Students – SPRING

Inclusivity & Participation

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

The project is aimed at two different target groups: 1) medium- and high-skilled migrants and employees of public administration institutions, and 2) organisations providing employment counselling to migrants. The portal is available in Czech and English, and functions as an accessible, step-by-step guide to the process of foreign education and qualification recognition. It includes a glossary of terms and a contact form for questions.

Inspiring tools:

The online qualification recognition portal.

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?

Professionals from public administration institutions and organisations providing employment counselling to migrants participated in the practice. A support portal was created for them, which shares methodological procedures and examples of good practices from abroad. In the preparatory phase, it was envisaged that the portal would be used by migrants as well as by the wider professional public, especially employees of public administration institutions and organisations providing employment counselling to migrants.

Inspiring tools:

Support portal for professionals.

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 portal was extensively tested by both target groups during the development phase. Findings from a review mapping migrants’ experiences with the qualification recognition process were incorporated into the structure of the portal, and methodological materials were provided for professionals from relevant supporting institutions. Respondents received compensation for their participation in the study. Users of the portal can provide feedback via the contact form provided.

Inspiring tools:

Case Study – Experiences of foreigners with recognition of foreign education in the Czech Republic

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 design and structure of the portal and the supporting website are based on an analysis of the needs of the target groups. The project offers a solution to the problem of the under-qualification of migrants, by reducing administrative barriers and improving the transparency and efficiency of the recognition process for foreign education and qualification.

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 portal provides migrants with step-by-step guidance through the entire process of education recognition, strengthens their self-sufficiency and reduces the related burden placed on specialised counselling services and institutions. Fully utilising the potential of migrants is economically beneficial for any society as a whole, and serves to promote the longer term integration of migrant individuals. The information contained in the portal includes a list of relevant legislation and a glossary of terms, which help users to better understand the whole process and to use relevant terminology when dealing with the authorities.

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 economic and social self-sufficiency of migrants is a priority in the Czech Republic’s approach to the integration of foreigners. This practice facilitates orientation in the education and qualification recognition process for both individuals and professionals in the wider integration network. The practice highlights systemic opportunities for the improvement of migrants’ access to the labour market.

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 implementation plan is not publicly available. Its main outputs are based on research carried out within the project, and have been disseminated on the basis of a well thought out communication plan.

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 portal was continuously tested by both target groups during its development phase, and regularly consulted a team of experts. It is has seen a steady increase in traffic since its launch in 2014.

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 portal was designed as a sustainable tool. Its implementing organisation continues to manage it and regularly updates the information it shares, and expert staff of the organisation handle inquiries made via the online contact form. Since the close of the initial project period, management of the portal has been financed by the organisation’s own resources.

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 course of the project’s implementation, cooperation with the partner NGO was agreed in order to continue operation of the portal after the close of the project. The ESF or national funding schemes could be considered as potential sources of funding.

Good practice checklist

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

– 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 activities involved actors from the academic sector, NGOs, public administration bodies and migrants themselves. Project outputs were communicated to relevant stakeholders at regional roundtables and conferences.

Good practice checklist

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

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

The project produced a set of recommendations on the employment and integration of foreigners for regional policy makers and service providers (integration centres). Project outputs were communicated at regional roundtables and conferences.

Inspiring tools:

Recommendations for regions.

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

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.

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

– 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.

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

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

– 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.

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

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

The Women’s Meeting Club meetings are open to all, regardless of origin, age, culture or religion. As a rule they are aimed at women, migrant women and Polish women from rural areas, and designed to respond to these women’s special needs and disadvantaged position. The meetings are based on friendship: everyone knows each other and each other’s needs well, and accessibility is ensured through encouragement of open discussion.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

The receiving society actively participates in organising meetings, securing meeting venues and – on the part of Polish women – attending meetings and interacting with refugee and migrant women. One of the main goals of the initiative is to change attitudes towards and counter negative narratives about refugees by sharing accurate information.

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?

Refugee and migrant women have the opportunity to influence all stages of activity within the Women’s Meeting Club: they are treated as equal ‘co-implementers’ and are constantly consulted for informal feedback on its progress. Refugee and migrant women who receive training and work in the club’s art and craft studio sign a contract and are paid for the items they make.

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?

Activities at the Women’s Meeting Club are run in response to requests made by participating migrant women. Similarly, meetings with Polish women are held at the request of women’s organisations and other institutions from the Lublin region and other parts of Poland. The needs of migrants are identified through informal conversations with migrant women, and services are adjusted accordingly.

