Voluntary Action Fund: Scottish Refugee Integration Fund

Examples of funded projects

Integrating Toryglen Community Ltd

The organisation provides practical and emotional support and encouragement to Asylum Seekers. They believe in involving people, celebrating unity and volunteering. The grant will provide childcare and interpreting services, helping to remove some of the main barriers to integration.

Refugee Survival Trust

Across Scotland, over 80 asylum seekers and refugees will be able to overcome the barriers that prevent them from accessing employment, educational and volunteering activities, through the provision of small grants from the Refugee Survival Trust. The grants will help them pay for books, equipment, travel and exam fees when no other support is available.

Scottish Refugee Integration Fund

PLEASE NOTE THIS SCHEME IS NOW CLOSED

Criteria

In 2005/06, the criteria for SRIF centred around the Indicators of Integration framework which has identified 10 key domains of importance to the integration of refugees. Informal feedback from applicants highlighted that they found the framework difficult to understand with the self scoring approach arbitrary and difficult to evidence. To enable clarity of communication, these domains have been translated into three themes below, forming three key criteria and the funding priorities for the fund in 2007/08.

Applications to the fund had to have a project which can deliver at least one of following key criteria.

Improving Access to Services

This criterion is based around improving access to public services which enables asylum seekers and refugees to be better integrated and supported. Services may focus on the following areas (although this is not exhaustive):

Improving access to housing for refugees
Improving access to education and further education
Improving access to health services
Access to volunteering/voluntary work which enables skill development
Provision of support services to enable access to mainstream services e.g. provision of childcare, training, language support, volunteering opportunities etc.

Providing Information and Advice

The provision of information and advice has always been a key feature of the SRIF programme.

Projects offering advice were also be expected to evidence that they are providing a quality service with fully trained staff and/or volunteers. It was also expected that any project offering information and advice are able to sign post to a range of other services particularly mainstream services. Projects were expected to show a good understanding of mainstream advice and information services available to them in their area. It will be expected that where legal advice is being offered that the organisation and individuals involved have relevant qualifications and training and a track record of experience with the proposed client group.

Building Social Connections

Building social connections again has always been a key indicator of integration. Projects which focus on this criterion may be providing opportunities for social integration through offering programmes involving social events, volunteering opportunities, cultural awareness raising, development of links with local people etc.

Language is often a barrier to integration and some projects may combine language classes with social events as a means of building social connections.

Eligibility

Applicants had to be based in Scotland or actively working in Scotland. In addition they had to be a voluntary organisation (including refugee community organisations) or a public sector agency. Since SRIF was already active, applications were sought from both existing applicants and new applicants.

Value of Award on offer

Funding was only to be awarded for one year only and applicants were expected to be able to demonstrate how they would fund the project in the future. If the project was not going to continue beyond one year applicants were expected to demonstrate what the exit strategy would be.

A maximum grant of £50,000 was applied to applications for funding in 2007-08. However given the limited funding available applicants were also strong encouraged to apply for considerably less than this.