'Everyday Bordering' in the UK: the impact on social care practitioners and the migrant families with whom they work.

Lead Research Organisation: University of Sheffield
Department Name: Sociological Studies

Abstract

The global movement of people is a growing feature of contemporary life. In the UK, policy and the media focus on the need to control all types of immigration and/or the possible 'illegality' of migrants. In 2012, for example, Theresa May stated that the Conservative-led Government aimed to deliberately create a 'hostile environment' by denying illegal immigrants access to work, housing, services and bank accounts. Subsequently, whilst some public servants, such as health care professionals, were already responsible for checking a person's immigration documents and entitlement to services, the 2014 and 2016 Immigration Acts extended these responsibilities to those that do not hold public office, such as, landlords and bank clerks. State bordering practices, therefore, extend increasingly into everyday life and this can be referred to as 'everyday bordering'.

In this hostile atmosphere, professional practice comes under increased pressure, potentially resulting in all migrants being viewed with suspicion by a range of professionals with whom they come into contact. UK legislation relating to family reunification is also increasingly subject to a range of conditions and migrant family members can have complex familial, legal circumstances that impact on their eligibility to access services. Practitioners that work with migrant families in social care settings, thereby, aim to provide families with effective support, but may also be legally obliged to enact practices of immigration control. Little attention has, however, been given to the ways in which these social care practitioners negotiate 'everyday bordering' requirements and how this impacts on the experiences of migrant families with whom they work. This project aims to examine whether, to what extent, and in what ways, practices of 'everyday bordering' permeate social care professions working with migrant families and will consider if and how these practice responses impact on the ways in which migrant families experience support.

The project will examine these questions by collaborating with and comparing experiences of practitioners working in three agencies that provide social care and support to migrant families. To ensure a range of experiences are considered, and to examine the influence of location on 'everyday bordering', these agencies will be located in three urban areas in the North of England: Sheffield, Doncaster and Hull. During a one-year period, researchers will: review relevant policy and professional guidelines; spend time observing interactions between practitioners and migrant families; conduct focus groups and interviews with practitioners; and interview members of migrant families, including children.

Findings of the project will be of interest to audiences beyond the academy. These include, but are not limited to, organisations representing practitioners, policy makers, journalists, campaign groups, migrant families, and NGOs working with migrant families from a range of backgrounds. Findings will also inform productive professional practices and can be used not only by government but also by third sector organisations who may seek to influence policy in this area.

Planned Impact

This project aims to examine whether, to what extent, and in what ways, practices of immigration control permeate across social care professions working with migrant families in the UK. This will expand understanding of who, in the current UK context, enacts or resists these practices and if and how this impacts on the support migrant families receive. The research will be of interest to a range of audiences, including: migrant families; social care professionals working with migrant families; politicians and policy makers; and bodies responsible for professional standards in health and social care. The project will impact significantly on non-academic beneficiaries by:

1: Bringing social care stakeholders together at engagement and dissemination events to develop shared responses to issues identified and their capacity to cooperate.
2: Making recommendations for policy and practice by circulating an end-of-project policy briefing to stakeholders, presenting this verbally to at least three audiences and by publishing a blog piece.
3: Improving social care practice responses and outcomes for migrant families, by making recommendations in an end-of-project training resource pack to be delivered to relevant organisations and broader national networks.
4: Developing innovative methodological approaches for evaluating the impact of practice approaches on service users, which will be incorporated into the end-of-project resource/training pack and, also, a blog piece.
5: Assisting the settlement process for migrant families - families will indirectly benefit from impacts 1-4, those participating will also benefit directly via their involvement with the project and a final celebration and dissemination event.

Impacts will be realised via ongoing engagement with professionals and families involved with social care agencies in Hull, Doncaster and Sheffield, and as a result of relationships developed with local and national stakeholders that aim to influence immigration policy and social care practice. The PI has established relationships with organisations in Hull (including Hull City Council Children and Young People's Team, The Community Integration and Advocacy Centre, and The Red Cross), Doncaster (including The South Yorkshire Teaching Partnership, The Conversation Club, and Doncaster Children's Trust), and Sheffield (including Sheffield City Council's Children and Families Service, and Cohesion Sheffield). Initial contact has been made with regional and national groups: South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group; Asylum Matters; and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration. At the outset of the project, the PI will engage further with these and other stakeholders, including: The British Association of Social Workers; The Association of Community Workers; The Immigration Law Practitioners' Association; Migration Yorkshire; The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants; and The Refugee Council.

The Advisory Board will have a key role in supporting impact activities. In addition to academics, members will include: Hull North MP, Diana Johnson; Sheffield City Council's Cohesion & Migration Manager, Angela Greenwood; a member of Doncaster's Clinical Commissioning group; Jeni Vine, Secretary for the National City of Sanctuary Committee; and representatives of the three collaborating agencies. Members will provide access and disseminate findings to academic, practitioner, political and activist audiences. During and after the project, the PI will work with the University's press office and Impact and Engagement Team to maximise impact, dissemination and media opportunities. This includes publicising and reporting on engagement events and research milestones in forums, such as, The Yorkshire Post, The Hull Daily Mail, The Doncaster Free Press and local BBC Radio. The project will have an online presence via Twitter and the University of Sheffield's webpages, and will target academic and non-academic audience.
 