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 initiative empowers migrant women, strengthens their autonomy, and promotes their long-term integration. It is built around the aims of ‘giving voice’ to migrant women and enabling them to work in a collective that provides them with professional experience and some financial support. Participation in meetings with Polish women strengthens migrant women’s language and social competences and accelerates their integration, while learning a craft provides work experience.

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 initiative is in line with international human rights principles and the EU basic principles for the integration of immigrants.

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.

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 activities of the Women’s Meeting Club are often implemented as part of various projects financed by different funds. If there are no projects running when a particular activity is suggested, private collections are organised to fund the activity. This works well: funding is not an obstacle to the continuation of activities. The club cooperates with several entities for the running of activities, such as other NGOs, universities or libraries, and this promotes its sustainability and develops its support networks.

Good practice checklist

✓ 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)

From the beginning, the Association for the Earth has cooperated with the BONA FIDES Local Activity Association, supporting women living rurally and establishing Active Women’s Clubs, the Commune Library and the Cultural Centre in Laziska. It also collaborates with universities, NGOs and various partner institutions, including the Office for Foreigners, and more recently with Vintage Baby, a Norwegian social enterprise.

Good practice checklist

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

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

Relevance & Complementarity

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

Effectiveness

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

Does the practice regularly monitor implementation and evaluate its results?

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

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

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

Sustainability

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

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

Partnership & Collaboration

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

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

Good practice checklist

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

Good Practice Criteria

Inclusivity & Participation

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

The practice works to be as accessible as possible: participation, for example, does not require certain language or other specific skills, and activities are adjustable. Participants’ different needs, cultural backgrounds and beliefs are taken into account in practice design and implementation, and cooperation was increased in order to better reach the target audience.

Inspiring tools:

Find further information on the circus technique here.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

The receiving society, including local authorities and institutions such as schools, was very active in the implementation of the practice, and social circus workshops were organised by local social circus organisations and volunteer workers. Youth members of the receiving society were also able to participate in some of the social circus workshops, which improved mutual communication and social relations.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

Beneficiaries were asked to give feedback throughout the project, and workshops were organised and designed according to this feedback. In one city, a local migrant youth organisation directly participated in the implementation of the practice. The practice made use of material from a previous project organised by one of the cooperating partners, which involved co-creation with beneficiaries.

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 identified a lack of language skills, a lack of knowledge of the culture of the receiving society, previous education, and receiving society attitudes as the main reasons for the marginalisation of migrant youth. The practice provided a safe environment for these youth to try new things, make mistakes, develop new skills, and learn the relevant language by using it in action, and the activities also represented a space in which migrants and locals can form relations in a safe, supported environment.

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 empowered migrants by facilitating their personal growth and their successful development of new language and social skills. Participant feedback showed that they felt their courage and confidence had increased as a result of their involvement in the project.

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 contributed to the wider integration framework by providing guidebooks and material on using social circus methods as a tool for integration, as well as on working with migrant youth more generally. The practice supports and teaches equality.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

Effectiveness

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

The practice is adequately planned according to a comprehensive design, with clear objectives and intended outcomes, which includes strategies for communication and for managing human resources. Experts from relevant fields – such as those experienced in working with migrant youth or skilled in the social circus approach – were invited to share their knowledge. Each workshop was run by both a female and male instructor, to ensure equal representation and accessibility. Training was included in the staff management plan.

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 project was monitored by the Children and Youth Foundation and the social circus instructors, and results were regularly evaluated. Overall supervision of the practice was carried out by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. Feedback from beneficiaries, circus instructors and teachers was mostly positive, and the practice was considered successful. It contributed to long-term, sustainable change in the field of migrant integration thanks to the training it offered and its promotion of mutually beneficial relations between migrants and local organisations, authorities and institutions.

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 aimed for continuation of its positive effects by sharing its tools and information with relevant actors for use after its completion. Guidebooks and other useful materials were published, for example, for people working with migrant youth, and training was provided to professionals and students in relevant fields who were able to use their new-found knowledge for the betterment of the wider community.

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.

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 and its published materials were designed to be absorbed into existing structures, for example into the school education system and social circus programmes. The project worked to strengthen connections between relevant stakeholders.

Good practice checklist

– 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 between migrants, civil society and public authorities was an important part of the practice. Successful implementation and target group engagement was ensured through collaboration with local authorities and institutions working with migrant youth.

Good practice checklist

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

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

The project contributed to the improvement of integration support through the implementation of a successful pilot practice and toolkit, using social circus methods. Further, the practice initiated and encouraged communication between different stakeholders, ensuring more comprehensive understanding of and commitment to integration support.

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

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

The practice runs throughout Finland. In order to ensure accessibility it offers the use of interpreters and delivery in other languages, and is adaptable to different social and local contexts. It is aimed at people in various stages of life, for whom support with home economics and housekeeping would be useful. Target groups are reached through cooperation with other relevant organisations and institutions. Participation in the practice is voluntary, and services are adjusted according to the needs of participants.

