Empowering Cities of Migration: new methods for citizen involvement and socio-spatial integration
Lead Research Organisation:
Keele University
Department Name: Faculty of Natural Sciences
Abstract
The Empowering Cities of Migration project will create and train a new group of Community-based researchers drawn from marginalised neighbourhoods across three European cities experiencing population change. The researchers will use gender-aware methods to work with local communities, organisations and actors to develop new approaches for involving local people in tackling housing and urban planning problems. Through bringing together existing work undertaken by the project team, the overall intention is to empower local residents to work with housing, migration and planning specialists on creating new housing responses which help to avoid segregation and exclusion in diverse urban places.
Publications
Goodson L
(2023)
Advancements in Community Research in Forced Migration
Betscher S
(2025)
Intervention-linked Community Research An Underestimated Method of Community Organising? Insights from the City Lab Bochum-Hustadt
in Community Organizing Journal
| Description | The EMPOWER project led to a number of significant achievements. First - and in terms of methods - a 'Citizen Researcher' model was developed and which brought together local communities and residents in the research and which gave a voice and influence for those whose views and skills are often unrecognised. EMPOWER also applied a new tool, entitled 'Digital Participatory Spatial Analysis' in areas where the local population has become increasingly different due to international migration. This helped to link local peoples' needs to local and national policies of relevance. Additionally, a new 'Theory of Change' framework was produced to identify how all local people - migrants and non-migrants - in neighbourhoods which have become increasingly different may work together to shape local support services and to reduce any issues of discrimination or conflict. Second, in terms of new knowledge, the EMPOWER project showed how the problems experienced by many people were often due to the ways in which housing or employment systems worked. For example, the research identified how some housing landlords in the neighbourhoods that were focused upon often discriminated against different groups of people in terms of rents, addressing housing problems and granting access to housing. This, in turn, contributed to a situation where some individuals were not able to live in particular areas of the city / neighbourhood and were left in very poor housing conditions. In addition, given that many people did not feel able to challenge such issues, the research argued for new approaches which directly involved individuals from different backgrounds in policy making. However, this will not be easy given that many were not engaged in local decision-making processes that shape how money and services are provided in the local area. Third, EMPOWER identified important new research questions on how people can help to shape the places that they live and work in, often called 'place-making'. The research identified the importance of i) their sense of belonging to the local neighbourhood; ii) their relations and networks with others; iii) the ways in which they can express their identity; and iv) their ability to feel safe in the neighbourhood in shaping 'place-making'. Additionally, the research also provided new understandings of how gender can matter and how women - including migrant women - could face a number of extra challenges in terms of their experiences in the local neighbourhood and their ability to get involved in shaping local services. Such challenges included not knowing how to voice their concerns, a lack of time to attend meetings, a lack of trust in decision-making processes and a belief that their views would not have an impact on decision-making. Female residents noted how their participation was shaped by the availability of childcare and family commitments and community language and/or cultural barriers. In particular, this had significant implications for women isolated in abusive relationships or vulnerable settings. A further point of relevance is that whilst on the whole women felt safe in their neighbourhoods, they spoke of the ways in which they zoned the neighbourhood into 'safe' and 'unsafe' spaces (such as less occupied 'dark spots'). Finally, EMPOWER provided new findings on the ways in which voluntary and community-based organisations could help different people to be brought together to shape local services and address local problems. These organisations have received less attention to date yet play a very important role in i) providing places for individuals from different backgrounds to meet and to build connections with each other ii) providing a range of support services; ii) offering work experience opportunities which allow individuals to use their existing skills or to develop new ones; and iv) helping local people to get support from other organisations, including the local council. |
| Exploitation Route | The Theory of Change framework - focused on issues concerned with integration and empowerment in cities and neighbourhoods subject to migration-driven population change - can be taken forward by public bodies - as well as third sector organisations - to develop initiatives which attempt to secure the integration and empowerment of all individuals. The framework will also enable such organisations to monitor the effect of their initiatives given that the framework includes outputs and outcomes they can measure their work against. The Citizen Research training materials can be used by different public and third sector partners to engage and empower local people in new research / work that focuses on improving the delivery of local services. There is already some evidence of this happening in our case study neighbourhoods in relation to housing and education - this work needs to be developed further. Academics working on issues of super-diversity can utilise our research findings to develop new work on community engagement/empowerment structures in vulnerable and diverse neighbourhoods; tackling gender-based discrimination (especially in relation to housing); securing more effective processes of place-making and spatial justice and in relation to the importance of local mobilisation in shaping social and spatial inclusion. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Government Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://www.hs-gesundheit.de/en/research/the-empowering-cities-of-migration-project |
