Periodic Reporting for period 2 - FOCUS (Forced displacement and refugee-host community solidarity)
Période du rapport: 2020-01-01 au 2022-06-30
FOCUS – a research project on refugees, host communities, and integration: How to live well together?
FOCUS project takes stock of the decade that passed since the arrival of more than 1 million refugees and migrants from Syria and other countries, with a special emphasis on building the knowledge on psychological and social dimensions of integration, and making this knowledge accessible in an efficient and useful way.
FOCUS is an EU-funded research project running from January 2019 to June 2022. Its overall aim is to make an impact on research, practice, and policy-making by understanding and improving the dynamics of integration and intergroup relations between receiving and arriving communities.
FOCUS aims to make an impact on research, practice, and policy by understanding and improving the dynamics of integration, with a special emphasis on how psychological and social factors influence integration. From its onset, FOCUS was committed to maximising societal impact by aiming to increase the understanding of the concept of dynamic integration and building an evidence-based but also a practice-informed knowledge base that will be accessible and useful for integration practitioners and policymakers.
FOCUS is structured by three objectives related to research-practice- policy:
1) RESEARCH: Objective 1 is to contribute to the evidence base on understanding refugee/host community relations by addressing the central research question: How do different patterns of the socio-economic integration of refugees influence the socio-psychological dimensions of refugee- and host-community relations, and vice-versa?
2) PRACTICE: Objective 2 is to develop and validate the approach to integration to foster peaceful coexistance between arriving and receiving communities
3) POLICY: Objective 3 is to provide an overall framework for policymakers to adopt and adapt solutions and recommendations for effective policies and practices in diverse settings.
FOCUS project takes stock of the decade that passed since the arrival of more than 1 million refugees and migrants from Syria and other countries, with a special emphasis on building the knowledge on psychological and social dimensions of integration, and making this knowledge accessible in an efficient and useful way.
FOCUS is an EU-funded research project running from January 2019 to June 2022. Its overall aim is to make an impact on research, practice, and policy-making by understanding and improving the dynamics of integration and intergroup relations between receiving and arriving communities.
FOCUS aims to make an impact on research, practice, and policy by understanding and improving the dynamics of integration, with a special emphasis on how psychological and social factors influence integration. From its onset, FOCUS was committed to maximising societal impact by aiming to increase the understanding of the concept of dynamic integration and building an evidence-based but also a practice-informed knowledge base that will be accessible and useful for integration practitioners and policymakers.
FOCUS is structured by three objectives related to research-practice- policy:
1) RESEARCH: Objective 1 is to contribute to the evidence base on understanding refugee/host community relations by addressing the central research question: How do different patterns of the socio-economic integration of refugees influence the socio-psychological dimensions of refugee- and host-community relations, and vice-versa?
2) PRACTICE: Objective 2 is to develop and validate the approach to integration to foster peaceful coexistance between arriving and receiving communities
3) POLICY: Objective 3 is to provide an overall framework for policymakers to adopt and adapt solutions and recommendations for effective policies and practices in diverse settings.
As a part of research related workstream FOCUS: 1) delivered a comprehensive mapping of the available evidence, policies and solutions on forced migration consisting of five reports designed to gain an in-depth and broad understanding of the state-of-the-art on research, policy and practice on integration of refugees and host community relations; 2) successfully concluded the first and largest systematic cross-country study in Sweden, Germany, Croatia and Jordan on both socio-economic and socio-psychological indicators of integration, bringing relevant results which are both country-specific and applicable on a wider basis
Within the practice-related workstream FOCUS: 1) implemented a co-creative/participatory process for the development of FOCUS Approach to Dynamic Integration and Implementation Guide; 2) developed the FOCUS Living Well Together Resource, a digital resource that directly responds to practitioners’ needs and brokers knowledge in an accessible way; 2) developed FOCUS approach to Integration and validate it with 5 case studies 3) developed Implementation Guide to Dynamic integration
Regarding the policy workstream FOCUS: 1) identifies relevant EU policy priorities that FOCUS research and FOCUS approach could help to address 2) developed actionable recommendations on dynamic integration 3) developed 8 thematic policy notes in 3 languages.
Overview of the results and their exploitation and dissemination:
- Implementation Guide to Dynamic Integration: a practice-informed guide for policymakers, civil society organisations, and communities, developed with the active engagement of end-user organisations and representatives, to help understand important dimensions of dynamic integration and how to implement them at all stages of the project cycle. Available in an online and print version.
- The FOCUS Approach to Dynamic Integration: n is a practical framework to strengthen existing integration practices. At its core is the idea of fostering social bonds, connections, and bridges among arriving and receiving communities. The FOCUS Approach summary has been translated in 9 languages
- Case study reports: The FOCUS case studies illustrate and validate the FOCUS Approach. The case study reports have been issued as full version and 3-page summary is available in 7 languages.
- Triangulation Report: The Triangulation Report represents the final step of the FOCUS research strand. It integrates and triangulates findings from the various research methods and sources and translates them into one coherent picture.
Thematic policy notes: FOCUS has issued 9 thematic policy notes on different aspects highlighted by the FOCUS research, plus two language versions for country-specific briefings. The policy notes are available on the FOCUS website and disseminated to policy stakeholders via targeted mailings.