Title Film of what Everyday Bordering means to research participants - 'Complexities of the Immigration System and Entitlement' 
Description Members of migrant families attended a series of workshops facilitated by the research team, the aim being to explore the impact of everyday borders on their lives. Participants produced written work and drawn images during these workshops and, finally, five participants chose to create a short films where they spoke about their experiences. This is the first of those films - 'Complexities of the Immigration System and Entitlement'. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2023 
Impact Migrant family members took part in a series of workshops in which they explored 'everyday borders' in their lives, and five participants contributed to a short film whereby they described their experience of these borders: - Migrant family members have explored their own experiences and the process of this has empowered them to identify the impact of everyday borders on their own lives. - Migrant family members expressly asked to submit a proposal to develop a film as they felt that they wanted an opportunity to express their learning. - The participants in the workshop also developed writing skills, as they wrote about, and drew images of their experiences. This contributed their own skills set and that of the broader community. In addition to this, the final video is now used to explain to audiences the impact of everyday borders on the everyday lives of people that have migrated to the UK at a range of dissemination events, via online platforms, and as part of training resources being developed as part of the research project. 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMqq8BndmTA
 
Title Film of what Everyday Bordering means to research participants - 'Working with People from Diverse National and Cultural Backgrounds'. 
Description Members of migrant families attended a series of workshops facilitated by the research team, the aim being to explore the impact of everyday borders on their lives. Participants produced written work and drawn images during these workshops and, finally, five participants chose to create a short films where they spoke about their experiences. This is the first of those films - 'Working with People from Diverse National and Cultural Backgrounds'. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact Migrant family members took part in a series of workshops in which they explored 'everyday borders' in their lives, and five participants contributed to a short film whereby they described their experience of these borders: - Migrant family members have explored their own experiences and the process of this has empowered them to identify the impact of everyday borders on their own lives. - Migrant family members expressly asked to submit a proposal to develop a film as they felt that they wanted an opportunity to express their learning. - The participants in the workshop also developed writing skills, as they wrote about, and drew images of their experiences. This contributed their own skills set and that of the broader community. In addition to this, the final video is now used to explain to audiences the impact of everyday borders on the everyday lives of people that have migrated to the UK at a range of dissemination events, via online platforms, and as part of training resources being developed as part of the research project. 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE3wu0Ujsp4
 
Title Film of what Everyday Bordering means to research participants - Communication Barriers. 
Description Members of migrant families attended a series of workshops facilitated by the research team, the aim being to explore the impact of everyday borders on their lives. Participants produced written work and drawn images during these workshops and, finally, five participants chose to create a short films where they spoke about their experiences. This is the first of those films - 'Communication Barriers'. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact Migrant family members took part in a series of workshops in which they explored 'everyday borders' in their lives, and five participants contributed to a short film whereby they described their experience of these borders: - Migrant family members have explored their own experiences and the process of this has empowered them to identify the impact of everyday borders on their own lives. - Migrant family members expressly asked to submit a proposal to develop a film as they felt that they wanted an opportunity to express their learning. - The participants in the workshop also developed writing skills, as they wrote about, and drew images of their experiences. This contributed their own skills set and that of the broader community. In addition to this, the final video is now used to explain to audiences the impact of everyday borders on the everyday lives of people that have migrated to the UK at a range of dissemination events, via online platforms, and as part of training resources being developed as part of the research project. 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJOogvCc8Bk
 
Title Photographs of Everyday Borders - A Tale of Two Sheffields 
Description Researchers worked with members of migrant families, in a series of workshops, to produce photographic images of what 'everyday borders' means to them. These have been printed on canvases and were displayed at: the Migration Matters Festival in Sheffield; on the website for the research project; and the final celebration event for the ESRC project. 
Type Of Art Artwork 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact The workshops have had an impact on practitioners and migrant family members in a number of ways: - Migrant family members have explored their own experiences and the process of this has empowered them to identify the impact of everyday borders on their own lives - Migrant family members expressly asked to submit a proposal to the Migration Matters Festival as they felt that they wanted an opportunity to express their learning (via displaying the images) to a broader audience and, as such, revealed the impact that involvement has had on their self-reflection; - The participants in the workshop also developed photographic skills, and they received a certificate to acknowledge the skills developed. This contributed their own skills set and that of the broader community. In addition to this, the images will be used to explain to audiences the impact of everyday borders on the everyday lives of people that have migrated to the UK at a range of dissemination events, via online platforms, and as part of training resources being developed as part of the research project. 
URL https://everydayborderinguk.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/outputs/tale-of-two-sheffields-exhibition
 
Description The project reveals myriad ways in which the UK's 'hostile environment' towards immigration impacts on migrant families' everyday interactions with social care services. Data analysis is ongoing, but findings include:

Objective 1&3: The study examined the ways in which social care professionals with and without statutory duties enact and/or resist 'everyday borders', thereby developing theoretical understandings of statutory and non-statutory 'everyday bordering'. Findings show that the nature of contemporary service provision means that statutory and non-statutory services are no longer clearly demarcated. Rather, the complexity of the social care funding landscape - some NGOs are commissioned to deliver statutory services - means bordering practices are present in all sectors. Whilst some practitioners are legally required to check immigration status, 'shadow borders' permeate the work of those that are not; migrant families may already be excluded from their services by referrers, or by the conditions of external funding bodies, such as, the Department of Work and Pensions. Practitioners from all sectors are, however, uncomfortable when migrant families are excluded and navigate 'everyday borders' by signposting to services that can provide support and developing strategically inclusive funding strategies.

