actors autonomous as soon as possible, in order to better sustain the practice 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?

In the INTERSOS approach, interventions are temporary and local institutions and actors are trained to ultimately become autonomous. To achieve this, different sources of funding are utilised and responsibilities are transferred. For example, multicultural mediators are now used at the Foggia health institution, thanks to a project funded by Fondazione con il Sud (a banking foundation).

 

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)

Along with being involved in advocacy activities itself, INTERSOS works to involve relevant local actors in the process as much as possible.

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?

Participating in different clusters and networks at national and regional levels, INTERSOS contributes to the exchange of information and the improvement of integration support policies. At every site where INTERSOS is operational, its staff members create new – and work to enhance existing – coordination groups so that they might collaboratively review operations and outcomes, and advocate more effectively at local and regional 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 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 intercultural services of the practice were available to all foreigners in the city. They were delivered by intercultural workers, who are people with both a migration background and knowledge of the languages of the largest migrant communities in Brno. Information about the services was made available through various channels, including online publications, social media networks, printed brochures and institutional leaflets. Services were provided at public institutions and via community outreach, at times that suited the needs of their migrant participants.

 

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 aim of the project was to reduce communication barriers in public administration institutions, especially in the municipality of Brno, between foreigners (beneficiaries of public services) and civil servants of the receiving society (providers of public services). The work remit of the intercultural workers was based on a needs analysis carried out among both foreigners and civil servants. Civil servants were required to participate in a training programme that strengthened their intercultural competences and their understanding of the rights and duties of foreigners.

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 implementation of the project was continuously evaluated through interviews conducted with intercultural workers, officials (civil servants) and foreigners. The intercultural workers regularly collected feedback from beneficiary individuals and institutions, in person via community outreach as well as by telephone and online. New activities were decided upon in consultation with migrant community representatives. Both participants and intercultural workers were given the opportunity to discuss the practice at city level, via various platforms focused on the integration of foreigners and community planning.

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?

Intercultural workers, as employees of the municipality, are familiar with the needs of both the institutional environment and the needs of migrants. They worked to identify and remove barriers in migrants’ access to public services, and to adjust the services of the practice as necessary to meet migrants’ needs. Community outreach, interviews with beneficiaries and other forms of direct communication were used to map needs, ensuring the relevance of the practice.

 

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?

Before the practice came about, migrants in Brno usually turned to informal and non-professional intermediaries to solve their problems. The practice then became the ‘missing link’ between migrants and public service providers, working to strengthen migrants’ ability to communicate autonomously with public institutions and to deal with their problems independently. The involvement of intercultural workers and active migrants in planning processes and public administration platforms strengthened the ability of migrants to participate in decision-making, creating the conditions for improved quality and accessibility of public services for foreigners and, in the longer term, promoting their integration. The wider increased awareness of migrant integration as a result of the project also supported 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.

✓ 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 Czechia’s national integration policy, which promotes the use of intercultural workers. Intercultural work at the local government level represents a systemic change in the approach to integration: it enables municipalities to identify emerging problems early, thematise them in the public service planning process and contribute to finding systemic solutions.

 

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 was adequately planned according to a needs analysis. The results of relevant evaluations show that it contributed to better information provision to migrants and their ability to deal with problems, to the reduction of barriers in interactions between officials and foreigners, to a decrease in officials’ fear of dealing with foreigners, and to increased openness towards migrants. An intercultural training programme has been developed based on the practice’s competency model for interculturally responsive local government, which defines the knowledge and skills necessary for the qualified performance of intercultural work. Since its completion, the outputs and results of the practice have been published on the websites of both Brno city and the ESF

 

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?

Practice implementation and impact was regularly monitored and evaluated according to various indicators, and reports were made to the donor. Any problems or questions were addressed through consultation with representatives of cooperating organisations also focused on foreigners. As well as through the results of regular evaluation, the success of the practice is evidenced by the fact that it has received international recognition, and that Brno City Council continues to provide intercultural services via a follow-up project.

