School of Education

New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project

This project is led by the Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA, the Scottish Refugee Council and the UNESCO Chair at the University of Glasgow, and will promote employability, education, health and social and cultural connections for refugees.

It is part of the New Scots refugee integration strategy (2018-22) which aims to ensure refugees live in safe and welcoming communities that enable them to rebuild their lives from the day they arrive in Scotland. 

Work to support the integration of refugees by a wide range of partners led to the development of the first ‘New Scots’ refugee integration strategy, led by the Scottish Government, COSLA and Scottish Refugee Council, which ran from 2014-17.

The strategy sets out an approach to support the vision of a welcoming Scotland where refugees are able to rebuild their lives and integrate into society from the day they arrive. To achieve this, the strategy works to ensure Scotland follows a rights based approach to integration that reflects both the formal international obligations the UK has and the long-standing commitment of successive Scottish Governments to address the needs of refugees and asylum seekers on the basis of principles of decency, humanity and fairness. 

The projects and tools developed under the strategy to date have enabled refugees in Scotland to understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements and access well-coordinated services to allow them to pursue full and independent lives. This project will significantly expand and evaluate the impact and reach of the ‘New Scots’ Strategy, further promoting the effective integration of refugees across Scotland. 

Work to help refugees settle in Scotland will benefit from £2.8 million of funding. The project will look to spread the funding across already established/funded integration tools and initiatives as well as investing in new tools to address unmet needs.

The New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project will offer small, medium or large grants to organisations to either widen existing work, or start new initiatives which assist those who have had to flee their own country to escape war and terror. More information is available at the Scottish Government website.

Applications are invited from organisations working to support the integration of refugees across Scotland, as long as they meet the priorities of the New Scots strategy and its themes, either by expanding existing good practice or developing new and innovative ways to help refugees and asylum seekers.

Objectives

• To increase the scope and impact of refugee integration tools across Scotland
• To promote and encourage innovation in refugee integration projects and tools across Scotland
• To promote better integration of refugees into Scotland’s communities
• To enhance/strengthen community capacity to welcome and integrate refugees
• To promote beneficial impact of refugees in Scotland
• To develop learning and understanding of the effectiveness of Scottish refugee integration projects and the overall New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy.
• To develop and promote the New Scots strategy as an exemplar of international good practice.
• To develop requirements of future integration work in Scotland beyond the programme.

Workstreams

The project is organised into three distinct workstreams: 

Workstream 1

Evaluation of impact of tried and tested tools, their adoption of ‘New Scots’ principles and benefits of upscaling to develop a structured programme of funded best practice integration projects with greater reach.

Workstream 2 

Assess and identify projects and tools to fully progress challenging actions set out in the strategy and meet gaps, test new areas, widen ‘New Scots’ delivery partners and support the implementation of new rights created under the strategy through a funding programme.

Workstream 3

• Develop an evaluation framework for funded projects to gather data against the ‘New Scots’ theory of change, co-ordinate and produce a project evaluation report.
• Commission and undertake research projects to:
  • Test and critically review the theory of change;
  • Assess the overall impact of the ‘New Scots’ strategy and impact tools developed within its orbit;
  • Document, curate and research the workings of the project.
• Develop and promote an exemplar of the ‘New Scots’ strategy which can be referred to as international good practice.
• Develop requirements of future integration work in Scotland.