Objective 2: As noted, our study found that everyday bordering practices exist in many forms in social care practice and that their enactment fundamentally shapes all migrant families' support needs, although more so for those were more precarious immigration status. The regular checking of immigration documentation can have a profound impact on a person's wellbeing and sense of 'belonging', and the wider hostile environment impacts on a families' basic living standards; those with the least entitlement need support with food and basic items, and others are disempowered by the complexity of the immigration system and inaccessible bureaucratic processes. The needs of migrant families can go unmet, because of communication barriers, misunderstandings about services offered, or because they do not have access to the required support. Many practitioners 'resist' borders and work against the hostile environment by providing practical help, advocacy and advice, and families highlight the significance of being allocated or identifying an informal 'key worker' to provide practical and wellbeing support as a single point of access.

Objective 4: Practitioners in our study requested access to resources to enable them to develop strategies to effectively work with the migrant communities they support. Practitioners and migrant families identified four areas to address: communication barriers; working with people from different cultural and national backgrounds; overcoming cultural assumptions; and the complexities of entitlement and the immigration system. In collaboration with practitioners, we developed an online resource to inform social care practice responses and held a series of art-based workshops with migrant families to enable them to express creatively what 'everyday borders' mean to them. The online resource incorporates the workshop outputs, and impacts positively on the lives of migrant families in the UK.

Methodologically, remote methods were employed due to COVID19. We found that ethnographically-inspired online methodologies can successfully facilitate understandings of everyday practice interactions with migrant families and developed knew knowledge about the extent to which ethnography can be stretched. We have pioneered new ethnographic approaches - 'portholes of ethnography' - that allow researchers and participants to gradually develop relationships in ways that have utility for future social research.
Exploitation Route The outcomes of the project are being 'taken forward' by stakeholders whose work focuses on migrant communities in the UK. National policy makers (in migration, and service provision) can make use of findings relating to the impact of the hostile environment on social care provision, and migrant families' support needs. Decision makers in local government, service commissioners, operational managers, and front life staff that support migrant communities will also make use of the research findings and outputs, including those working in the NHS and local authorities. On a local practice and national level, the project's collaborative partners, Advisory Board members, health care providers, third sector representatives and activist organisations are working with us to do this.

Social scientists, researchers and professionals working within and commissioning service provision can benefit from the project's policy findings, supporting people to address the ways in which everyday borders infuse social care practice and influence families' support needs. Scholars of migration studies, family sociology, professional occupations, politics, and geography can also benefit from the theoretical advancement of 'everyday bordering' as a concept; by identifying 'everyday bordering' as a feature of everyday practices in family support, findings develop scholarly understanding of increasingly restrictive migration regimes.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice
URL https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/everydayborderinguk/home?authuser=0
 
