Interim learning from pooled fund to support citizenship and integration in London

Learning and achievements from year 1 of the Citizenship and Integration Initiative.

Trust for London, in partnership with Unbound Philanthropy and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, has established an initiative worth £1m and aimed for funds to be distributed between 2017 and 2022 to ensure that Londoners of all backgrounds can contribute to the life of the city as active, socially integrated citizens.

London has a history of being a welcoming community for people from all over the world. At present, over a third of Londoners were born outside of the UK, and London is one of the most diverse cities in Europe. However, migration is consistently an issue of high concern amongst the public, and achieving meaningful social integration in diverse communities can be challenging. Some groups face particular barriers, which makes it more difficult for them to feel a sense of belonging in London and be fully integrated as active citizens.

About the Initiative

The CII was designed to test a partnership model between civil society, the GLA and philanthropic funders. The model is based on a secondment scheme, with additional funding available for project ideas developed by the secondees but delivered outside of the GLA. The secondment scheme places secondees employed in civil society organisations into the Social Integration team within the Communities and Social Policy Unit of the GLA. The secondment model was chosen to enable the GLA to draw on the strengths of civil society, facilitating culture change within the regional authority and a more informed approach to citizenship and integration issues. Four part time secondees were funded in the first year of the CII (April 2017-April 2018) and allocated to work on specific objectives linked to the overall aim.

Renaisi’s role as learning partner

Renaisi’s role as the Learning Partner for the CII has three main aims:

1. Understanding how the new partnership model works and the activities taking place.
2. Exploring the impact of the CII on policy and practice.
3. Providing ongoing feedback and development support to partners.

Learning and achievements

Throughout the partnership Renaisi’s Head of Learning, Alice Thornton has explored the enablers and barriers to the approach being taken and regularly shared insights to inform ongoing decisions as the CII has evolved in its first year, enabling CII partners to actively improve the initiative.

Download the interim report for full details of learning and achievements of the Initiative.