People, power and priorities: Challenges and opportunities in the refugee and migration sector
UK refugee and migration NGOs are growing in number but so, too, are the social and financial challenges they face. Our July 2023 report outlines how a resilient sector can move beyond rapid response and towards securing long-term change.
“When we think about funding and the future, we should be setting ourselves a difficult set of questions about where society will be in five years’ time and the role that we will be playing.” — NGO worker, research workshop
Overall public attitudes towards migration in the UK are positive, but in contrast, a slew of legislation by the government continues to target people on the move. NGOs in the refugee and migration sector are being besieged by harmful policies designed to cause fear and suffering. With the introduction of the new ‘Illegal Migration’ Act, and life-saving asylum and trafficking protections being removed, it is no surprise that NGOs find themselves forced into ‘firefighting’ rather than ‘setting the agenda’.
Our report People, power and priorities (July 2023) profiles a resilient and committed sector, but pinpoints how its work could be more structurally collaborative, meaningfully informed by people with lived experience, and able to move towards a future in which the rights and dignity of people are secured.
In this blog, we outline some key priorities identified in our research, drawing on the data, views and experiences of a large number of organisations and the people who drive them forward.
Adapting to external challenges
“Funders were responsive and trusted us to do good work [during the pandemic]. I’d like to see that continue.” — NGO worker, research interview
Hostile policies pose an immediate threat. Yet one thing that charities report is limited resource to tackle fast-moving developments, such as ‘full dispersal’ policies which send asylum seekers to hotel accommodation across the UK at short notice and other changes that place increasing numbers of people at risk of falling outside of the system.
Despite lessons learned in the wake of the Ukraine welcome scheme and Covid-19 pandemic, only 33% of NGOs polled believe the sector is in ‘better shape’ to respond to shock events than it was in 2020.
When it comes to additional funding, NGOs agreed that trusts and foundations have stepped up during times of crisis, particularly during the pandemic. However, there is still a need for more emergency funds, plus structured guidance and support to adapt services in the wake of crises. Both funders and NGOs also agreed a more collaborative approach could help lessen pressures when crisis hits.
Our findings suggest that in order to respond to external shocks, systematic, rapid response funding, while building up better infrastructure and investing in strategies to address systemic change in the long term, is beneficial to creating a healthier and more resilient sector.
Financial stability
“At most, the sector is prepared for the next one or two years but not further ahead.” — Funder participant in research interview
The number of new refugee and migration charities rose by 24% between 2020 and 2022. Yet, the sector is no more financially stable than it was in 2020. More than half (59%) of NGOs polled were not confident they had the funds to keep their organisation running for more than four months. Most NGOs (66%) said most of their money came from trusts and foundations and called for more flexible, long-term, and unrestricted grants, a similar call to our earlier 2020 report (Taking Stock and Facing the Future).
The findings also pinpoint a financial inequity which could be a symptom of larger power imbalances. Just three percent of charities control 44% of the sector’s funding.
Many charities, regardless of their size, made a powerful case for more evenly distributed funding to bring grassroots organisations onto a ‘level playing field’. There was an appetite for funders to be more transparent about the amount of money invested and their objectives — and to invest more in smaller grassroots charities doing work on the ground.
Power and lived experience
“This can’t just be a tick box exercise, such as setting up a specific staff post — it’s a much longer process.”— NGO worker, research interview
NGOs told us that while efforts to address power imbalances are taking place, it is still not widespread and lacks a sense of urgency.
People with lived experience play a role on trustee boards and within volunteer teams, staff and senior management. However, funders and NGOs alike called for strategic consideration to be given to coproduction, sharing of best practice, and connecting to the wider anti-racist movement to avoid tokenising contributions by people with lived experience. More collective decision-making processes and non-hierarchal management models could help to make a more inclusive working environment.
Some people spoken to in the research reminded that there are deeper issues around racism, classism and other oppressive power dynamics that need to be addressed.
Change can only happen by reflecting on the legacy of colonialism within the charity and philanthropic sector, on racial injustice, and on uneven distribution of resources.
Staff welfare
“There is a real risk of burnout for staff who cannot keep up with the level of demand they are having to manage.” — Funder participant in workshop
Staff burnout in refugee and migration charities is a key concern, due to the perfect storm of the cost-of-living crisis and the political challenges facing the sector. For staff with lived experience of the hostile environment, workplace pressure can be further entrenched by issues such as online harassment and the rise of the far right. Strong management is viewed as crucial in order to support and protect staff.
NGOs and funders recognised the need to capture and develop resources about staff welfare, and invest in infrastructure to maintain safe working conditions. Funders and charities said that guidance, training or mentoring for managers who are at risk of burnout could help create sustainable working environments.
Crucially, it’s time to look not only at what support can be given for staff wellbeing, but at the conditions — for example low salary levels and employment structures — that contribute to struggles in the workplace and the likelihood of burnout.
Advocacy and influencing
“You need people campaigning on big structural issues with a big vision, but you also need people chipping away at what we already have. That can help us to slowly build power and momentum too.” - NGO worker, research interview
Against the backdrop of the ‘Illegal Migration Act’, the need for advocacy and influencing is self-evident. However, charities are struggling to maintain their campaigns and outreach work. Last year, charities engaged less with civil servants (down 24%) and Parliamentarians (down 13%) and ran fewer campaigns (down 16%).
We found that non-profits need more resource for strategic planning in the run-up to the general election, including space for power-mapping and political relationship-building. Collaborating between campaigns remains key, whilst longer-term investment in influencing capacity is needed to help the sector’s transformational work to stay afloat in the immediate future and grow in the long-term.
A key priority at the moment is looking towards the General Election in 2024. NGOs and the wider movement would do well to work together on mapping out where power lies, build relationships among political players and position themselves to provide input on shaping policies for the better.
Collaboration
“[Building a wider coalition] is the only route to long-term change” — Funder participant, research interview
NGOs conveyed the need for collaboration, citing the pandemic as an example of the sector’s capability to come together. Shared support networks, training and alliance-building eased multiple pressures for non-profits, and funders signalled a desire to finance ‘more collaboratively’ through ‘pooled funds’. Charity interviewees saw collaboration outside the sector as a big priority, and bringing diaspora communities and race, health, gender, and climate campaigns into the migration sector as key.
There are already some great examples of people working together across organisational boundaries, but support from funders, for example in playing a convening role to bring together actors that may not have otherwise connected, could mean more innovative and impactful alliances will be built.
Looking ahead
Our research highlights how the sector as a whole remains keen to fortify its work with the future in mind. As refugee and migration NGOs continue to tackle fast-moving developments in the external environment, whilst grappling with financial insecurity behind the scenes, we hope that this report’s insights will help both NGOs and funders alike to continue their ambitious work beyond the day-to-day management of crises, and towards preparedness, and long-term changes in the system.
Together, we have the people, power and expertise to create a more connected ecosystem working towards change.
Interested in the findings of this report? Visit our website to download the full report and executive summary.
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