| Description | The findings from the EMPOWER project are ongoing and indeed the non-academic impact of the work is a key (integral) output from the research project. Findings are impacting upon local communities and local and regional practitioners and policy-makers focused on improving housing and integration outcomes for migrant communities in different international contexts - UK (West Midlands), Germany (Bochum) and Sweden (Gothenburg). Two specific impacts are evident. The first relates to the ways in which the recruitment and training of 'Citizen Researchers' as part of the EMPOWER project has led to changes in the way in which public and third / voluntary sector organisations are engaging with local communities to access community specific knowledge. A set of training materials has been produced for recruiting, supporting and utilising local Citizen Researchers , and which organisations are now using to shape their own engagement and empowerment processes. This is helping to generate better knowledge on the needs of local residents in different - and increasingly diverse -European cities and neighbourhoods. In addition, it is contributing to a reconsideration of the ways in which local residents can be involved in different aspects of service design and delivery. The second tangible impact arising from the EMPOWER project relates to the use of a new 'Theory of Change' framework to address issues concerned with the integration and empowerment of local residents. This is of value to non-academic and academic partners. In terms of non-academic partners, the framework - for the very first time - is helping public and third / voluntary sector partners to define and measure the activities, outputs and outcomes they need to make to support integration and empowerment in different cities and neighbourhoods that have experienced migration-driven population change. In this respect, the framework considers housing challenges, community relations, issues of safety and security, access to local services, community involvement in shaping housing / local services and access to citizenship and housing rights. Hence it sets out the types of activities that should be developed to address these issues and offers new ways for partners to be able to measure whether such activities are leading to positive changes in the local area. This is now informing work that is focused on developing a new Refugee and Integration Strategy for the West Midlands (UK), and which will be published / implemented (in conjunction with the West Midlands Strategic Migration Partnership) in 2025. Indeed, in the UK the development of the framework operationalises a broader 'Theory of change' set out within the Home Office's (2019) 'Indicators of Integration' framework and supports different organisations to plan, monitor and evaluate the extent to which integration and empowerment interventions in areas subject to international migration (and the increasing diversity of local populations) are helping to create connected communities. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | Citizen Research in socio-economically vulnerable and diverse areas |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Improved intelligence on the needs of local people in vulnerable areas and the empowering of individuals to identify such needs / address such needs in collaboration with other organisations. |
| Description | Citizen Researcher training materials |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | The Citizen Researcher approach has been adopted by several organisations working in the EMPOWER case study areas - as well as the country leads for EMPOWER in Sweden and Germany - to engage and empower local communities in the research process and to identify and help to address their needs. |
| Description | Engaging parents in homework provision in socio-economically vulnerable and diverse areas |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | Enhanced engagement with parents through the Citizen Researcher approach and support with children's homework. |
| Description | From Challenges to Solutions: Exploring Gender Perspectives in Urban Planning, Migration, and Integration |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Description | Improving housing conditions in Bochum, Germany |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Improving integration and every day living conditions |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | https://www.instagram.com/reel/DA1YJ5UMNhJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D |
| Description | Pro-Unicenter |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Description | Theory of Change for migrant integration and empowerment |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Description | CITIZEN RESEARCHER KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER PROJECT: BIRMINGHAM to CAMBRIDGE |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2022 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Citizen Research "medborgarforskning" |
| Amount | 13,000Â kr (SEK) |
| Organisation | City of Gothenburg |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 05/2022 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Research England QR Policy Support Fund |
| Amount | £60,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Birmingham |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 12/2023 |
| Title | Citizen Researcher model |
| Description | This method engages and empowers local residents to participate in the research process, and helps such individuals to identify and address key issues affecting the areas in which they live / work. It is also a tool where local people can be trained up to undertake research with other people living in their respective neighbourhoods. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The tool has been used for the very first time in two of the three countries participating in the EMPOWER project (Germany and Sweden). It has helped to train local people in respect of research skills and it has helped to empower local people to take part in research and to work with other partners to address specific issues / needs identified through the research process. For example, in Sweden training took place with local residents over a period of one week and included i) ways of working in the local neighbourhood; ii) interviewing practice; iii) formulating interview questions and conducting interviews; iv) learning about ethical considerations and forms; v) transcribing and summarising interview material; vi) data collection for the digital household survey; and vii) interpretation of key findings. The design and techniques are novel in contexts of 'vulnerable' communities. |
| Title | Digital Participatory Spatial Analysis |
| Description | This is an innovative approach that uses mobile technologies and 'modules' focused on exploring specific issues (for example, housing, neighbourhood, engagement) to generate involvement by local communities in neighbourhood-based research and to identify resources available at a neighbourhood level. It can also be used to promote dialogue and participation in policy-making processes through linking community perceptions and experiences with policy interventions. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Through the use of this technique we have been able to identify the key housing and integration experiences of relevance to migrant and non-migrant communities in different (international) neighbourhood contexts and to consider the extent to which policy interventions are fit for purpose. As such, the research tool WAS NOT applicable to marginalised communities before the EMPOWER project (we have revised the approach). |
| Title | Implementation of a Theory of Change for migrant integration / empowerment based on the 2019 'Indicators of Integration' framework |
