Participatory Artsbased Methods For Civic Engagement In Migrant Support Organizations

In previous research 'Migrant Mothers Caring for the Future: Creative Interventions into Citizenship' AH/K00591X/1 we successfully developed creative methods for migrants' citizenship for academic knowledge. During this, third sector organizations expressed a strong need for training to use these creative participatory methods in their own practice. This follow-on project adapts the theoretical and methodological model for third sector organizations' practice to encourage migrants' civic engagement on issues of migrant integration. The project will train 24 staff in four migrant support organizations in London and the North of England in using creative participatory methods for civic engagement, which our prior research has demonstrated to be effective. It will develop impact by creating a new methodological and practical model of civic engagement for this group, which is often marginalized or excluded from public deliberation, through 60 hours of civic engagement workshops for 60 migrant families (each migrant participating in 12 hours of workshop). Creative participatory methods allow marginalized migrants and their families to engage and communicate their experiences and viewpoints because they do not require fluent English language knowledge. The civic engagement workshops will allow migrant families to address issues directly affecting them. By training staff in migrant support organizations and evaluation of the process, the project will create sustainable ways to cascade these innovative civic engagement methods in communities by enhancing capacity among migrant support organizations and building skills among migrant families.
The project will also produce a short film to ensure learning from the migrant support organizations can be more widely disseminated. Based on close cross-sector collaboration between academics, participatory arts and migrant and family support organizations the project will create added value for migrants' civic engagement that could not be delivered by one sector on its own. Migrant support organizations and migrant families are key stakeholders and beneficiaries of this project.
Sustainability of creative civic engagement methods is a project core aim which will be achieved by training stakeholders in creative participatory methods for enhancing migrants' civic engagement through 'training the trainers programmes' (2x 12 hours) for 24 staff of migrant support organizations and workshops with 60 participants from migrant families. The 20 civic engagement workshops (with 60 participants, each participant attending 12 hours each) will help to counter a democratic deficit whereby the most marginalized sections of society are often excluded from the public sphere and deliberative democratic processes, resulting in contested or at times unaccountable professional practices and decision-making. The project also addresses the need of migrant integration policy to enhance migrants' inclusion into deliberative democratic processes, particularly young people and women (Casey Review 2016) Participatory creative methods are particularly effective for this.
Key Aims:
-To build capacity among migrant support organizations in the development and delivery of using creative, participatory methods for engaging and integrating migrant families.
- To enhance the lives of migrant families by providing opportunities for engagement with policy issues affecting them, including migration and integration policy and equality issues (race, gender, ability, sexuality)
- To facilitate sustainable engagement between migrant families, statutory and third sector organisations to extend public debate on how this impacts on lived experience
- To create a training programme for migrant advocacy organizations, to be shared through a short film and toolkit for future use by other groups.

Outcomes and impact:

Short term:
Improved professional practice. The project develops creative and innovative engagements for user communities, in particular migrant and family support and advocacy organizations and their users. The training provided to organisation will embed the use of creative participatory methods in professional practice and service delivery and make it a sustainable part of their practice. The capacity building work involved in training individuals and organisations in participatory skills, knowledge and tools ensures that organisations can sustain participatory approaches independently of the research team beyond the project, and into the future, creating long-term sustainability of the project.

Medium term:
Enhanced engagement and advocacy. A critical part of capacity building is co-production. Enabling organizations to effectively combine the skills, knowledge and people who use the services and deliver services, working together to achieve positive change and improve lives and outcomes is a key cornerstone of democratic governance. Currently migrant groups are experiencing heightened insecurity as a consequence of the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment. Creating innovative, inclusive ways of working with rather than for migrant groups is important to counter marginalization, potential radicalization and strengthen accountability of governance. The benefits of creative participatory civic engagement for enhanced engagement and advocacy will be disseminated through the open access short documentary. The evaluation of the project involving interviews and participatory focus group discussions with users, trainees, Migrant and Families Support and Advocacy Organizations will build an evidence base to assess the impact of the project, documented in the toolkit. The toolkit and short documentary film will be disseminated through the PI, CI and partners' extensive social media presence, our engagement activities in the arts, migrant support and community sectors through blogs, public talks, and the annual Open University's multi-platform 'Who Are We? Programme' at the Tate Exchange programme (whoareweproject.com).

Long-term:
Contributing to changing public discourse on migrant groups. The training and use of participatory approaches for civic engagement will service as model of good practice, for other stakeholders (service users, academics, community workers, practitioners and policymakers) and organizations. The project will provide a model and resources for professional practice and organisations who are interested in innovative and participatory ways to change the public discourse of migrant families as problematic so that they are recognised as valued and active members of society.

Key Outputs:
1) 'Training the Trainers' Programme in creative participatory methods for migrants' civic engagement
2) Open access short documentary on benefits and challenges of creative participatory methods for Migrant Support and third sector organizations
3) Toolkit: benefits, challenges, opportunities of participatory methods for the Migrant Support Sector