Optimising refugee resettlement in the UK: a comparative analysis

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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