Social Policy Research Centre

CPD Training for Migrant, Refugee and Community Organisations: A scoping exercise - 2022 (Professor Eleonore Kofman, Dr Janroj Yilmaz Keles, Dr Nico Pizzolato)

This HEIF funded project comprises a mixed-method scoping exercise to inform the design of a continuing professional development (CPD) framework curriculum that will provide research-informed material on migration policy and legislation, and literacy in handling relevant data, to help migrant organisations and their collaborators understand and better respond to the ever-changing landscape.

Health, social, economic and cultural impacts of COVID-19 on migrant essential workers in the UK - 2020-2022 (PI: Prof Sharon Wright, University of Glasgow, Co-I's: Dr Kasia Narkowicz, Middlesex University, Dr Anna Gawlewicz, University of Glasgow and Dr Aneta Piekut, University of Sheffield). Funded by ESRC.

The project is a mixed-methods study mapping the impacts of Covid on Polish migrant workers in the UK and how it intersects with existing insecurities around Brexit and impacts plans to remain in the UK.

PHS-Quality: Job Quality and Industrial Relations in the Personal and Household sector - 2018-2020 (Erica Howard, Eleonore Kofman). Funded by European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.

The project studied from a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective the existing public policies and social partners’ strategies towards personal and household services in ten EU countries.

Gender, Justice and Security Hub - 2019-2024 (Necla Acik, Zahra Hussain, Sobia Kapadia, Janroj Keles, Cecilia Passaniti Mezzano, Neelam Raina)

This UKRI Global Challenges  Research Fund project covers 32 projects across the globe and is coordinated by LSE with Middlesex University co-directing the Migration and Displacement stream.  It works with academics, local and global civil society, and policymakers, especially in the Middle East and South Asia,  and seeks to advance the delivery of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality; SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions; and the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.

Women’s lived experience of Holloway Prison – 2017-2018 (Carly Guest, Rachel Seoighe)

This project explores the impact of the closure of Holloway prison on the women imprisoned there, using interviews and focus groups. The research team includes research assistant Alexandra Phillips and the project engages with community groups and organisations working on women’s incarceration and community justice. The project is supported by Middlesex University’s School of Law small grants scheme.

RESL.eu – Reducing Early School Leaving in the EU - 2013-2018 (Alessio D’Angelo, Magdolna Lorinc, Neil Kay; Louise Ryan, University of Sheffield)

This 5-year EU-funded project aims to provide insights into the complex, diverse and dynamic trajectories of young people from school to training and into employment. In doing so, it aims to inform policy debates about education and employment policies at the local, national and international level. Involving 9 EU countries; the UK team oversees the quantitative research element.

EVI-MED – Constructing an evidence base of contemporary Mediterranean migrations - 2016-2017 (Brad Blitz, Eleonore Kofman, Alessio D’Angelo, Nicola Montagna, Martin Baldwin-Edwards)

This ESRC/DFID-funded project explored the nature of migration flows across the Mediterranean and investigated the reception mechanisms in Italy, Greece and Malta. Undertaken in partnership with local NGOs, the project is informed by 750 questionnaires with migrants and a rich body of primary and secondary data.

DiverCity – 2015-2017 (Eleonore Kofman, Simon Harding, Erica Howard, Rachel Cohen)

This EU funded project maps multiple dimensions of LGBT-phobia in six small and medium-sized cities in five European countries, including Nottingham in the UK, in order to make visible the needs and lives of LGBT people as well as the discrimination and harassment they may face in different aspects of their lives.

Marriage migration is a vexed issue in much of Europe. To live in one's state with one's spouse is arguably central to national membership. Yet marriage migration undermines state capacity to control long-term immigration. The tension has become more pronounced as minorities of non-European origin have used marriage to strengthen transnational ties. This introduces potentially unskilled and poorly-adapted migrants. It also aggravates fears of a reproduction of archaic or oppressive family norms, as well as of migrant poverty and segregation.

There has recently been much policy convergence in Europe around questions such as age, economic self-sufficiency, language competency and integration. This project will compare regimes across Europe and will also compare US control of marriage migration with dominant strands in European policy. The aim is to compare systems arising from contrasting historical and cultural attitudes towards immigration. It involves in-depth investigation of the regime in four countries: UK, US, Denmark and France and the establishment of a database that will enable comparison across a representative sample of 15 EU member states.

The outcome will be a study of similarity and difference, offering new perspectives on both European and USA laws. The project will be completed in September 2013 and the results will be published in several academic articles and disseminated via a seminar.

Funder: Nuffield Foundation
MU Lead Investigator: Helena Wray

A Study of French Highly-skilled Migrants in London's Financial and Business Sectors

The French constitute a significant and growing migrant population in the UK and, in particular, London. With a notable concentration employed in highly-skilled occupations, they have been overlooked in migration research which tends to focus on more marginalised and disadvantaged migrant labour. This project explored the migratory, occupational and settlement careers of highly-skilled French professionals working in London's financial and business sectors, and contributes to our understanding of their economic, social and cultural role. In examining the interplay of factors shaping migration, occupation and settlement decision-making in this context, the project will inform our understanding of the dynamics of intra-European mobility amongst the highly skilled, and of its policy implications at local, regional, national and EU levels.

