Inclusive and innovative practices for the integration of recently arrived migrants in local communities
a. Innovation action-Lump Sum contribution
The further improvement of the effective integration of newly arrived migrants into societies requires an understanding of existing integration policies and practices. Proposals should examine the provisions for migrants' rights and their access to social services in the host countries, in particular, in the aftermath of the recent unorderly migration flows since 2014. Special attention should be paid to past, existing and potential mechanisms to support the integration of migrant men and women, through participatory practices, social innovation and entrepreneurship, diaspora communities and local civil society initiatives. This Innovation action will develop and test potentially viable approaches through pilots. It will closely involve migrants, members of the host communities, public authorities and researchers, from preparing the concept over their implementation to their evaluation.
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in order of EUR 3 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
Please note that this topic will take the form of lump sums as defined in Commission DecisionC(2017)7151 of 27 October 2017. Details of the lump sum funding pilot scheme are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal together with the specific Model Grant Agreement for Lump Sums applicable
b. Research and Innovation Action
Proposals should comparatively assess the effectiveness of integration policies and practices in major migrant-receiving spaces, in local communities, ranging from urban spaces to rural areas. This should include migrants’ access to civic and social rights, social services and facilities (e.g. language tuition and healthcare) in accordance with their legal status, as well as intercultural interaction (including gender aspects) and adaptation to increased diversity of the population. Proposals should also explore social cohesion and societal fragmentation, and how these aspects are accounted for in migrant integration policies. The urban and rural governance of integration processes should be analysed and assessed against the backdrop of a broader multi-level governance framework, whereby potential and real tensions between the local and other levels of governments should be explored. Attitudes to migration and integration by both migrants and the host communities should be studied as well. The role of religious communities could also be examined in relation to outcomes of integration processes. The incorporation of historical and comparative insights from migrant integration processes in relevant non-European societies is strongly encouraged. Cooperation with non-European scholars is also encouraged. This could be done by cooperating with scholars from Africa and the Middle East given the migration relations these regions have in migration policies and dynamics with the EU, as well as with Canada with which strong international cooperation on migration research in ongoing. Processes of exclusion, actions and initiatives to redress them, as well as mutual influences between host and migrant communities could be studied, including the analysis of the impact of these dynamics with relations of migrants with their origin countries. Projects should compare the different practices and experience on their viability, efficiency and transferability. They should deliver policy recommendations. Projects should establish a regular exchange with the stakeholders from the different communities and municipalities.
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of EUR 3 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.
The outputs of MIGRATION-04-2020 should also be made readily available for cooperation and synergy with MIGRATION-10-2020, a CSA which will compile the outputs of existing research on integration, including such RIAs and IAs.
The arrival of migrants contributes to diversifying the demographic, cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious makeup of already diverse European cities and suburbs and rural communities. This may represent an opportunity, but also a significant challenge if taking place in an unorderly manner, as occurred in Europe since 2014. The challenge is to provide policy makers at local, regional, national and supra-national level, civil society organizations and other relevant actors with effective, responsive, flexible, context-specific and culture-specific proposals for measures to promote socio-economic integration and inclusion as well as access to rights and services. This includes sustainable and participatory strategies, also with the involvement of citizens, civil society actors, education institutions and the private sector.
Projects will enhance the knowledge base on integration of migrants in local communities. The actions will contribute to improved practices, policies and strategies at local, national and EU level for the integration of migrants in European urban and local settings. This will help increase the possibilities for migrants to thrive and flourish in the labour market and in society. They will advance the implementation of the EU Urban Agenda (building on the specific Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and refugees [[ https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/inclusion-of-migrants-and-refugees]] and of the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The pilots developed with the Innovation Action will offer new tools for enhancing the integration of migrants across Europe. This will provide actors working in this multilevel system of governance with already tested options that should be scalable and replicable in different environments with the context specific adaptations. Their evaluation will provide conclusions and recommendations for policy making at local level as well as for the regional, national and European level to create best possible conditions in which local authorities and their stakeholders can operate.
The Research and Innovation Action should deliver analysis for better understanding the phenomenon. Projects should identify approaches and practices, which can be applied in both cities and rural communities, as well as those that would be specific to one or the other. This will expand the knowledge both of dynamics of integration and of the policies managing such process, shedding light on potential gaps and needs which should be addressed by policymakers. The actions will contribute to finding new ways to integrate migrants into European societies, to ensure their cohesion and thus exploit the potential opportunities of migration.