Social innovation for integration

The study on “Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for cities in a pandemic“ examines the potential of social innovation to support migrant inclusion. It explores promising practices implemented in EU cities to address the growing integration needs of newcomers, drawing on interviews with representatives of municipalities in Austria, Greece, Italy, Malta, Poland, Romania and Spain. Such innovative practices include forging untraditional partnerships with non-state actors, finding original financial solutions and increasing the involvement of communities. It concludes by offering reflections on how these lessons can help cities advance inclusion and social cohesion in the wake of Covid-19 and amid the associated socioeconomic uncertainty.

The study, jointly released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Europe, states that social innovation structures born in response to the 2015‑2016 peak of migrant arrivals could be the ticket to a more cost-effective and political viable response.