| Description | As part of the EMPOWER project a Theory of Change for migrant integration / empowerment has been developed. This - for the first time - operationalises the 2019 'Indicators of Integration' framework in order to identify the types of activities that could be developed (and monitored and measured by local stakeholders) to address identified local needs and to support the engagement and empowerment of migrants and other local residents in policy-making processes. |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The Theory of Change has only just been published in the final EMPOWER report. Hence impact is yet to be defined. |
| Title | Citizen Researcher database (UK, Germany and Sweden) |
| Description | A list of Citizen Researchers who can be drawn upon in the three case study areas (Bochum - Germany, Gothenburg - Sweden and Birmingham - UK ) that can be drawn upon as and when new Citizen Researcher-based work arises. For example, in the UK, a list of Citizen Researchers has been added to the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) database at the University of Birmingham. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Improved resource of individuals that can be drawn upon in the EMPOWER case study areas / cities (Bochum, Gothenburg and Birmingham) to support future research with local communities. |
| Title | Citizen research-based data set |
| Description | 63 semi-structured in-depth interviews with female residents (predominantly those with a migration history) residing in three different super-diverse neighbourhoods across Europe and focusing on their housing, integration and empowerment experiences. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Too early as of yet to discuss impact but will be a useful resource as focuses on female residents predominantly with a migration background in super-diverse contexts. Such individuals have been less focused on to date. The plan is to make this dataset available in 2023 following the recent completion of the EMPOWER project. |
| Title | Digital Participatory Spatial Analysis (DiPS) |
| Description | DiPS dataset of 396 survey responses on integration and empowerment in three super-diverse communities in the cities of Bochum (Germany), Gothenburg (Sweden) and Birmingham (United Kingdom). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The dataset will be available to others in due course now that the EMPOWER project has completed. It will provide the opportunity for others to explore challenges of engagement and empowerment (in quantifiable terms) in different neighbourhood contexts of super-diversity. |
| Title | Stakeholder interviews in super-diverse communities across Europe: Issues of housing, integration and empowerment |
| Description | 36 stakeholder interviews in total undertaken in three different super-diverse neighbourhoods across Europe and focused on the housing, integration and empowerment experiences of local residents, as well as the nature of responses. Stakeholders are local / regional and drawn from the public / private and voluntary and community sectors. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | Too early to highlight as of yet but potentially a resource that can be drawn upon to explore stakeholder responses to housing, integration and empowerment challenges in differing contexts of neighbourhood super-diversity. |
| Description | Addressing the needs of young people in Bergsjon, Gothenburg (Sweden) |
| Organisation | Save the Children Denmark |
| Country | Denmark |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Identification of the needs of young people in Bergsjon, Sweden. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Addressing the needs of children / child poverty. |
| Impact | Report in Swedish provided on identified needs of young people in the Bergsjon neighbourhood based on resident survey and interviewees with migrant women. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Bergsjon 2031 (Gothenburg, Sweden) |
| Organisation | Bergsjon 2031 |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Support with responding to the housing and neighbourhood needs of local residents in the Bergsjon neighbourhood in Gothenburg, Sweden. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Improving housing and neighbourhood services in the local area. |
| Impact | Better intelligence on the housing needs and neighbourhood services required by local residents living in the Bergsjon neighbourhood. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Bergsjon Mots, Gothenburg (Sweden) |
| Organisation | Bergsjon Housing Association |
| Country | Sweden |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Identification of housing needs of local residents arising from research undertaken through the EMPOWER project. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Development of activities to address housing needs of local people in Bergsjon. |
| Impact | Two summary reports with recommendations and an exhibition. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Empowering Bergsjon, Gothenburg (Sweden) |
| Organisation | City of Gothenburg |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Writing reports in Swedish for the benefit of local users, civil society actors and the municipality on empowering local residents. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Meeting local residents and attempting to respond to their housing needs and concerns. |
| Impact | Short summary report of key findings emerging from interviews with migrant women and local residents conducted as part of the EMPOWER project. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Citizen Researcher training and dissemination events |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In each country, a series (2-3) meetings were held with a group of 'Citizen Researchers' drawn from the local community and who were provided with information in relation to the research and who were also trained by the research project team to undertake further research with the wider public community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | Immigration and Homelessness in the West Midlands, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Purpose was to share 'Theory of Change' framework developed from EMPOWER project with regional practitioners to address homelessness / immigration 'crisis' in the West Midlands, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.frontlinenetwork.org.uk/community/whats-on/2024/06/wmca-homelessness-and-immigration-eve... |
| Description | Launch of report on Living conditions in neighborhoods with socio-economic challenges - Results from the citizen science project EMPOWER with focus on Bergsjön in Gothenburg |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Exhibition on findings from the EMPOWER project on how to improve living conditions in areas subject to immigration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://x.com/citscise?lang=en |
| Description | Public launch of findings from Empowering Cities of Migration Research Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Launch of final report emerging from the Empowering Cities of Migration Research Project. Hybrid event with around 50 attendees from across Europe (Sweden, Germany and UK), including postgraduate students, policy-makers / practitioners and individuals from third sector organisations. In particular, this raised questions on how the new 'Theory of Change' for migrant integration and empowerment that was produced from the research could be implemented in different local contexts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |