Scientific evidence on migrant integration closer to practitioners

Recently, a new one-stop point for information on migrant integration in Europe is launched. The SprINg evidence repository helps policymakers, service providers and advocates work with migrants to make their policies and practices more evidence-based. The repository is created under the leadership of Prof.dr Peter Scholten, dr. Asya Pisarevskaya and Alex Webb from the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). Together with an international team from Danube University Krems and ICMPD, they summarised scientific studies on policies and practices of integration in the European Union from the past decade to make the findings of such studies accessible and usable for various practitioners in the field of migrant integration. Such a database is crucial to building a bridge between scientific research and integration policy through highlighting the practical applications of research findings.

Policymakers, service providers and advocates working with migrants can dive into eleven themes relevant to the integration of migrants. The SprINg evidence repository 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 summarise the essence of the most relevant findings. Moreover, the briefs concretely identify the main challenges of integration, and provide actionable recommendations for both governments and civil society organisations. The repository provides access to the full report reviewing academic literature on each theme for those needing more information. Furthermore, suggestions to further key studies, allows readers to find academic experts on each theme and connect with organisations working in the concrete field.

In line with EUR's Impact strategy, the research team hopes that this online platform will support practitioners in their work through evidence-based solutions to widespread challenges that newly arrived migrants and refugees face. The technical implementation of this repository would not be possible without the technical support of the IT-Partner Young Minds.