Good Refugee Integration Practices
Making Integration Work, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), summarizes the main challenges and good policy practices to support the lasting integration of immigrants and their children for selected key groups and domains of integration. Each volume of the book presents ten lessons and examples of good practice, complemented by synthetic comparisons of the integration policy frameworks in OECD countries. Also available in German and French.
OECD: Making Integration Work. 2016
The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement: Annual Survey of Refugees (pps. 87 to 107). In The 2014 Annual Report to Congress, 2015.
The U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, ORR Indicators for Refugee Resettlement Stakeholders, 2015
The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)
MIPEX 2015 is a unique tool which measures policies to integrate migrants in all EU Member States, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA. 167 policy indicators have been developed to create a rich, multi-dimensional picture of migrants’ opportunities to participate in society. The index is a useful tool to evaluate and compare what governments are doing to promote the integration of migrants in all the countries analysed. http://www.mipex.eu
It’s a Two-Way Process: UNHCR’s Definition of Refugee Integration
For the purposes of this study on refugees, integration is understood as the end product of a dynamic and multifaceted two-way process with three interrelated dimensions: a legal, an economic and a social-cultural dimension. Integration requires efforts by all parties concerned, including preparedness on the part of refugees to adapt to the host society without having to forego their own cultural identity, and a corresponding readiness on the part of host communities and public institutions to welcome refugees and to meet the needs of a diverse population (UNHCR 2005). At the core of UNHCR’s definition is the concept of integration as a two-way process and this is premised on “adaptation” of one party and “welcome” by the other. It does not however require the refugee to relinquish their cultural identity and integration therefore differs from assimilation.
UNHCR: A new Beginning. Refugee Integration in Europe. Outcome of an EU funded project on Refugee Integration Capacity and Evaluation (RICE), 2013.
OECD/European Union Immigrant Integration Model
This joint publication by the OECD and the European Commission presents the first broad international comparison across all EU and OECD countries of the outcomes for immigrants and their children, through 27 indicators organised around five areas: Employment, education and skills, social inclusion, civic engagement and social cohesion. Integration is defined as a multidimensional process. This report compares the outcomes of immigrants with those of the native-born, and the outcomes of both groups with each other. This model was designed for all immigrants.
OECD: Indicators of Immigrant Integration. Settling In. 2015
Refugee Integration in the U.S. – One Size Does Not Fit All
Learning to speak English is the most important indicator of and basis for integration in the United States. This was the most frequent observation in the site activities in all four sites. (…) Going to work is a key facilitator of integration. An inherent tension between the desire to work and English language acquisition. An issue for consideration is how taking a job soon after arrival in the United States can, and sometimes does, slow down English acquisition, which in turn compromises the integration process. Refugees, as individuals and as unique groups, report that they integrate at different rates based on their experiences and background. The site visit teams heard repeatedly that “one size does not fit all” when it comes to resettling, learning English, finding a job, and ultimately, saying “I am integrated” into life in the United States.
ISED Solutions/The Integration Work Group for the Office of Refugee Resettlement: Exploring Refugee Integration: Experiences in Four American Communities, 2010
The Refugee Integration Survey & Evaluation (RISE) Study
This 4-year research project with a sampling size of 467 adult refugees from four countries analyzed 10 different integration pathways, measuring integration within each pathway and assigning an individual integration score. The study identifies Language & Cultural Knowledge and Social Bridging (i.e. social capital) as as the 2 pathways with the highest correlation to other integration pathways. Employment and Economic Self-Sufficiency were correlated with Overall Integration for many, but not all refugees. The RISE data also shows that refugee men and women integrate at the same pace, but men start out higher than women do.
Lichtenstein, G., Puma, J., Engelman, A., Miller, M. (2016). The Refugee Integration Survey & Evaluation (RISE) Study, Year 5: Final Report—A Study of Refugee Integration in Colorado.Unpublished technical report (pp. 1-126). Bluff, Utah, USA: Quality Evaluation Designs. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-9dBwl5XFYdTjVnUy1DWXgxZDA/view
Defining Refugee Integration in the U.S.
“Integration is a dynamic, multi-directional process in which newcomers and the receiving communities intentionally work together, based on a shared commitment to acceptance and justice, to create a secure, welcoming, vibrant, and cohesive society.” This definition is not an official definition adopted by ORR.
ISED Solutions/The Integration Work Group for the Office of Refugee Resettlement: Exploring Refugee Integration: Experiences in Four American Communities, 2010
The Australian Refugees, Housing and Social Inclusion Survey
This survey focuses on the housing, homelessness, neighborhood and broader social inclusion experiences of refugees in Perth and Melbourne.
