As of April 2022, OpenEmbassy offers a research tool that allows you, as a municipality or region, to gain qualitative insight into local and regional Integration offerings.
In recent years, we developed several tools in and with municipalities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam to help municipalities, through close contact with local communities, to make their policies appropriate for those who are subject to mandatory integration. The tools have been developed, tested and improved in practice. In addition to testing the KPIs set for tenders, they make it possible to answer the bigger question: are newcomers succeeding in participating in my municipality according to their ability and ambition?
How does this work?
In four clear steps, we provide both real-time and more overarching insight into the quality of integration of new residents.
- Signaling:
Through community research, action research, and a (digital) help desk, we know what is going on in local communities, how supply is perceived, and how accessible integration opportunities are.
2. Analyze:
We look for patterns in the data to develop tailored knowledge about local integration and possible blind spots of policy and implementation.
3. Advising:
We come up with concrete opportunities and solution directions to improve existing practice. Because we work in almost 20% of all municipalities, we can make use of knowledge and solutions that we previously developed
4. Designs:
If necessary, we also have social design skills in-house to translate insights into concrete solutions and interventions.
With tenders and grants, the question is almost always considered: how can we measure whether what was promised is happening and working? That way, as a municipality, you potentially have good insight into individual providers. But on that basis you cannot say anything about how the newcomers in your municipality actually fare, and how the total of the offerings does or does not contribute to the steps someone can (not) take.
Answering that larger question of integration, viewed from the perspective of the newcomers and not the providers, is the mission of OpenEmbassy.
We base our approach on tools developed in practice and tested with newcomers and professionals. But also on an international and scientifically proven model of the 14 indicators of integration. In this way we optimally combine the knowledge from science and the knowledge from Dutch practice.
- Do you also want to evaluate and monitor qualitatively in your community?
- Want to know how the offerings of formal and informal organizations from your municipality contribute to integration?
- Want to know how newcomers experience the opportunities themselves?
- Do you want to be supported in practice and policy in translating signals into concrete solutions and interventions that work?
Please contact Renée Frissen. Mail to: renee@openembassy.nl or call: 06-48187302.Are newcomers able and ambitious to participate in my municipality?
