Problem addressed

In 2015, Vienna’s population grew by 43 000 people, in part due to a recent influx of refugees arriving in Austria. This rapid growth posed significant challenges to social welfare, social housing and the labour market. The integration of refugees in the context of an expanding city is a challenge that cannot be faced by a single public authority but requires innovative solutions and new models of cooperation across a range of public services.

Innovative solution

The Centre of Refugee Empowerment (CoRE) operates an innovative local integration process for refugees. CoRE pools stakeholders’ resources and know-how to empower refugees to be equal partners – rather than passive recipients – in their integration. Through close cooperation between different stakeholders, CoRE builds upon existing refugee services in Vienna and provides holistic and timely support that closely matches refugee needs.

CoRE focuses on skills and competences. It ensures that, during the asylum process, refugees’ competences are routinely assessed and documented in a database. It offers career planning, competence development, specific training, peer mentoring and key information provided in the native language of refugees to help refugees prepare for the labour market. As the programme has evolved, more support has been provided to adapt it to the needs of beneficiaries. This includes, for instance, German lessons, sewing workshops, information technology classes, creative activities and workshops on the asylum process.

Three aspects make CoRE particularly innovative. Firstly, public institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society and refugees jointly plan and manage all of the initiatives. Secondly, CoRE plays the role of a ‘hub’, where a variety of refugee integration activities can take place in the same physical space. This space can also be adapted to the changing needs of the project, making it adaptable and flexible as needs of beneficiaries change. Thirdly, CoRE acts as a think tank – it monitors and analyses the effectiveness of activities and integration policies, developing and testing new solutions.

CoRE ensures that the process of integration into local communities begins as soon as possible after individuals settle in Vienna. In this way, refugees are sooner able to understand basic aspects of Austrian and Viennese life, particularly around issues related to housing, education, healthcare, law and broader social norms.

The organisation leading the initiative is the Integration and Diversity Municipal Department of the City of Vienna. The main project partner is the Vienna Social Fund. The Vienna Employment Promotion Fund, the Vienna Business Agency and the Vienna Board of Education are also partners. There is close cooperation between the partners, including between the public and private sectors, as well as close involvement of refugees and volunteers.

Key results and benefits

One of the key benefits of CoRE is that its training offer closely matches refugees’ needs for labour market skills thanks to the assessment of prior competences. CoRE also makes the whole integration process less intimidating and more user-oriented. This in turn improves the channels of communication between key stakeholders and decreases the likelihood of service inconsistency, inefficiency and duplication. By August 2019, more than 200 refugees had been provided with accommodation through the Housing First programme.

CoRE also has an impact beyond the refugees. Public events organised by CoRE facilitate direct exchanges between refugees and local residents, contributing to raising the wider public’s awareness around integration being successful, despite challenges, and adding to the prosperity of the city. Ultimately, there is increased awareness of issues relating to asylum, integration and diversity which helps to overcome prejudices and promote a positive view of refugees.

Potential for mainstreaming

The total budget for the CoRE initiative was EUR 5.9 million for the period November 2016 to October 2019, with 80% of the funds coming from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and 20% from the contributions of project partners.

A key success factor is that CoRE is jointly planned, utilised and operated by public institutions, NGOs and refugees. By pooling resources and know-how and by making refugees equal partners instead of passive beneficiaries, it helps to initiate smart transformation processes for the whole integration system. This governance model would be a key condition for successful transfer of the initiative to another context.

The CoRE project was selected by the city of Vienna for the Best Cooperation Project of the City of Vienna – Goldenes Staffelholz Award, and has also been nominated for the Clarinet Award.