Description The project is in the final stages in terms of analysing the findings of the study and, therefore, moving towards realising the full impact of the findings. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, engagement opportunities with service users and practitioners have been difficult but, in spite of this, fieldwork has been completed and we have developed a range of alternative engagement activities and opportunities, which are recorded in this submission. There are, then, emergent findings and impacts to report that represent a positive and creative response to overcoming the challenge presented by having to work remotely in a way that is collaborative and reciprocal. In more recent months, engagement opportunities that require face-to-face contact have also been released, notably, creative art workshops, ethnographic activities and consultations with practitioners beyond the social care sector. There are, then, a range of impacts to be reported. Firstly, emergent findings have shown that social care practitioners can be unsure of the labels they should use to describe people who have migrated to the UK, and some people from ethnic minority groups are described in ways that can draw on long standing racialised tropes in the UK context. Analysis has shown that this may impact on the ways in which the needs of migrant families are both assessed and met; it is a bordering practice. As a result, we have worked with collaborating organisations to develop a workshop that addresses these issues by supporting practitioners: to consider these issues in a safe space; to explore processes of racialisation in their work; to recognise the impact this may have on the families they support; and to find ways to reflect on their own practice and or challenge colleagues where necessary. As such, we have delivered the workshop (online) to three groups of practitioners (approximately 60 in total). Practitioners in both organisations have fed back that this workshop has supported their reflective practice and in one collaborating organisation, this has resulted in subsequent knowledge exchange activities. We have, for example, worked with the Sheffield collaborator to create and promote: a consultation opportunity related to promoting understanding between communities; job descriptions for roles within the organisation that are inclusive of ethnic minority communities and people that have migrated to the UK and have the right to work; and contributed to an independent evaluation of their work. As such, relationships created are starting to impact on the effectiveness of the services delivered. A second impact that can be noted in related to the Hull based collaboration. As a consequence of the research relationship, a funding bid was submitted with an intentionally broad remit that did not exclude beneficiaries on the basis of migration status; as such, this has a social impact as, previously, those that did not have recourse to public funds were not able to access the comparable projects in the organisation. This has also resulted in an emergent example of knowledge exchange, in that, the PI for the project is now an invited member of the Hull based collaborators Refugee Steering Group. In recent months, creative workshops have built on the research findings to enable members of migrant families to develop art pieces that depict what 'everyday bordering' means to them, and the resultant photographs and a short film are currently in the final stages of production. The workshops and the pieces produced have had, and will have a range of future impacts. Attendees at the workshops (migrant families and practitioners) were, for example, provided with an opportunity to develop photographic skills, but also to voice their opinions and express their experiences with a view to sharing these with a broader audience, including decision makers. This has aided the development of self-confidence and, as a result, practitioners and migrant family members suggested that a collaborative proposal be submitted in order to exhibit the work at a local festival. This has been done in collaboration with our Sheffield based partner and we are awaiting a decision on this proposal. In addition to this, findings from the study have shown that practitioners would like to be able to access training related to their work supporting migrant families, but that existing resources are not 'fit for purpose'. The development of a training resource is a planed outcome of the ESRC grant, but, as a result of these findings, the PI for the project successfully applied for an additional grant to develop the scale and scope of the training package. As such, consultation events are to be held in March '22 to engage with a range of practitioners (60 in number) to inform the final training package. Furthermore, presentations have been given to research colleagues, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in our field of research. The research team has also presented findings at a number of academic conferences, including the BSA, the ESA, and in the coming months, the IMISCOE conference. All are international and are attended from colleagues from across the globe. In addition to this, a number of partnership and collaboration opportunities have emerged from our work, which are detailed in this submission.
First Year Of Impact 2021
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Other
Impact Types Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description Briefing document of headline findings for Practice produced and circulated
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact The document outlines evidence to show how both migrant family members and practitioners experience the hostile environment in their daily lives and how this impacts on their access to services. Good practice was identified and recommendations are also outlined for policy, practice and commissioners. Whilst evidence of the impact of this has not yet been generated it is envisioned that this will occur over the coming year and will be reported here.
URL https://everydayborderinguk.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/outputs/a-briefing-note-of-our-findings
 
Description Delivered Workshops on the Use of Race and Ethnicity Labels - One in Sheffield and One in Hull.
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Emergent findings from the study show that practitioners can be unclear about the appropriate terms to use when describing ethnic minority groups, and some families that have migrated and that they can also draw on racialised ways of 'knowing' when describing the families that they support. As such, this can impact on the ways in which a families needs are assessed and, potentially, the support that they receive. As a result Dr Asma Khan and Dr Julie Walsh, together with collaborating organisations, identified an training need and developed a workshop to support practitioners in addressing these particular issues emerging from analysis. Two workshops have, so far, been delivered to 40+ social care staff and feedback has been positive.
 
Description Delivered a third workshop on the case of race and ethnicity labels to practitioners
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Emergent findings from the study show that practitioners can be unclear about the appropriate terms to use when describing ethnic minority groups, and some families that have migrated and that they can also draw on racialised ways of 'knowing' when describing the families that they support. As such, this can impact on the ways in which a families needs are assessed and, potentially, the support that they receive. As a result Dr Asma Khan and Dr Julie Walsh, together with collaborating organisations, identified an training need and developed a workshop to support practitioners in addressing these particular issues emerging from analysis. Two workshops had already been delivered to 40+ social care staff and this third workshop was delivered to a further 15 social care staff in a different organisation. Feedback has been positive and we are in the process of developing this resource as part of a broader suite of training resources.
 
Description Delivered a workshop to colleagues and PGR students in the Department of Sociological Studeis, entitled, 'Using Creative Participatory Methods with Marginalised Groups'
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact The workshop generated a significant amount of interest from academic colleagues and PGR students. Since this time, similar methods have been adopted by some of those in attendance. This contributes to the above areas of practice as colleagues research approaches will support working 'with' communities to identify issues of importance to them, and solutions that also have meaning to them.
 
Description Establish COVID Research Reflective Group.
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Dr Asma Khan and Dr Julie Walsh have worked with colleagues in the Department of Sociological Studies to establish the Faculty wide COVID Research Reflective Practice Group, so as to provide a forum to discuss good practice when working with vulnerable groups during the pandemic. This group is now operating at a Faculty level, and thereby reaching researchers across the social sciences. The group has met three times with a combined audience of 50+ academics representing a range of career stages; including early career researchers and professors.
 
Description Invited to Deliver a Training Session on a PG (CPD) class for NHS professionals working in Peri-natal mental health.
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact During the session, students were asked to reflect on their own practice, if and how the issues raised in the research were present in their own work, and how they might approach these issues when working with members of migrant families. After the session, on attendee contacted Claire Marshall, the module convenor, and reported that she found the session was 'eye opening' and that it has 'changed the way that I work with migrant women'. The group were representative of the Humber, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire region and I am working with the convenor to explore other ways of evidencing impact.
URL https://www.hull.ac.uk/study/cpd/modules/perinatal-mental-health
 
Description Invited to be a member of a local steering group relating to work with asylum seekers and refugees.
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The steering group has been established for practitioners working within a large third sector organisation in Hull so as to provide a forum for all practitioners in the organisation to share their knowledge and to reflect on how they can better meet the needs of the migrant families that they support. There are 8 members of the group representing a diverse range of services that support migrants, including those commissioned by the local authority and the Home Office. The successful partnership bid to conduct a consultation, submitted to HEIF, was partly borne out of this relationship. This is reported elsewhere in the submission.
 
