Summary of the impact

University of Salford researchers have developed a community-based research method to capture the viewpoints of, and more valid and reliable data about, migrant and nomadic groups, who experience barriers to social inclusion, demonstrating the following impact:

• Supporting local authorities in fulfilling their statutory duties regarding the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers;
• Addressing a broad range of social needs affecting various migrant communities, particularly those from Eastern Europe and the problems facing Roma communities in six European countries;
• Reducing exclusion, improving cohesion and improving life chances.

Underpinning research

The key researchers and positions they held at the institution at the time of the research are as follows: Dr Lisa Scullion (née Hunt), School of Environment & Life Sciences, (from 2008), Dr Philip Brown, School of Environment & Life Sciences, (from 2006), (submitting to UoA16) and Professor Peter Dwyer, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, (2009-2013). Salford Housing & Urban Studies Unit (SHUSU) is a leading multi-disciplinary applied social science research and consultancy unit in the fields of diversity and inclusion, sustainable consumption and fuel poverty, and community resources. The impact in this case study is underpinned by the following research:

Context: Mobile groups and individuals are often very difficult to reach for the purposes of data gathering or consultation and often confront barriers to social inclusion, compounding their inaccessibility for researchers and policymakers. Planning and policy decisions are critically affected by the absence of robust data and the absence of a `voice' for these groups, as highlighted in the following recent developments:

• Between 2004 and 2006 new legislation in the UK directed local authorities to assess the accommodation needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities. The legislation also brought a statutory duty to provide sites and pitches for Gypsies and Travellers.
• The opening up of the European Community to the new Accession (A8 and A2) countries resulted in possibly the largest migration of people within the continent in recent years.
• The adoption of a Points-Based System for immigration in 2008 and the imposition of a cap on migrants in 2011 were based on assumptions about the characteristics of migrants to the UK, their typical modes of intersection with the labour market and the national benefits system, yet not much was known about their experiences, aspirations and needs.

Method: Standard models for data collection do not work well with these groups. For example, there is usually no sampling frame; there may be linguistic barriers to communication; and often much suspicion or misunderstanding among Gypsy and Traveller communities regarding the nature of the exercise:

• Scullion et al. developed a community-based research model for data collection which was first used in work for local authorities to assess the housing needs of Black and minority ethnic (BME) communities and then of Gypsy and Traveller communities. Through this model, community members were involved in the data collection process, helping to ensure that the questions asked were appropriate and that the methods of consultation were as unobtrusive as possible. These members were trained as community interviewers and held primary responsibility for data collection at each site. Often, they were able to make use of informal networks to contact community members and seek relevant information from them. In particular, they were very alert to intra-group differences that might have been invisible to the professional researcher but which could impact negatively on the data collection process. [1,2]
• Employing a conceptual model of agency and structure, Scullion and colleagues have made some significant contributions to the scholarship on mobile and migrant groups, identifiying structural barriers to integration arising from dispersal and loss of status among women asylum seekers and refugees, and their exercise of agency in the spheres of consumption, education, employment and sociality. [3]
• A study of Travelling Showpeople explores how this distinction has been influenced by, and has influenced, policy developments relating to accommodation. It focuses on how this distinction has created a degree of exclusion in terms of accommodation needs, and the impact on the position of contemporary Travelling Showpeople. [2]
• A study of older migrants from Eastern Europe pointed to the need to employ fine-grained distinctions between different age groups and different motivations in considerations about migration policy and attention to migrants. [4]
• In her most recent work, Scullion has reflected on the structuration of migrant agency for labour mobility and the new immigration policy in the UK, highlighting such problems as regional shortages in specialised personnel, which derive in part from migrants' preferences and needs regarding location. [5]

References to the research

Key outputs

Key grants

7. 2013: Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme — Roma MATRIX EC (Non-Framework), £154.850 Principal Investigator: P Brown (75%). Co-Investigator: L Scullion (25%).

8. 2012: JRCT National Roma research and network Joseph Rowntree Foundation, £23,023.00. Principal Investigator: P Brown (50%). Co-Investigator: L Scullion(50%).

9. 2012: KTP with Tameside MBC, Technology Strategy Board, £119,153.00. Principal Investigator: L Scullion (70%). Co-Investigator: M Griffiths (30%).

10. 2010: Status Matters: forced labour and UK immigration policy, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, £13,974.00. Principal Investigator: P Dwyer (80%). Co-Investigator: L Scullion(20%).

11. 2010: Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme - Roma Source EC (Non-Framework), £74,719.00. Principal Investigator: P Dwyer (34%). Co-Investigators: P Brown (33%), L Scullion(33%).

12. 2008: Losing and finding a home: a life course approach, ESRC, £134,762.00. Principal Investigator: P Brown (80%). Co-Investigator: L Scullion(20%)

Details of the impact

This research has generated the following impact for policy making bodies and migrant and nomadic communities:

• The use of a community-based research process to generate valid and reliable data for planning and policy decisions that affect mobile and migrant groups;
• The extension of the research methodology to new areas, such as the housing requirements of black and minority ethnic households and the uses of empty homes;

o Strengthening the voice of excluded groups in the planning and policy-making process.

o Supporting local authorities in fulfilling their statutory duties regarding the accommodation needs of mobile and migrant groups;

o Addressing a broad range of social needs affecting various migrant communities, particularly those from Eastern Europe and the problems facing Roma communities in six European countries;

• Reducing exclusion, improving cohesion and improving life chances.