In.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

The receiving society is involved in the implementation of the practice. The courses are delivered by local professionals who work as staff for the organisation, and local volunteers are heavily involved in several services including those that promote migrant integration. The practice is run through cooperation with other organisations and institutions that represent both migrants and the receiving 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?

The practice consults its beneficiaries in order to take their needs and wishes into account when designing course content

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 aims to ease the difficulties faced by migrants when navigating everyday life in a new environment and culture, by offering assistance and training in home economics and management. It also offers support with learning the local language and understanding the local culture, and organises opportunities for social interaction with local people. The specific needs of each group are considered during the design phase of each course.

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?

By offering migrants assistance with the management of day-to-day life – such as with understanding seasonal food, clothing, and grocery shopping – the practice promotes their autonomy in the longer term. By offering a safe environment for socialising with locals and in which to learn the local language, it also furthers 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 follows local human rights laws and integration policy.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

Effectiveness

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

The practice is adequately planned and based on a comprehensive design, its objectives are clear and feasible, and it has sustainable resources and funding options. Its intended outcomes are achievable and – to some extent – observable. The courses are delivered by trained professionals, and additional training is offered to those working with the practice.

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 is regularly monitored and evaluated by the implementing organisation, including through the gathering of feedback from participants and partners. In addition, monitoring is carried out to meet funding stipulations from the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA).

Inspiring tools:

Instructions for gathering statistical data from activities.

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 has been running for more than 20 years, proving its sustainability (in which collaboration with other relevant actors plays a big part). At the individual level, everything a participant learns during a course or activity can be used outside the realms of the practice and in the future.

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.

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 receives funding from STEA, and follows The Martha Organization’s existing business model for organising courses, events and other activities.

Good practice checklist

– 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 Martha Organization collaborates with other relevant actors to deliver project services.

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?

Whereas The Martha Organization actively contributes to discussion on the improvement of integration support policies via its other projects, this specific practice delivers only targeted support for participants in better managing their day-to-day lives.

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

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

In addition to using young people to translate for and encourage the participation of others, the practice utilises a cross-cutting participatory approach to gender and celebrates diversity. Activity schedules are adapted to the needs of participants, ensuring diversity of participant groups.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

The practice runs specific activities aimed at the public. The course “Agents for the prevention of Islamophobia and discrimination on religious grounds”, for example, works with local people to discuss and address common prejudices. The practice also provides training for intervention professionals in the prevention of Islamophobia and religious discrimination.

Inspiring tools:

Online course; video discussion on being a Muslim woman in Spain.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

The practice uses a methodology of shared work and feedback. Individual participation is scheduled according to discussion with participants at the beginning of the year, and adjusted when needed. Following feedback, safe spaces of belonging are being created within the practice so that young people feel comfortable to express themselves freely.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

Relevance & Complementarity

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

The specific objectives of the practice are adapted on an ongoing basis according to the needs of its young participants. A clear indication that the practice succeeds in meeting these needs is that young people continue to participate in the activities and have generated their own networks of belonging, beyond the realms of the project itself.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

The practice empowers young migrants through its support for the development of their self-awareness, and its provision of specific tools and information. It offers training sessions on religious rights and relevant available services, which both strengthen their autonomy and promote their long-term integration.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

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

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

The practice takes into account the broader social inclusion framework, including relevant policies, working with other actors – such as universities, municipal police, associations and religious groups – to consolidate the integration support being delivered.

Good practice checklist

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

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

Effectiveness

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

The practice is comprehensively designed in order to promote improvements to society as a whole. Those involved in intervention activities receive professional training, learning skills that they can also use within wider society, and the young people that participate are trained, empowered and encouraged to become key agents of social change.

Good practice checklist

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

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

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

✓ 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 its own process for monitoring its actions and results. Regular meetings are held to discuss existing and potential challenges, and the practice’s wider network is regularly consulted for support. All training courses have a feedback period in which participants can give suggestions for improvements and future focus areas.

Good practice checklist

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

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

✓ Ensure achievement of intended outputs / outcomes.

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

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

Sustainability

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

Until 2022 the practice was funded by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration and by FAMI (EU). It is now funded by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Agenda 2030. Additionally, funding has been received from the Valladolid City Council, and plans are in place to charge fees for some training courses, in order to further generate income.

Good practice checklist

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

Partnership & Collaboration

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

The practice is always seeking new ways to promote intercultural and interreligious encounters, including by bringing together its partners with its young participants during certain training sessions.

Good practice checklist

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

Good Practice Criteria