Optimising refugee resettlement in the UK: a comparative analysis

Refugee resettlement is one of the most radical of all voluntary international migrations in terms of its impact on individual migrants. Resettlement is a very different way of becoming a refugee from the asylum system since refugees do not have to reach the territory of the destination state. Refugees are selected for resettlement by potential host states, in their country of first asylum, which is usually a neighbouring country to their own. Arrangements are made for their settlement and ongoing support, paid for either by the government of their new state, or by a sponsoring organisation. Refugees have social rights equivalent to citizens on arrival. Unlike the long, uncertain journeys undertaken by asylum seekers, the transition for resettled refugees is sudden and, given the contexts where they have been living previously, dramatic.
In the UK, refugees are selected for resettlement specifically on the basis of their vulnerability, making adaptation even more challenging. The UK manages resettlement through the Gateway Protection Programme, which relies on local council implementation, sometimes in collaboration with civil society. The aim of this programme is to achieve the integration of refugees along several different life domains (e.g. employment, housing, education, health, language and cultural knowledge, well-being and social relationships). Previous research into the integration of refugees has been scant and has tended to focus on the first four 'easier to measure' domains in cross-sectional studies. In this project we will additionally study refugee integration in the less tangible but no less important areas of well-being, quality of social relationships, self-efficacy and perceived social acceptance. We will also adopt a longitudinal approach so that refugee adaptation can be tracked over time.

This is a proposal for a multidisciplinary and multi-methods research project that will develop existing approaches to the integration of refugees through a longitudinal comparative study of resettled refugees in three different UK locations (Brighton, Greater Manchester and Norwich). Two research questions will be addressed:
1. How do these three areas compare in terms of integration outcomes for resettled refugees?
2. What are the key determinants of integration outcomes among resettled refugees, especially subjective well-being, self-efficacy and perceived social acceptance?

Answers to these questions will inform government refugee resettlement policy and theories of social cohesion and intergroup relations.
We will use a combination of focus groups, quantitative survey research and individual interviews, sequenced into three stages: Three focus groups will be held in each area once a draft questionnaire has been designed, in order to discuss the design and focus of the questions. A longitudinal survey of around 300 refugees will be conducted in three stages, nine months apart. This will permit the tracking of changes in participants' life experiences and well-being over the project, as well as providing insights as to potential causal relationships among variables. Individual interviews with key informants in each area and with a purposively selected sample will be held after each stage of the questionnaire. They will allow more detailed exploration of emerging themes from the survey and capture the diversity and richness of refugee experience, shedding vital light on the processes underlying their well-being and overall integration.
The project will also involve a significant capacity building element for 9 refugees who will be involved in the planning and implementation of the research. The Home Office, Refugee Action, The Refugee Council and the relevant local governments will all be represented on a steering group to advise on the conduct and direction of the research. The project will conclude with a substantial national conference to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Gateway Scheme 2014

In addition to the academic beneficiaries, there are four key stakeholders in this project:
UK central government (e.g., Home Office, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department for Work and Pensions).
Local government (e.g., Brighton & Hove, Manchester, Norwich)
Refugee support NGOs (e.g., Refugee Action, Refugee Council)
Refugees themselves
Representatives of all four stakeholder groups will be involved in the research throughout thus ensuring the maximum interchange of ideas and information.
Stakeholders will benefit from the research in the following ways:
UK central government: by having access to a detailed longitudinal evaluation of how the Gateway Protection Programme (GPP) is working in three geographical areas with varying types and amounts of local governmental and NGO support. Evidence on the effectiveness of the GPP is very scarce and is concentrated in the first year after arrival. It has not hitherto considered the full range of adaptation outcomes including well-being, self-efficacy and perceived social acceptance nor in a longitudinal context. Ultimately, it is to be hoped that this will lead to an improvement in the quality of the GPP.
Local government: by being provided with both evidence on the success of refugee integration in their particular areas as well as comparative data from two other local authorities. In this way, lessons of good (and bad) practice in the resettlement of refugees can be shared and the quality of local services for refugees will be enhanced. It is hoped that more detailed information on pathways to successful integration for resettled refugees will encourage more local councils to become involved in the GPP and thereby increase the total UK capacity for resettlement.
Refugee support NGOs: by being provided with evidence on the effectiveness of their support services for refugees in three different geographical areas. It is anticipated that this may lead to the improvements of those services and also a better integration of the work of NGOs and local authorities.
Refugees themselves: the wider community of refugees in the UK will benefit in the long-term by the improvement in the support they are provided with by national and local government and NGOs. This should benefit their quality of life. A small group of refugees who will be recruited to work on the project will benefit by acquiring new skills, hence hopefully enhancing their future employment prospects.
Overall, it is hoped that this project will ultimately lead to more successful integration of refugees into mainstream British economic and cultural activities. It will have direct impacts on the management of the GPP at a local level, through the provision of detailed information on ways of supporting and enhancing the connections refugees form to others in society. In so doing, it should also improve the quality of intergroup relationships between the host majority and the refugee community, with consequent benefits for societal cohesion and harmony. New evidence collected by the project and dissemination strategies may also have an impact on national level policy decisions around possible expansion of the GPP.