A new tool for migrant integration practitioners has recently been published. The SprINg Handbook offers a comprehensive, yet concise look at integration policy practices in Europe. It is created to help policymakers, service providers, and advocates who work with migrants to make their policies and practices more evidence-based. Such a Handbook is crucial to building a bridge between scientific research and integration policy by showcasing the practical applications of research findings in an accessible format. The Handbook was created under the leadership of Prof.dr Peter Scholten, dr. Asya Pisarevskaya and Alex Webb from the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) and contains contributions of an international team of researchers from Danube University Krems and ICMPD. The Handbook, curated by scholars affiliated with the LDE GMD Centre, similarly supports the work of the centre in its ambition to generate evidence-based research and translate it into effective policy. It is based on scientific evidence from a detailed literature review on policies and practices of integration in the European Union of the past 10 years, conducted last year.
In the Handbook, policymakers, service providers, and advocates working with migrants can find easy-to-read briefs, infographics, and recommendations on various topics related to the integration process of newly arrived migrants. To set the scene, the authors outline different understandings of the term 'integration’ and offer their interpretation of the term as the acceptance of migrants in receiving societies.
The SprINg Handbook includes themes like Rights and legal status, Employment, Education and Training, Housing and Settlement, Access to Welfare, Health Care, Crime, Family Relations, Identity and Belonging, Attitudes Towards Migrants, and Civic Participation. Practitioners can access practical briefs on each theme, which concretely identify the main challenges of integration, and provide actionable recommendations for both governments and civil society organisations. Within each theme, there are also pointers on where to find further information on each topic, including academic studies and EU projects that practically address specific barriers to migrant integration.
On top of previously mentioned themes, the Handbook also presents infographics on transversal topics, such as how to create a functional integration governance infrastructure, how barriers in health, housing, and legal provision affect employment outcomes of migrants, and what he overlooked and specific needs of migrant mothers are and ideas on how to address them. Each infographic is supported by a brief that elaborates on the challenges and solutions by offering real-world policy examples.
In line with EUR's and the LDE GMD’s Impact strategy, the research team hopes that this Handbook will support practitioners in their work by offering evidence-based solutions to widespread challenges that newly arrived migrants and refugees face. The creation of this Handbook would not be possible without the design skills of Studio Kort.
European project
SprINg is a Horizon2020-funded project ‘Sustainable PRactices of INteGration for newly arrived migrants’ (2021 – 2023)