Led by Dr Jon Mulholland and Prof Louise Ryan, the project is a collaboration between the Social Policy Research Centre and Department of Criminology and Sociology from Middlesex University London.  The study is informed by a qualitative methodology, in the form of semi-structured interviews and focus groups, designed to capture the rich personal narratives of this migrant population's experiences. The data aims to capture the complexity and diversity of this population through the incorporation of variables such as gender, age, ethnicity, length of residence in London, employment status and family circumstances.

The study has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (RES-000-22-4240).

Research Team: Jon Mulholland and Louise Ryan

Inequalities and multiple discrimination in access to and quality of healthcare

The European Agency for Fundamental Rights has  published (March 2013) a report on 'Inequalities and multiple discrimination in access to and quality of healthcare.' This report looks at how 'multiple' discrimination is addressed legally and examines relevant case law with a special focus on healthcare. It also explores health users' and professionals' views and experiences on how people of different gender, age, disability and ethnic origin experience discrimination and multiple discrimination when accessing the health system in Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Sweden and the UK. 

The report examines some of the practical barriers and experiences of unequal treatment in accessing healthcare that people may face because of a combination of their traits (e.g. ethnic origin, gender, age and disability). The report finds that in such cases, people and their legal advisors often have difficulties in bringing a complaint of discrimination on 'multiple' grounds to court. This is either because of a poor understanding of 'multiple' discrimination, or because legally it is simply easier to deal with a complaint on only one particular ground. In healthcare, moreover, lawyers often do not file complaints as discrimination cases, due to lower compensation compared to, for example, medical malpractice suits.

These findings will contribute to discussions on the adoption of the proposed EU 'Horizontal Directive', legislation that would extend equal protection against discrimination on age, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation to all fields, including healthcare. They will also improve understanding of how 'multiple' discrimination is experienced and addressed in policy making, and through complaints procedures.

The research for the report was coordinated by  Professor Eleonore Kofman, Social Policy Research Centre, Middlesex University.  The UK team consisted of Alessio D'Angelo, Dr. Erica Howard Dr. Mary Tilki, and Dr. Elena Vacchelli from Middlesex University, Dr. Margaret Greenfields (Buckinghamshire New University) and Professor Mark Johnson (De Montfort University, Leicester).

Middlesex University & Social Firms UK

 This Knowledge Transfer Partnership brought together the expertise within the Social Policy Research Centre at Middlesex University with Social Firms UK (SFUK), the umbrella organisation representing and supporting the social firms sector in the UK. Social firms are market-led enterprises set up specifically to create good quality jobs for people disadvantaged in the labour market.

The broad aim of this project was to investigate the characteristics and needs of social firms in the UK and to develop dedicated tools enabling SFUK to better understand, support, strengthen and grow the sector.

During this KTP project, the following outputs were produced:

• Background research on the social firm sector;
• The online toolkit "InfoMine" – designed to help individual social firms (as well as other users interested in the social firm model) to identify their information needs and get direct access to resources and support;
• Online and Social Media Strategy for SFUK;
• Recommendations on sector mapping, development of InfoMine and enhancement of SFUK effectiveness;

A project report summarising the outputs and outcomes of the project: Empowering Social Firms. KTP Project Report.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is a business support product run and managed on behalf of the government, funding organisations by the Technology Strategy Board, a non-departmental public body. A Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) is a relationship formed between a company (including social enterprises) and an academic institution (Knowledge Base Partner), which facilitates the transfer of knowledge, technology and skills. Each partnership employs one or more recently qualified people (known as Associates) to work in the company on a project of strategic importance, whilst also being supervised by the Knowledge Base Partner.

Research Team led by Alessio D'Angelo

A team including Professor Louise Ryan and Alessio D'Angelo of the Social Policy Research Centre has been awarded a research grant of more than €6.4 million. The European consortium, lead by Antwerp University, will investigate the impact of early school leaving for a five year research project under the EU Framework 7 programme.

Early school leaving has been identified by the European Commission as a particular challenge facing many EU member states. It is associated with high youth unemployment, a lack of employment related skills and a wide array of other social problems.

Researching Early School Leaving (RESL.eu) aims to provide insights into the mechanisms and processes influencing a pupil's decision to leave school/training early; as well as into the decision of early school leavers to enrol in alternative learning arenas such as training schemes. Additionally, the project focuses on the vulnerable group of youngsters that left education or training early and are identified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Overall, the project aims to identify and analyse the intervention and compensation measures that succeeded in transferring knowledge and in keeping pupils in education and training. Collecting data in nine partner countries (Belgium, UK, Sweden, Portugal, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Hungary and Austria), the team will use a mixed-method design, working at local, national and international level. Fieldwork will include over 1,100 focus groups and interviews and an international survey, coordinated by Middlesex University's team, with over 28,000 participants, which will generate in-depth data and allow systematic comparisons and quantitative generalisations. Results will be targeted at different audiences and stakeholders: EU and national policy makers, school staff, academics and civil society.

UK Research Team: Prof Louise Ryan, Alessio D'Angelo, Neil Kaye, Magdolna Lőrinc