 

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 project has the potential to be transferred to other cities. One of the outputs is the “Competence model of interculturally permeable municipality”, which defines the range of skills of an intercultural worker within the municipality and sets out a training plan for municipal employees. A follow-up project was created, and a comprehensive meIntercultural work is now incorporated into the city’s strategic and planning documents, and is used and supported by other actors in the field of integration. Funding is currently provided by ESF to a follow-up project, and other possible sources include the Ministry of the Interior and the European Social Fund Plus. Potential funding for intercultural work is available from the state budget through the regional integration centres or from local authorities. thodology for intercultural work in local government is also being developed.

Inspiring tools:

 Competence model of interculturally inclusive municipal authority.

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?

Intercultural work is now incorporated into the city’s strategic and planning documents, and is used and supported by other actors in the field of integration. Funding is currently provided by ESF to a follow-up project, and other possible sources include the Ministry of the Interior and the European Social Fund Plus. Potential funding for intercultural work is available from the state budget through the regional integration centres or from local authorities.

 

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 relevant actors in the field of integration was established in the preparatory phase of the practice. Intercultural workers and foreigners participated in the community planning process for social services in Brno, and contributed to the development of the city’s strategy for the integration of foreigners and its related action plan. The intercultural workers are also building a broad network of cooperation based on case management, which is steadily growing and includes a wide range of local organisations and public institutions.

 

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 brochure for municipalities issued by the practice gives relevant practical examples and suggests solutions for local governments working with foreigners. The practice has been presented at a number of conferences and professional platforms in Brno, Czechia and abroad, and has already inspired other cities and organisations in Czechia and Slovakia to implement similar activities.

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

Partnership & Collaboration

Inclusivity & Participation

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

The beneficiaries of the programme were almost exclusively trafficked women between the ages of 18 and 30. The practice ensured that information about its services was disseminated efficiently and in a confidential way. Services were delivered taking into consideration various needs, such as those related to gender, childcare responsibilities and specific vulnerabilities. Activities were always run in the presence of a mediator who was herself a victim of trafficking.

 

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

The practice consulted beneficiaries via feedback mechanisms that allowed them to share their opinions and activity preferences. At the beginning of the employment integration activities, beneficiaries could express preferences for certain employment sectors or specific professions, and the work programme was accordingly designed to facilitate access to the labour market in these sectors.

 

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?

Needs were identified in the field by social workers before beneficiaries began the programme, as well as through their day-to-day interactions with each other. This information was passed on to programme coordinators, and activities were adapted accordingly. Regular sessions were held to give social workers the opportunity to advise on how the programme could be improved to better meet migrants’ needs.

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 a good example of an integration tool for those who have suffered traumatic experiences. Focusing on both the psychosocial and the professional, the programme enabled beneficiaries to ‘move on’ with their lives in a secure way, progressively gaining autonomy and the skills needed to access and succeed in the labour market.

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 aligned with the national and European priorities of combatting human trafficking, and contributed to a broadening of the integration spectrum by focusing on an under-supported group. The skills assessment part of the programme followed the relevant European Commission grid.

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 was designed to support beneficiaries with two essential dimensions of their integration paths, based on specific targets outlined in their personalised work plans. The objectives were clearly stated in quantitative terms in order to meet the requirements of the relevant call for proposals. 

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 regularly assessed action implementation and outcomes against expected results and primary objectives, and evaluated beneficiaries’ satisfaction. A financial and narrative report was produced every 6 months presenting the number of beneficiaries, the duration of activities, objectives, and levels of satisfaction. Additionally, participants completed feedback forms after each workshop and training session.

 

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.

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)

Practice implementation relied on the coordination of several civil society organisations that are specialised in supporting the integration of migrants, including those who are victims of trafficking.  

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?

Discussions have been regularly held between the European partners of the project consortium, and final conferences will gather relevant multilevel stakeholders to discuss results and identify opportunities for improvements to policies relating to the integration of human trafficking victims.

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 Centre for Foreigners provides comprehensive integration services in the Ústí nad Labem Region, combining standardised services provided by all regional integration centres with additional, local-level activities. The centre’s services are easily accessible. Relevant information is made available online in several languages, in printed format via leaflets distributed at institutions that handle foreigners’ issues, and verbally through active community outreach work. Services are personalised to meet the individual needs of participants.

