Knowledge by, for and about newcomers
Knowledge by, for and about newcomers
Policy framework Participating from day one
Municipality of Arnhem
December 2024 - April 2025
Policy framework
We are writing a policy framework for participation from day one for the municipality of Arnhem. It is a concise document that outlines "The Arnhem Approach" on the themes of immediate participation in the municipality, reception, and housing for status holders. The vision is also elaborated for different groups of newcomers, namely: people who are still in the asylum procedure, people who are status holders, people from Ukraine, and people who are undocumented.
The substantive policy framework informs the council, clarifies the vision, and can serve as a starting point for an implementation agenda at a later stage.
The municipality of Arnhem is working with COA to organize a larger number of reception places for newcomers with a refugee background. The ambition of the city council is that current and future residents of these reception places can participate fully and become part of society from day one. This ambition for a continuous line from day one (from asylum procedure to integration and the time thereafter), applies regardless of the probability of the asylum procedure. And regardless of whether or not people are ultimately assigned to the Municipality of Arnhem for housing.
To clarify the policy framework, we conducted an extensive document analysis of existing documents within the municipality on the themes of participation, housing, and shelter. We combined this with additional in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders.
The document is appealing and accessible to a wider, interested audience. At its core is the question: what do we want in the municipality of Arnhem? The policy framework was adopted almost unanimously by the Council in January 2026.
