ESRC Seminar Series - Briefing Paper 5 - Swansea University

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categorises them as functions of immigrant associations as developed by John Rex. Rex identified five functions which immigrant associations carry out for their members: • Pastoral and social work; • Overcoming social isolation; • Goal attainment; • affirmation of culture, beliefs and values; and • maintaining links with the homeland. In presenting her findings, Alexa identified very strong evidence that the RCO in her case study provided opportunities for bonding social capital in terms of both new and existing connections. With regard to linking social capital, there was strong evidence of this at an organisational level. The evidence for bridging social capital was however less clear. Equally there was evidence of resources in terms of the five functions, with the exception maintaining links with the homeland, for which there was limited evidence. In conclusion, Alexa suggested that the evidence showed that the RCO presented in the case study provided its members with opportunities that they would not of otherwise had and that this in itself created social capital that often resulted in resources of the type identified by Rex. Alexa ended her presentation with a cautionary note regarding the impact of the precarious nature of the funding that RCOs receive. PANEL 2 Hearing ‘the migrant voice’ Chair: Don Flynn, Migrant Rights Network ‘Stories from the inside: using insider knowledge to make a difference?’ - Marcianne Uwimana, <strong>University</strong> of Birmingham Marcianne Uwimana presented her work as a community researcher for ‘Making a difference’, a project undertaken by Birmingham <strong>University</strong> and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. In collaboration with RCOs, the project identified four core themes where evidence was needed in order to achieve change at the policy level, these were: • Skills, work experience, qualifications and aspirations; • Experiences of ESOL; • Mental health and well being; and • Young people and education. The aims of the project included: • Building the capacity of researchers and RCOs to collect reliable evidence; • Gathering evidence around the themes; and • Using the evidence to lobby for change. In keeping with the stated aims, sixteen individuals were identified by the RCOs and underwent a programme of accredited training to become community researchers (CRs) for the project. Marcianne suggested that CRs have specialist knowledge and bring the following benefits to a project by virtue of being an ‘insider’. These benefits include: • Shared experiences that enable them to understand what migrants are trying to say; • Special access to communities because they are trusted; • Knowledge about how the needs and experiences of migrants can be known; • Language and cultural knowledge that can break down barriers; and • The ability to tell the story of migrants in migrants own words.
Referring to her own experience as a CR, Marcianne made a number of recommendations as to how academics could work with CRs in order to acknowledge their contribution and enhance their future opportunities. These included: • Build CRs into projects – as named researchers; • Give CRs the opportunity to contribute to the whole process; • Don’t assume that CRs can ONLY interview their peers; • Pay them at the same rate as other researchers; • Help them to develop their careers; • Think about how to support them i.e. developing a community research enterprise; • Credit CRs in the report; and • Work with CRs to disseminate findings and find new ways to disseminate. Marcianne concluded by presenting some of the findings and outcomes of the project in order to illustrate the distinctive value of using CRs, which she summarized as: • New insights – different perspective, powerful stories, wider access; and • Different ways of presenting information to policymakers Finally, and with regard to outcomes, Marcianne highlighted some of the developments that had taken place within the core areas of concern identified at the outset of the project. These include the following: • ESOL – findings from the research led to a review of ESOL provision in Birmingham; • Mental Health – a conference, the development of a Mental Health Network and commitment to providing a ‘one door’ Mental Health Service came about as a direct result of evidence gathered by CRs; • Employment – a displaced persons employment project was funded by The Working Neighbourhoods Fund; and • Migrant maternity – information regarding migrant women’s experiences of accessing maternity services was collated in order to inform both policy and practice. ‘Strategies for empowerment: what should we aim for in our networks?’ - Maryam Pasha, Migrants’ Rights Network Maryam Pasha began by explaining the history and background that led to the formation of the Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN). She then described MRNs role and function, outlining for the group some of MRNs current and future plans and projects. Maryam concluded by posing some important questions regarding the potential of migrant networks. According to Maryan, MRN is based on themes and issues identified as being of concern to migrant community organisations across the country and developed out of a response to a number of factors including: • The government’s prevailing perspective, i.e. ‘ managed migration’; • Questions such as ‘What are migrant rights?’ and ‘What is the role of citizenship?’; • Examining what was happening locally which led to concerns regarding the variability across country; and
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ESRC Seminar Series - Briefing Paper 5 - Swansea University

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