Description Invited to present at a Summer School at Thessalonki (University of York campus) - Title - Right to Health, Everyday Bordering and Mental Health: two case studies from Italy and England
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact The students were from a range of disciplinary and practice backgrounds, including social work, sociology, political studies, human rights and international politics. They were also both undergraduate and postgraduate. Third sector organisations also presented at the summer school and students were able to meet with people with lived experience of migration in Greece. Overall, students were able to take their learning back to their studies and professions and adapt what they learnt about different contacts and health needs to their lives and practice.
URL https://www.york.ac.uk/politics/news-events/newsarchive2022/summerschoolatcitycollegegreece/
 
Description Master Class Given to NHS England Staff, for a programme of events labelled, 'Advancing Health Inequalities - marginalised Communities'.
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact The sharing of the information and the resource aimed to enable practitioners to adapt their approaches to working with migrant communities in ways that will break down barriers and make services more accessible to service users from migrant communities. It is hoped that this will then be cascaded to wider networks within and beyond the NHS. This is also embedded within future partnership plans that aim to work with the North Yorskshire and Humber Commissioning Hub that will work towards this process of dissemination.
 
Description Presentation to Faculty Level Research Directors
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact The impact of the presentation is most likely to be on the promotion of the COVID focused group noted previously, and the resultant impact of attendance on the research workforce. The impact also included the promotion of the Everyday Bordering project more broadly.
 
Description Presented at the Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit.
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Dr Julie Walsh presented to social work professionals attending a seminar series organised by the Health and Social Care Workforce Unit, based at King's College, London. The presentation was delivered at the start of the grant period and outlined the research project, with a view to garnering interest and promoting forums through with the attendees can engage with the research project. Participants at the workshop (15) received a certificate to contribute to their continuing professional development. I also received feedback from a participant stating that their learning about the project, and the concept of everyday bordering, had added to their awareness and reflective practice relating to the issues discussed.
 
Description Higher Education Innovation Fund
Amount £19,661 (GBP)
Funding ID X175152 
Organisation University of Sheffield 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2022 
End 06/2022
 
Description Working with Communities 
Organisation Goodwin Development Trust Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution I led the writing of an application to a Faculty managed HEIF fund, and then led the engagement work that resulted from being awarded the fund.
Collaborator Contribution The partners formed part of a steering group that supported the delivery of two in-person consultation events with practitioners in Hull and Sheffield. 62 people attended these two events. The consultation focused on working with practitioners to develop an online training resource for practitioners working with communities. Partners invited their contacts and helped deliver the consultations in the two cities.
Impact Working with Migrant Communities: A Resource for Practitioners
Start Year 2022
 
Description Working with Communities 
Organisation North Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Hub
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution I led the writing of an application to a Faculty managed HEIF fund, and then led the engagement work that resulted from being awarded the fund.
Collaborator Contribution The partners formed part of a steering group that supported the delivery of two in-person consultation events with practitioners in Hull and Sheffield. 62 people attended these two events. The consultation focused on working with practitioners to develop an online training resource for practitioners working with communities. Partners invited their contacts and helped deliver the consultations in the two cities.
Impact Working with Migrant Communities: A Resource for Practitioners
Start Year 2022
 
Description Working with Communities 
Organisation University of Hull
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I led the writing of an application to a Faculty managed HEIF fund, and then led the engagement work that resulted from being awarded the fund.
Collaborator Contribution The partners formed part of a steering group that supported the delivery of two in-person consultation events with practitioners in Hull and Sheffield. 62 people attended these two events. The consultation focused on working with practitioners to develop an online training resource for practitioners working with communities. Partners invited their contacts and helped deliver the consultations in the two cities.
Impact Working with Migrant Communities: A Resource for Practitioners
Start Year 2022
 
Description An invited presentation at the interdisciplinary Centre for Care (at the University of Sheffield) - Giving voice through photography: the use of art methods with marginalised groups 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The Centre for Care invited the research team to deliver a workshop on using creative methods when working with marginalised communities. The workshops was developed and delivered by the PDRA for the project and she brought together two examples of using Two photographic methods when working with one conducted with young members of migrant families and people experiencing metal health difficulties. After the session, and particularly the following discussion, audience members reported thinking differently about their epistemological approach to research methodologies.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Blog Published on The Department of Sociological Studies blog page at The University of Sheffield. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Maria Teresa Ferazzoli co-authored a blog for the Department of Sociological Studies blog page. This piece presented findings from the study related to the impact of COVID-19 related travel restriction on transnational family practices. Whilst it is currently difficult to assess the reach of the blog, it was shared on the departmental pages and social media platforms, and the Everyday Bordering project's website and social media accounts. The Department recorded 103 views for November 2021 when the piece was published.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://socstudiesresearch.com/tag/travel-restrictions/
 
Description Blog Shared with a range of audiences. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Asma Khan co-authored a blog for the Department of Sociological Studies blog page. This piece introduced the research project to the audiences noted above, with a particular focus on the ways in which COVID19 has impacted on the research design of the study, and the potential of some of these changes for supporting democratic ways of working with research participants.