- Research briefs: Research briefs have been produced in an accessible and reader-friendly format based on the FOCUS research and case study results, methodology and lessons learned. Available in a short (ca. 2-page) and a long (ca. 20-page) version.
- Podcast / Fora summary reports: Each Forum has been summarised as a research brief and a podcasts nd made available on the FOCUS website & Youtube channel. These outputs allowed to maximise the impact of the Fora.
- Research publications (upcoming)
- Press releases: Two press releases have been issued. The press releases have been disseminated via the ARTI press database, the FOCUS website, newsletter, social media, and via dedicated mailings to policy & practice stakeholders
- Videos: The first video in a short, social-media-compatible version has been created at the beginning of the project. A second, final video has been produced in the spring of 2022 to showcase the main FOCUS results and its key message: “The key dynamics of integration are known better than ever. Let’s apply what we know, let’s measure and address issues on an ongoing basis, rather than deal with migration in crisis mode. That’s the main finding from FOCUS: when we want to, we can cope.”
Within the practice-related workstream FOCUS: 1) implemented a co-creative/participatory process for the development of FOCUS Approach to Dynamic Integration and Implementation Guide; 2) developed the FOCUS Living Well Together Resource, a digital resource that directly responds to practitioners’ needs and brokers knowledge in an accessible way; 2) developed FOCUS approach to Integration and validate it with 5 case studies 3) developed Implementation Guide to Dynamic integration
Regarding the policy workstream FOCUS: 1) identifies relevant EU policy priorities that FOCUS research and FOCUS approach could help to address 2) developed actionable recommendations on dynamic integration 3) developed 8 thematic policy notes in 3 languages.
Overview of the results and their exploitation and dissemination:
- Implementation Guide to Dynamic Integration: a practice-informed guide for policymakers, civil society organisations, and communities, developed with the active engagement of end-user organisations and representatives, to help understand important dimensions of dynamic integration and how to implement them at all stages of the project cycle. Available in an online and print version.
- The FOCUS Approach to Dynamic Integration: n is a practical framework to strengthen existing integration practices. At its core is the idea of fostering social bonds, connections, and bridges among arriving and receiving communities. The FOCUS Approach summary has been translated in 9 languages
- Case study reports: The FOCUS case studies illustrate and validate the FOCUS Approach. The case study reports have been issued as full version and 3-page summary is available in 7 languages.
- Triangulation Report: The Triangulation Report represents the final step of the FOCUS research strand. It integrates and triangulates findings from the various research methods and sources and translates them into one coherent picture.
Thematic policy notes: FOCUS has issued 9 thematic policy notes on different aspects highlighted by the FOCUS research, plus two language versions for country-specific briefings. The policy notes are available on the FOCUS website and disseminated to policy stakeholders via targeted mailings.
- Research briefs: Research briefs have been produced in an accessible and reader-friendly format based on the FOCUS research and case study results, methodology and lessons learned. Available in a short (ca. 2-page) and a long (ca. 20-page) version.
- Podcast / Fora summary reports: Each Forum has been summarised as a research brief and a podcasts nd made available on the FOCUS website & Youtube channel. These outputs allowed to maximise the impact of the Fora.
- Research publications (upcoming)
- Press releases: Two press releases have been issued. The press releases have been disseminated via the ARTI press database, the FOCUS website, newsletter, social media, and via dedicated mailings to policy & practice stakeholders
- Videos: The first video in a short, social-media-compatible version has been created at the beginning of the project. A second, final video has been produced in the spring of 2022 to showcase the main FOCUS results and its key message: “The key dynamics of integration are known better than ever. Let’s apply what we know, let’s measure and address issues on an ongoing basis, rather than deal with migration in crisis mode. That’s the main finding from FOCUS: when we want to, we can cope.”
FOCUS has already moved beyond the state of the art by combining socio-economic and sociopsychological approaches to the studies of forced migration in its development of indicators of integration that have the potential to be used in the assessment of integration practices.
Significant progress beyond state-of-the-art will be related to an understanding of the nature of intergroup relations between receiving and arriving communities in the discourse of refugee integration. The data gathered also shed light on how discourses and narratives can be changed and how integration policies and practice can be impacted.
Most of the research and knowledge about refugee social and economic integration so far focuses on one side of this dynamic process - the barriers and opportunities for refugees. FOCUS conceptualised and studied integration as a dynamic two-way interaction between arriving and receiving communities
FOCUS project addressed a significant knowledge gap between research practice and policy in the field of migrant integration.
Significant progress beyond state-of-the-art will be related to an understanding of the nature of intergroup relations between receiving and arriving communities in the discourse of refugee integration. The data gathered also shed light on how discourses and narratives can be changed and how integration policies and practice can be impacted.
Most of the research and knowledge about refugee social and economic integration so far focuses on one side of this dynamic process - the barriers and opportunities for refugees. FOCUS conceptualised and studied integration as a dynamic two-way interaction between arriving and receiving communities
FOCUS project addressed a significant knowledge gap between research practice and policy in the field of migrant integration.