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Social innovation for community development and refugees: a qualitative study in four countries

Thu, June 30, 1:30 to 3:00pm, Campus Ersta, Martasalen

Abstract

After a period of decrease in the number of granted asylum applications, the number of refugees claiming a status in Europe is on the rise again. This is largely due to prolonged conflicts in the Middle East. Over the past couple of months, we have witnessed waves of both inclusionary and exclusionary reactions from Europeans. The question of community integration is again at the forefront of political discussions.

In this paper, we present the initial findings of an ongoing study on the role of the third sector in social innovations regarding community development and refugees. Our qualitative research design focuses on localities in which large groups of refugees reside. We assess ways of dealing with emerging community needs. We investigate solutions offered in localities in four countries: the Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

The first part of the paper focuses on understanding the most important developments regarding community development and refugees. We take community development to refer to an ‘activity […] animated by the pursuit of solidarity and agency’ (Bhattacharyya 1995: 61). We present the results of a literature review and of interviews with experts in the four aforementioned countries, as well as with international experts. This guided our selection of ‘self-organization and host community integration’ as a highly relevant novelty to be investigated.

The second part of the paper turns to the role of the third sector in such novel approaches to addressing social needs. Self-organization as a principle is linked more closely to the third sector than to the public or commercial sector and it often is a reaction to reduced public spending. Nevertheless, the state and commercial actors are similarly liable to engage in addressing the social integration problem. To assess whether or not the third sector is ‘better’ at social innovation than governments or commercial entities, we will have to address the differing perspectives of stakeholders on the alleged innovativeness of self-organization. In spite of their novelty, representatives of the third sector question whether their activities ought to be regarded innovative, in the sense of being ‘better’ than public sector alternatives. By taking a process tracing approach (George and Bennett 2005) for describing the trajectory of novel ideas, we remain open in studying the involvement of a variety of actors and inclusive of their different agendas.

The third part of the paper focuses on methodological questions regarding the interplay between innovations and the geographical area in which they arise. Even though we define community development as an activity, this activity is embedded in a particular locality. This is particularly relevant in community development efforts relating to refugees, which may arise when a reception center opens in a small village, or when a group of refused asylum seekers squats a building in a residential area. The importance of a geographical context sets this study apart from other innovation domains studies. At the end, we will make a preliminary assessment of how the findings of this study on community integration and refugees help to enhance our understanding of the role of the third sector in advancing social innovation, also taking into account differences in the four national contexts.

References:

Bhattacharyya, Jnanabrata (1995). Solidarity and agency: Rethinking community development. In: Human Organization, jg. 54, nr. 1, p. 60-69.

George, Alexander L and Andrew Bennett (2005). Case studies and theory development in the social sciences: Mit Press.

Authors