Whilst it is currently difficult to assess the reach of the blog, it was shared on the departmental pages and social media platforms, and the Everyday Bordering project's website and social media accounts. As a consequence of writing the blog, colleagues in the Faculty of Social Sciences has met to discuss our learning, and how this can inform their own research contingency planning, and this also triggered the development of the Faculty wide COVID Research Reflective Group, noted elsewhere in the report.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://socstudiesresearch.com/2020/09/28/collaborative-research-the-potential-of-covid-contingencie...
 
Description Blog published in The Conversation 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Maria Teresa Ferazzoli co-authored a piece for The Conversation blog page. This piece shared findings from the study that highlighted the impact of COVID-19 related travel restrictions on transnational family practices. Analytical data shared with us by The Conversation shows that the 3088 people read the blog. It was also shared more widely on Twitter and Facebook, both by readers of the piece and by the research team on the Everyday Bordering project's social media accounts, including Twitter and the dedicated website.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://theconversation.com/covid-travel-restrictions-have-created-new-borders-for-migrants-who-want...
 
Description Creative engagement workshops with members of migrant families in Hull. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact The PI for the project worked with local artists and a group of members of migrant families, and six practitioners, to explore experiences of everyday bordering and how this had influenced their experiences of Hull. Over a series of six workshops, participants explored their experiences and five chose to take part in the making of a film to depict these experiences. The artefact created is recorded in the relevant section of the submission. The workshops were, however, separate, in that they allowed us to disseminate findings from earlier stages of the study and to engage service users and practitioners other than those that had participated as formal study participants.

During the workshops, participants explored their experiences in ways that they described as empowering, and this sparked discussion and questions that led to participants suggesting that we develop the film. This is currently being edited and will be disseminated at the final celebration event for the grant, and via other forums, such as the website.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021,2022
 
Description Creative engagement workshops with young people in Sheffield 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact The Research Associate for the project worked with a group of young people, and five practitioners, to explore experiences of everyday bordering and how this had influenced their experiences of Sheffield. Over a series of four workshops, young people explored their experiences and chose to take photographs to depict these experiences. The artefacts created are recorded in the relevant section of the submission. The workshops were, however, beneficial in ways beyond producing a final artefact, in that they allowed us to disseminate findings from earlier stages of the study and to engage service users and practitioners other than those that had participated as formal study participants.

During the workshops, participants also explored their experiences in ways that they described as empowering, and this sparked discussion and questions that led to participants suggesting that the pieces by exhibited in a festival local to Sheffield, Migration Matters. This is reported elsewhere in the submission.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Cross Research Theme Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Asma Khan outlined the aims and objective of the Everyday Bordering study at a seminar within the Department of Sociological Studies at Sheffield University. The title of the presentation was, 'How were responding? Cross theme reflections on research during COVID 19' and therefore, also considered research approaches and contingencies resulting from the COVID19 pandemic. The presentation was attended by approximately 35 people, representing senior, as well as early career academics, and both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

By sharing our learning and reflections related to conducting research in the current context, we have been able to support colleagues and develop research infastructures. Since this time, for example, several colleagues have been in touch to ask for our support and advice relating to conducting research online, whilst using an accessible and ethical approaches. This also led to the establishment of a COVID19 Reflective Research group, which is noted elsewhere in this report.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Develop and Project Website. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Asma Khan have developed and published a website dedicated to the Everyday Bordering research project. The website was developed with a view to reaching a range of audiences, including people interested in participation, the advisory board, and other stakeholders. The draft website was shared with advisory board members and representative of collaborating organisations in order to ensure that they had input into the content and to check that stakeholders felt that the style on content were appropriate and accessible to all.

Currently, the webpage primarily provides information about the project, but as the analysis and impacts of the study emerge, the website will be a key site to support dissemination of research findings, alongside other online and offline forums. As such, we have recently set-up thew Google Analytics to allow us to assess the reach of the site and how we might encourage increased traffic to the site if necessary.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://everydaybordering-familiesandsocialcare.group.shef.ac.uk
 
Description End of Proeject Celebration Event 
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 This was described as the end-of-project celebration event and brought together a range of stakeholders with a view to outlining the project, the key findings and to launch the project policy brief and the 'Working with Communities: a resource for practitioners'. Partners spoke about the significance of the project, and collaborating organisation also spoke about their experience of being involved in the study. In addition to this, the creative outputs from the study were also exhibited. The three videos produced were shared using laptops and photographs were exhibited. In addition to this, a presentation was given of the key findings and developments relating to methods were also presented. A thank you dinner was also held after the event for members of the Advisory Board and to celebration out collaboration.

