Knowledge by, for and about newcomers

Knowledge by, for and about newcomers

Policy framework for participation from day one – Arnhem

MAP Leeuwarden - photo by Iyad Sandid

Project

Policy framework Participating from day one

Client

Municipality of Arnhem

Duration

December 2024 - April 2025

Product

Policy framework

Project description

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.

Residents can participate fully from day one

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.

Results & insights

To clarify the policy framework, we conduct an extensive document analysis of existing documents within the municipality on the themes of participation, housing, and shelter. We combine this with additional in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders.

The piece will be appealing and accessible to a wider, interested audience. The core question is: what do we want in the municipality of Arnhem? 

As soon as the first results can be published, more information will follow here.

Related projects

Direct Participation team

Participate Directly

Within Direct Meedoen, we supported a total of 75 Ukrainian households (around 200 individuals) for one year, in Zaanstad, Amsterdam and Nijmegen.
MAP Leeuwarden - photo by Iyad Sandid

Participating from day one - Arnhem

Exploratory research on the ambition of the municipality of Arnhem that newcomers can participate fully from day one, followed by advice.

This project was supervised by:

project manager

Sandrine Lafay

Head of research

They also participated in this project

Naya Aljoudi

Action researcher, community manager

Femke Brand

Head of Communications