| Description |
The current migration/refugee crisis presents opportunities and well as challenges. The overarching aim of the GLIMER project is to generate theoretically informed and empirically grounded knowledge that may, through best practice sharing and reporting, function to support policy-makers and stakeholders to cultivate durable solutions in the governance of local integration of migrants and refugees in Europe. The GLIMER consortium consists of partners from Italy and Cyprus (two landing points for many refugees as they first enter the EU) and UK and Sweden (two countries seen as final destinations), and the cases focus on new arrivals in the areas in and around Consenza, Nicosia, Glasgow and Malmö.
Based in an understanding of the link between governance and integration at the local level, the project will examine emergent systems of co-responsibitliy between local and national agencies in their responses to managing the integration of migrants and refugees. Of central importance here will be the utilizing of what have become known as Urban Living Labs (ULLs) across each of the country cases. GLIMER will develop an approach to ULL as collaborative ventures between citizens, companies, local governments and researchers. In addition, GLIMER will utilize ‘natural’ ULLs that have arisen in the country cases where actors and networks can be brought together as stakeholders. Empirical data will be collected through participant observations, recordings and interviewing.
The core research questions guiding the ULLs consider (i) to what extent cities and local contexts are adopting approaches to the governance of migration and refugees that diverge from national level policy position, (ii) how and in what ways cities and localities are cultivating innovative approaches in the reception and integration of migrants and refugees, and finally (iii) which approaches that are proving successful and how can these be a modelled for other contexts to learn from.
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