53 people attended the event, including commissioners, organisational managers and from the Humber and Yorkshire region. Following the event three attendees made contact to discuss future working opportunities - Migration Yorkshire, City of Sanctuary (National) and The North Yorkshire and Humber Commissioning Hub. We are now working on a small grant application to enable us to work together to dissemination the findings and other resources from the project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://everydayborderinguk.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/updates/celebrating-the-project
 
Description Established Project Advisory Board 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The Everyday Bordering Advisory Board was established at the start of 2020 and is ongoing, meeting bi-annually. There are currently 10 members, representing collaborating organisations, decision makers and representatives of local and national government, as well as academics. Members have supported participant recruitment, influenced the content of the website, disseminated information to relevant organisations and forums, contributed to analysis of findings and advised on the development of research methods for the project.

This is a key feature of the collaborative nature of the study, in that, the research is influenced, informed, and shaped by the range of stakeholders that are affected by, and able to operationalise, recommendations resulting from the study. The group meets bi-annually and is currently supporting the development of an increasingly dissemination focused engagement strategy. The group has now met 4 times.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Established and shared project twitter and Facebook accounts. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Asma Khan have established Twitter and Facebook accounts for the Everyday Bordering project. These were established at the start of the fieldwork period for the study, although they currently have different functions within the project. The Twitter account has, so far, been used to promote the project, and related issues of interest, and it is envisioned that it will be used more as the findings from the study emerge and are disseminated. At the current time, we are aiming to increase 'followers' to support this dissemination; we have 156 followers and are aiming to increase this to 200 before the next reporting period.

By contract, the Facebook account has been primarily established to allow participants to use the messenger function as a form of communication as collaborators established that this was the preferred method used by service users. The platform will however become and attentional platform to support the project's impact agenda in the coming months.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020,2021,2022
URL https://twitter.com/home
 
Description Hull Consultation with Practitioners - Working with Migrant Communities 
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 A series of consultations were held as part of the additional funding secured from the HEIF project so as to inform the development of a training resource for practisers working with migrant families. This was one of two all day consultations held to consult practitioners on: the type of issues they would like to be addressed in the resource and that they face in their practice; the format of the resource. The event also gave practitioners an opportunity to network and engage with each other. Between the two consultations, there were 60+ stakeholders in attendance.

As a consequence of the workshops, practitioners contributed to the development of the materials included in the resource and made connections, and contact details were shared. The event was held at Goodwin Development Trust Ltd., a not-for profit organisation in Hull and, as such, community members also attended the event. As a consequence of the event relationships were developed with other stakeholders that have not only led to the development and circulation of the 'Working with Migrant Communities' resource, but also further collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://everydayborderinguk.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/updates/working-with-migrant-communities
 
Description Invited presentation at the interdisciplinary Centre for Care - Everyday Bordering in the UK: Translating the voices of migrant family members into a resource for practitioners 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The Centre for Care is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Sheffield. The research team were invited to deliver a presentation about the ways in which we translated research findings into a resource for practitioners.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Invited to attend MIGREC Summer School to lead workshop - Everyday Bordering in the UK: Using creative qualitative methods when working with families that have migrated. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact This was an invited workshop as part of a collaborative MIGREC research project. This aspect of the project was a Summer School delivered as part of a programme of supporting colleagues and PGR studentes connected with the wider programme os project activities. Alongside other colleagues from Sheffield, I facilitated a workshop on advanced qualitative methods to 18 doctoral students and academics, and also listened to their presentations and gave feedback on their research proposals. This sparked significant discussion during and after the workshop and I have since been contacted to provide support with students' application of the creative methods that I introduced.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://migrec.fpn.bg.ac.rs/migrec-summer-school/
 
Description Invited to attend a research meeting for the MIGREC International Research Project. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Colleagues working in the MIGREC from Belgrade (including academics, practitioners - social workers - and postgraduate students) came to visit the University of Sheffield (see description below). This gave an opportunity initially to hear about their work and then engage in discussions and networking activities. As a result, I was able to share the findings of the project and develop relationships for future collaboration. Since this time, postgraduate students have spoke about using the creative methods of the project in their future studies and academic colleagues have been in touch to maintain a relationship.

Members of the MIGREC team, professors, assistants and junior researchers from the University of Belgrade - Faculty of Political Science and Faculty of Geography, visited the University of Sheffield. This study visit was held within the framework of the H2020 Migration, Integration and Governance Research Center (MIGREC) project, in the period from December 5 to 9, 2022. Through the networking of the MIGREC team and members of the Migration Research Group from the University of Sheffield, academic work in the area of migration at the two universities was presented. Members of the MIGREC team were introduced to the research projects of the University of Sheffield's Migration Research Group. As part of those presentations, they visited Rotherham, where they toured the communities where the so-called social boundaries are mapped, and the centre "Football unites, racism divides", where they were presented with a model of empowerment through the so-called liquid integration of young migrants through sports activities.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://migrec.fpn.bg.ac.rs/study-visit-to-the-university-sheffield-within-the-migrec-project/
 
Description Invited to deliver teaching session and paper at the Thessaloniki Summer School 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact The RA for the project has been invited to deliver a session for 40 undergraduate and postgraduate students at the annual Summer School at the City College, Thessaloniki. Students are able to attend the school from across the globe.