 

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 integration centres offer a wide range of activities to both migrants (social and legal counselling; Czech language courses; adaptation and integration courses) and the receiving society (a regional advisory platform; monitoring of the situation of foreigners). The Centre for Foreigners also actively responds to the needs of local institutional actors (methodological and advisory support to schools; support with increasing the intercultural competences of public administration institutions) and involves host society volunteers in its activities (tutoring of foreign children; advice on grants processes to migrant associations).

 

Inspiring tools:

Inspiring tools: Advisory and educational activities for public institutions in the region.

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?

Migrant integration is coordinated at the regional level by regional advisory platforms involving institutional actors and migrant representatives. The Centre for Foreigners also maintains regular contact with representatives of migrant associations. Individual service users are consulted as much as possible on the content of services (e.g. the design of leisure activities and the focus of specific language courses) and on their quality.

 

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 integration centres’ services and their complexity is positively evaluated by other service providers, the NGO sector, individual users and external evaluators. The services are personalised for their users according to a mapping of each client’s needs carried out during their initial interview.

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 integration centres provide social counselling to migrants on the basis of an individual plan, the implementation of which requires the support of the service provider, and the effects of which promote migrants’ long-term integration and strengthen their autonomy. Migrants are also involved in regional advisory platforms, which allows them to develop their networks and promotes their 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 regional advisory platforms, organised by the integration centres, are a tool (in line with national integration policy) for identifying systemic solutions to gaps in the integration infrastructure at regional level. In addition, the Foreigners’ Centre responds to the specific needs of local actors in different areas of integration, especially in education.

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 services of the regional integration centres (including the Centre for Foreigners) are provided as comprehensively-designed one-year projects. They are built around the state integration policy, and their success is measured by internal, quantitative indicators. Complementary services provided by the Centre for Foreigners respond to the local context, and are again measured according to quantitative indicators. Service impact is monitored at the individual level, for example through evaluation with individuals receiving social counselling. The Centre for Foreigners also monitors the effectiveness of the Czech language courses by means of an entrance and exit exam and course attendance, and conducts its own internal evaluation of course implementation. Training is organised annually for new employees of the integration centres.

 

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 activities of the integration centres (including the Centre for Foreigners) are regularly monitored and evaluated, and feedback is requested from beneficiaries. External evaluations that assess beneficiaries’ satisfaction with the services have had positive results, and the Supreme Audit Office of the Czech Republic found that the practice meets state integration policy objectives.

 

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 network of integration centres is designed to be run on a long-term basis. Its operation has been secured since 2020 by the national act on the residence of foreigners.

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?

10 of the 14 integration centres in the Czech Republic are financed by the state budget. The remaining 4, including the Centre for Foreigners, are financed by annual AMIF projects. Additional activities run by the Foreigners’ Centre are funded on an ad hoc basis by available EU, national, regional or corporate resources.

 

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 key partner and creator of the integration centres concept is the Ministry of the Interior (which is responsible for the implementation of state integration policy). From the beginning, integration centres have been developing relationships with local actors dealing with foreigners’ issues, as well as with local governments, labour offices and schools within the framework of regional advisory platforms. The staff stability of the Centre for Foreigners allows for the development of long-term personal, informal relationships with key individuals within migrant communities.

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?

Some integration centres have been involved in the development of regional/local integration strategies. In addition to organising regional advisory platforms, the Centre for Foreigners participates in other professional platforms in the region (such as one for community planning).

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?

Sirius School is an inclusive, personalised practice that is designed to be adaptive and responsive to the needs of a diverse public, regardless of gender, age, language spoken, nationality, migration status, or ethnicity. Information on the practice is available in multiple languages, both online and onsite. Training services are adapted to the personal characteristics and needs of participants. Participation is free, and travel costs are fully reimbursed.

 

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?

Sirius School was created by the receiving society; by several trainees and volunteers previously involved in projects with operating partner Le Monde Des Possibles, who saw an opportunity for a new practice.

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 operates within a cooperative social economy. Beneficiaries are involved in its design and implementation, and its final aim is to create a stable, long-term training cooperative that employs migrants. Evaluation templates are distributed to participants at the end of their training.