Paul Flatau, Val Colic-Peisker, Alicia Bauskis, Paul Maginn, and Petra Buergelt: Refugees, Housing and Social Inclusion Survey. The University of Western Australia, 2014.
New Zealand Refugee Integration Model
Refugees are participating fully and integrated socially and economically as soon as possible so that they are living independen-tly, undertaking the same responsibilities and exercising the same rights as other New Zealanders and have a strong sense of belonging to their own community and to NZ.
Immigration New Zealand: Refugee Resettlement: New Zealand Resettlement Strategy. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, 2012.
Canada’s Refugee Integration Model
Canada’s approach to integration encourages adjustment by both newcomers and the larger society. Newcomers’ under-standing of and respect for basic Canadian values, coupled with Canadians’ under-standing of the cultural diversity that newcomers bring to Canada.
Jennifer Hyndman, Research Summary on Resettled Refugee Integration in Canada, Centre for Refugee Studies at York University, 2011.
Christopher Lester: Refugee Education and Economic Integration: A Qualitative Study of the United States Refugee Admissions Program, 2014.
Randy Capps, Kathleen Newland, Susan Fratzke, Susanna Groves, Michael Fix, Margie McHugh, and Gregory Auclair: The Integration Outcomes of U.S. Refugees: Successes and Challenges. Migration Policy Institute Report, June 2015
Eleanor Ott: The Labour Market Integration of Resettled Refugees. UNHCR (2013)
Chmura Economics & Analytics: The Economic Impact of Refugees in the Cleveland Area, 2013. The Refugee Services Collaborative of Greater Cleveland released a study which found that refugees placed in the Cleveland area typically found employment within five months of their arrival in the United States.
David Dyssegaard Kallick with Silva Mathema: Refugee Integration in the United States. June 2016.
Best Practices on Measuring Integration
The notion of refugee integration has become a central discussion point in the U.S. and overseas. Yet refugee agencies and government stakeholders struggle to come up with a unanimous definition of integration, which hinders our ability to comprehensively measure it. Germany’s National Action Plan on Integration of 2011 defined refugee integration indicators (broken down by 100 refugee integration data points under the umbrella of 12 thematic areas), including: 1) Legal status and demography; 2) Early childhood education and language support; 3) Education; 4) Vocational training; 5) Labor market; 6) Social integration and income; 7) Civic and political participation and equal opportunities; 8) Housing; 9) Health; 10) Media; 11) Intercultural openness of the public sector and social services; 12) Crime, violence and discrimination. Other sources of statistical data include the Integration Barometer developed by the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration. One leading research project – the Integration Barometer – actually takes into account responses of the receiving community. It is intriguing to turn the integration question, to measure how refugees see themselves and the degree to which host communities can impact their success.
http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/protection/operations/52403d389/new-beginning-refugee-integration-europe.html
Rural Communities Creating Better Integration Outcomes
This research found Somali refugees in one particular rural community showed progress towards integration, as measured by Ager and Strang’s (2004) indicators of integration. This research also uncovered a new possible indicator of integration, civic attachment. Refugee respondents in this research showed high levels of civic attachment, including feeling like their opinions mattered to the community of Fort Morgan, as well as wanting to make Fort Morgan a stronger community. This feeling of civic attachment, combined with Fort Morgan’s smaller size, may be one of the reasons why refugees in Fort Morgan are integrating into the community. This is not to say refugees in rural areas do face challenges to integration, such as interpretation needs and receiving community prejudices.
Jessica A. Mark: Rural Refugee Resettlement: Secondary Migration and Community Integration in Fort Morgan, Colorado. UNHCR Research Paper No. 269, 2014.
Refugee Integration Metrics
The MRS Program Advancement and Evaluation unit has developed an overview of refugee integration metrics, allowing MRS staff and stakeholder to take a close look at refugee integration in an international context. This overview includes the integration approaches of Canada, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.
Promising Practices to Counter Anti-Refugee Sentiment
What can MRS sites do to counteract anti-refugee sentiment and work towards an inclusive vision for diocesan resettlement communities? We encourage you to look at this resource to learn how positive communications strategies and outreach to parish and community leaders can help create an environment in which all people can thrive. This backgrounder includes practical guides developed by Welcoming America, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Bridging Refugee Youth and Children Services (BRYCS), Amnesty International, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service as well as the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
Refugee Integration Research Blog 