The session will us the findings of the everyday bordering project to provide the background for learning related to the unequal access to mental health services for asylum seekers in the UK and in Italy.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://internationalfaculty.sheffield.eu/frontend/article.php?aid=3818&cid=394&t=Summer-School-2022
 
Description Launch of the 'Tale of Two Sheffields' Exhibition as part of the Sheffield Migration Matters Festival 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact As part of the project, creative workshops were held with young members of migrant families in Sheffield. The young people decided that they wanted to document their experiences of everyday borders using photography. On their suggestion, we then submitted a collaborative application to exhibit their work as part of the Migration matters Festival in Sheffield, which was successful. The work was exhibited at the City of Sanctuary Sheffield and the launch event was attended by 54 people. The young people spoke to the work and about their experiences to a wide general audience. Initially the exhibition was to be maintained for two weeks, but the City of Sanctuary chose to keep the exhibition and it remains in place. Thew young people involved in the project spoke to the audience about their experiences and also expressed pride and joy at their work being exhibited to a wider audience, and that they had also learnt photographic skills. Those in attendance engaged in discussion and asked the young people about their experiences. As such, this was a valuable learning experience for all, including the research team and members of the general public.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023
URL https://everydayborderinguk.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/outputs/tale-of-two-sheffields-exhibition
 
Description Migration Research Network Seminar 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Asma Khan presented the paper, 'Everyday Bordering in the UK': What are the key challenges for migrants in Post-Brexit Britain. The presentation was given at a Migration Research Network, which is a Faculty wide research network, and the event was also open to external parties.

There were 35 participants present at the online seminar and we were able to share details of the project as well as emergent early findings. This allowed us to develop further research networks, and this led to further discussion about the findings and future directions. The audience included academics beyond Sheffield, and representatives of third sector organisations, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Ongoing Exhibition - Tale of Two Sheffields 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact As event was initially help to launch an exhibition of photography produced by young members of migrant families. As part of the Migration Matters Festival, the work was originally to be exhibited for two weeks, but the City of Sanctuary kept the exhibition in place and it is still on show.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022,2023
URL https://everydayborderinguk.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/outputs/tale-of-two-sheffields-exhibition
 
Description Online pilot of 'Working with Migrant Communities' resource 
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 A series of consultations were held as part of the additional funding secured from the HEIF project so as to inform the development of a training resource for practitioners working with migrant families. Initially, two all day consultations were held to consult practitioners on: the type of issues they would like to be addressed in the resource and that they face in their practice; the format of the resource.

Following this, the research team developed training materials which were then piloted at two small online consultations. Feedback from the sessions then informed the final published online resource.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Photography exhibition in collaboration with Roots and Futures Sheffield - Exhibition of photographs produced during a creative workshop with young members of migrant families living in Sheffield. 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Roots and Futures is a community heritage project. This was an 'evaluation workshops and celebration event' for the Roots and Futures project to reflect on the project's progress, to suggest new collaborations or directions and hear more about what is coming next for 'Roots and Futures'. We were invited to contribute to this showcase of cultural heritage-themed projects, activities and displays that celebrate Sheffield's diverse cultures. The everyday bordering project was invited to exhibit the photographs produced during creative workshops held during the study. This led to a discussion and questions during the event, which raised awareness of the everyday lives of migrant family members living in Sheffield.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
URL https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/research/roots-and-futures
 
Description Presented to a University wide audience of academics interested in applying for the ESRC New Investigator Grant 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact Dr Julie Walsh presented information about the process of applying for the New Investigator Grant to Early Career Researchers from across The University of Sheffield. The presentation also provided an opportunity to introduce to project to this audience, so as to garner interest and to promote the the project's social media presence (twitter etc.), with a view to building the audience engaged with the project.

At the presentation, those present have asked for advice and support with their applications and, consequently, I am in the process of completed an internal review of a potential New Investigator grant application.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Press Release on Institutional Pages and Shared on Social Media. 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The press release was developed in partnership with the departmental public relations team. The release was intended as part of a 'digital launch', coupled with the development of the project's online presence, aspects of which are noted elsewhere in the report. The URL below provides details of the press release, showing that the aim of the release was to introduce the project to stakeholders and to share this as widely as possible. The press release was shared on the departmental, public facing webpages and social media. It was also shared directly with 30+ interested stakeholders, including regional and national contacts. Students have since approached the research team to ask more about the area and, subsequently, I am supervising an MSc student interested in the concept of 'Everyday Bordering'.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/socstudies/news/everyday-bordering-researchers-launch-project-website-am...
 
Description Sheffield Consultation with Practitioners - Working with Migrant Communities 
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 A series of consultations were held as part of the additional funding secured from the HEIF project so as to inform the development of a training resource for practisers working with migrant families. This was one of two all day consultations held to consult practitioners on: the type of issues they would like to be addressed in the resource and that they face in their practice; the format of the resource. The event also gave practitioners an opportunity to network and engage with each other.

As a consequence of the workshops, practitioners contributed to the development of the materials included in the resource and made connections, and contact details were shared. The event was held at ISRACC, a Somali Community Centre in Sheffield and, as such, community members also attended the event. As a consequence of the event relationships were developed with other stakeholders that have not only led to the development and circulation of the 'Working with Migrant Communities' resource, but also further collaborations. Across the two consultations, 60+ stakeholders attended.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
URL https://everydayborderinguk.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/updates/working-with-migrant-communities