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?

Sirius School is particularly relevant to the socio-professional integration of participants. It conducts constant monitoring of the local and national integration system, using and adapting its services to solve identified gaps and problems.

 

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?

Participant empowerment is a key operating principle of the practice: the stable, long-term training cooperative it has created will ideally be ultimately run by migrants themselves. The fostering of participants’ confidence and autonomy is another key focus, as well as the specific improvement of their employability skills, which serves to promote their integration in the long run. Some successful migrant participants will have the chance to participate in future activity as facilitators or trainers.

 

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 is broadly aligned with an aspect of integration that has been historically embedded in Belgium’s French-speaking community: the provision of adult education and training. Those stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of the practice are reliable and experienced, and operate within all relevant human rights guidelines. The project is embedded in a dense network of actors and practices in the integration of migrant newcomers, allowing for efficient communication with local authorities and stakeholders

 

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?

Sirius School relies on consistent planning of training activities and specific evaluation mechanisms. Objectives and planned results are clear, and continually adapted according to each beneficiary’s needs. As it is a training platform, indicators and monitoring mechanisms are embedded within its various processes. The project’s main operating partner uses an innovative, established methodology for identifying people with the right skills to work with beneficiaries, including the direct recruitment of immigrants and de-facto refugees.

 

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?

Conceived of and implemented as a training programme, the practice relies on several monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Direct results (e.g., the increased employability of participants) are only assessable in the longer term, but there is potential for long-lasting, positive effects.

 

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?

As a project made to be freely accessible, it is unlikely that it will develop a business model to generate its own resources. However, it is adept at establishing partnerships with new sponsors – such as training centres and schools – to attract funding. The project has strong partnerships with established local actors in the field of integration, and many of these partners have substantial experience in fundraising at the local, national and EU level.

 

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 project relies on collaboration with a political partner (Digital Belgium) and a civil society partner (Le Monde Des Possibles). The latter has an established local role as a hub for several migrant organisations and civil society actors involved in the migration, diversity and integration agenda. Consultation with key stakeholders is an established practice activity, and refugee/migrant organisations and individuals play a key role in the design and implementation of all its activities.

 

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 outcomes can inform discussion on integration practices and policies in the local and international context, particularly on such matters as the personal and professional development of newcomer refugees.

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?

Inclusivity and the acceptance of difference as strength are core principles of Magda’s Hotel, and dignity and equality shape its leadership approach. The hotel employs social workers to provide apprentices and other staff with assistance on a range of topics, from inter-staff conflict to housing, administrative issues and accessing German classes. As a social business, the active integration of those with limited access to the labour market is a priority.

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 hotel employs mixed teams of professionals and refugee trainees, and aims to show that integration is a two-way-process. It works to change attitudes among both the receiving society and tourist populations by demonstrating that integration can be successful.

 

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?

Social workers collect project feedback, listen to participants’ concerns and take note of issues that need to be addressed on an ongoing basis. Feedback is also collected during on- and off-boarding processes. This information is complemented by an annual external consultation with all staff, in conjunction with the Vienna University of Economics

 

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?

Magda’s Hotel is based around, on the one hand, the need for inclusive traineeships and non-discriminatory workplaces, and the need for qualified staff in the tourism sector on the other. The involvement of social workers ensures a holistic approach.

 

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 promotion of labour market integration through inclusive traineeships empowers refugees, strengthens their financial autonomy and supports their long-term integration. By providing proof that integration can be successful the hotel also serves to reduce discrimination and counter negative narratives around integration, further securing the social inclusion of refugees in the long term.

 

Inspiring tools:

Exemplary video on inclusive traineeships and jobs.

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?

Magda’s Hotel is a flagship social business that aims to demonstrate that supporting the integration of refugees is beneficial on both a social and a financial level. As part of Caritas, Magda’s Hotel belongs to a wide network of migration and integration initiatives, as well as to (social) business networks.

 

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?

