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VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon

Migrant Work Inclusion - co-creating joint opportunities through employment and entrepreneurship

Alternative title: Arbeidsinkludering av innvandrere – økte muligheter for arbeid og entreprenørskap gjennom samskaping

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

(MW Inc.) Migrant Work Inclusion - co-creating joint opportunities through employment and entrepreneurship. This project aims to improve the inclusion of non-western migrants in the Norwegian society through work. Work is important for people's economic situation and crucial for a sustainable welfare state. Meaningful work strengthens individuals’ competences, belonging, networks, health and has a positive effect on trust and solidarity in society. There are two paths to work: To be employed or to establish one’s own business (entrepreneurship). Our aim is to develop new knowledge about the interaction between the actors involved in the process of migrant work inclusion. Work inclusion practice and research has only to a small extent focused on the interaction and collaboration between migrants' experiences, various support programs, and employers’ experiences/needs. The ecosystem for integration and employment concerns complementary services and actors who work together to create welfare, yet they often operate separately. We will develop insights and methods for how collaboration and co-creation can be improved for better migrant inclusion, either as employees, or through entrepreneurship. Values and knowledge in the field of co-creation represent sources of such knowledge. The project has a relational perspective and use several methodological approaches that provides opportunities to study co-creation from different angles. The project will provide new knowledge about co-creation between the actors in the ecosystem, and develop methodological, theoretical and practice knowledge for increased innovation in local and regional inclusion work. The results will have value for other wicked problems in the welfare state and contributes to the challenges set out in UN Sustainability Goal 10; to reduce inequality. Project partners: USN, NHO, NAV East-Viken, NAV Vestfold and Telemark, Møre and Romsdal Country Counsil and Vestfold and Telemark Country Councils. Web: https://www.usn.no/english/research/our-research/economy-management-and-politics/migrant-work-inclusion-co-creating-joint-opportunities-through-employment-and-entrepreneurship-mw-inc/

There is only a moderate success in inclusion of migrants in the Norwegian working life. This is problematic for migrants themselves, as well for the economy and society. When migrants don't work, the problem is often framed one-dimensionally: either as a problem related to immigrants themselves, as problems associated with the employer or as weaknesses in support programs (private and public programs, e.g. hosted by NAV). In contrast, MW Inc. puts the spotlight on how migrants, employers and the support programs interact, cooperate and co-create. MW Inc. assumes that inclusion should be developed from more knowledge on the interplay between the different actors – and not solely on improving each of the actor’s resources and strategies. Followingly, the project aims to identifies co-creation between the actors as essential, whether it is related to include migrants seeking to be employed in an organization or migrants seeking to be entrepreneurs (creating their own work). The specific objects that the project seeks to achieve are: 1) To create knowledge on the possibilities for co-creation between migrants, employers and support programs, 2) To develop methodological, theoretical and practical knowledge in order to support co-creative innovation in work inclusion and 3) To give recommendations for new practice. MW Inc. is built on a collaborative research design, including a unique big database. Cases in which migrants, employers and support programs interact are strategically selected. All cases have been involved in the planning of this project and has confirmed their participation. As such, collaboration both in conducting the research itself, as well as in suggesting new practice, runs through the project. By using the theoretical frame of co-creation and by applying methods that are truly collaborative, MW. Inc. aims to go beyond the state of the art in the academic and practical understanding of inclusion of migrants.

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VAM-Velferd, arbeid og migrasjon