As a social business in a competitive market, comprehensive design and meticulous planning were key during the inception phase of the project. Tourism expertise was provided through a specialised agency, for example, and in cooperation with the Austrian Association of Hotel Owners. Continuous collaboration with the Vienna University of Economics is also ensured in order to carry out regular and objective impact analysis.

 

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 are an absolute necessity for a social business. Comprehensive impact analysis is carried out in conjunction with the Vienna University of Economics.

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 project is built around a long term, comprehensive social business plan. It is designed to be sustainable, relying on multi-year funding and income from its own activities, and has no planned completion date. Its long-term goal is financial independence, both in terms of the project itself and in terms of outcome for its refugee participants.

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 project is based on a social business model and generates its own resources. Crowd funding during the early stages of implementation helped to generate wider public interest and support, and the Austrian Association of Hotel Owners has readily provided its expertise and 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)

Civil society was involved in the initial crowd funding process for the project, and individuals continue to be involved through volunteering their time and expertise (some have built furniture for the building, for example). Coordination and communication with other professionals in the hotel and social business industries is important for the successful continuation of the project, as is collaboration and discussion with other branches and sections of Caritas.

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 practice has been widely discussed in the Austrian media, and serves as a flagship model of the promotion of integration through social business.

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 aims to support and empower vulnerable and isolated migrant women, women with disabilities and women who have experienced trauma. These women are linked with a group of ‘Neighbourhood Mothers’ – women from the local community – who offer their support in better understanding and navigating society and their children’s needs. The approach is accessible in that it is multilingual, and it relies on ‘peer-to-peer’ delivery, for both groups and individuals.

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?

One of the main goals of the project is to build a bridge between participating migrant women and local or state authorities. For some local groups the municipality is an active partner, and for most groups the local housing administration is a key stakeholder. An important part of the project is the building of social and referral networks for migrant women, which reinforces their capacity to actively participate in society.

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?

Group activities are designed and delivered at the local level, and a national secretariat coordinates all local groups. Participants are all able to provide input on relevant project strategies. Project delivery is overseen by a leading group of seven people who are democratically elected every 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 project aims to empower both the Neighbourhood Mothers and participating migrant women. The education services focus on improving these women’s knowledge of society and their children’s needs, which benefits both the women and their families in the short and long term.

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 its participants and strengthens their capacity to self-support, building on the understanding that a mother is often instrumental in the social and cultural integration of her whole family. The social networks and personal connections built during participation in the practice, as well as the building of knowledge at the individual level, serve to strengthen the integration of migrant women in Danish society

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 aligns with official integration goals at both national and local level, such as the better inclusion of refugee and migrant women in society. During the education courses human rights and conventions are discussed, with particular reference to Denmark’s rules around secure rights for children, gender equality and equal rights for sexual minorities. Participants are expected to respect these rights and rules in their meetings with women under the project, even if they do not agree with them on a personal 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 large-scale project has been running for many years and generally sees positive outcomes, although improvements have been suggested (some of which have already been made). Each Neighbourhood Mother fills out a questionnaire every year about her own personal achievements, and keeps track of every conversation or meeting with migrant mother participants.

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?

Several independent evaluations of the practice have been carried out, with the most recent taking place in 2016. Since then, an internal evaluation system has been in place. Each Neighbourhood Mother is asked on an annual basis to identify personal changes that have taken place as a result of her participation in the project, and to take notes on every conversation or meeting she has with migrant mother participants. The success of local groups is measured according to ten different indicators, and any problems identified during this process are discussed at annual network meetings.

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 effects of the practice – increased knowledge and the development of various social networks – are self-sustaining. Project financing is stable and will continue in the long-term. The effects of the practice – increased knowledge and the development of various social networks – are self-sustaining. Project financing is stable and will continue 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?

The project already attracts funding from large and stable sources, but there is no potential for the development of a business model except in the sense that local municipalities may offer sustained support. The whole project relies on various degrees of partnership or collaboration with social housing companies and municipalities.

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)

Key stake holders such as municipalities, civil society and housing companies are already an integrated part of the project.

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?

This project does not have many means of influencing national integration policies, but is able to effect change in local approaches to integration through its embeddedness in local communities.

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.

Consortium

Non- EU Partners

Associate

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