Reliable and Valid Data:

• 2008-2011: Migrant Communities: Scullion et al conducted ten assessments of the experiences and needs of migrant workers which supported local authorities in understanding migrant worker populations, particularly in terms of experiences of employment, accommodation, access to services and issues around community cohesion in local areas. The recommendations have been used by the commissioning bodies to target resources for communities: The research findings and recommendations in Nottingham were used to secure funding through the Migration Impact Fund to set up five new projects (housing, children's services, ESOL, Refugee Forum, Volunteers) totalling £723,224 in the first year and £719, 874 in the second year and Liverpool City Council used the Migration Impact Funding to sign up to the Minimum Standards Charter: A Voluntary Code of Practice on Employing Migrant and European Workers.
• 2008-2013: Gypsies and Travellers: Scullion et al were contracted to conduct 18 Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAAs) for local authorities. In each case, recommendations were incorporated into the relevant local authority's Development Plan in compliance with a statutory requirement to identify a supply of land and options for Gypsy and Traveller site development. The GTAA carried out by Scullion and colleagues in Solihull, has led to four potential locations being identified for site development (see Preferred Options). The GTAA in Warwick led to the identification of 20 possible sites for Gypsies and Travellers, where no specific accommodation needs for these groups had been identified prior to publication.
• 2011-2013: The Roma Source Project: Scullion et al provided the principal research support for the European Roma SOURCE Project which looked at the experiences of Roma communities in six countries and made recommendations for addressing their needs and promoting integration (see The Limits of Inclusion?). A second European project Roma MATRIX, with 19 partners in ten countries, including the University of Salford, is running from 2013 to 2015. The Salford team is developing a UK network of policy makers, practitioners, researchers, end users and other stakeholders to improve integration of Roma by influencing both policy and practice and a Roma mentoring scheme.

Extension of the Research Methodology to New Areas:

• 2011-onwards: Building on the impact of projects with Gypsies, Travellers and migrants, Scullion et al. were commissioned to work on the housing needs of Black and minority ethnic households (Dorset and Poole, 2011) and Jewish communities in Greater Manchester. A 2010 study of Central and Eastern European migrants for Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council (Greater Manchester) led to the development of a project focusing on Greater Manchester's empty homes and how they might be used to address accommodation needs. 2013-2015: Scullion et al. worked with Tameside Council to develop a successful application for a Knowledge Transfer Partnership to address the problem of empty homes; approaching empty home owners as another hard-to-reach community and better understanding the diverse needs of empty property owners to provide a range of solutions for returning their properties into use.

Strengthening the Voice of Excluded Groups in Planning and Policy-Making Forums:

• As a result of commissioned research into the needs and experiences of migrant and nomadic groups, Scullion has joined Europia, a community organisation for Central and Eastern European migrants in Greater Manchester with representatives from migrant communities, and Greater Manchester organisations. Its purpose is to promote cooperation between migrant communities and local agencies to address: a lack of information and access to local services; complex rules on status and entitlements; limited availability of English classes; exploitation in the work-place and accommodation; increasing levels of homelessness and destitution; and inadequate links with local residents, voluntary agencies and other Greater Manchester networks.
• Scullion has collaborated on two community-based research projects with Europia and in December 2011 she received a Beacon Recognition Award for Community-University Partnerships based on her partnership with Europia. This Recognition Award focused on her engagement of community members in the research process, particularly in relation to providing training to community members as peer researchers.

Sources to corroborate the impact

Contacts at local authorities:

a) Equalities Monitoring Officer, Equalities and Cohesion Team, Salford City Council

b) Senior Affordable Housing Officer, Dorset County Council

c) Senior Planner, Warwick District Council

Planning Documents:

d) Solihull Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment
(http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/FINAL_Report_-_Solihull_GTAA_Feb_2012.pdf).

e) Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Gypsy and Traveller Site Allocations Development Plan Document
(http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/Gypsy_Traveller_Site_Allocation_Preferred_Opti ons.pdf).

f) Warwick Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessment
(http://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/46F291CC-670F-4372-8437- FEEB9D4F9CBC/0/FINALreportWarwickGTAANov2012.pdf).

g) Warwick District Council, Gypsy and Traveller Site Options (http://warwickdc.jdi- consult.net/ldf/readdoc.php?docid=35&chapter=1&docelemid=d1520#d1520).

Migration Impact Fund

h) Nottingham City Council
(http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=21177&p=0).

i) Liverpool City Council
(http://councillors.liverpool.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=282&MId=9356&Ver=4)

Roma SOURCE Project (http://www.romasource.eu/about-us/)

j) Final Report (http://www.romasource.eu/userfiles/attachments/pages/167/rs-finalresearchreport-full-2013-en.pdf).

k) Roma MATRIX Project (http://www.migrationyorkshire.org.uk/?page=roma-matrix).

Europia (http://www.europia.org.uk/media/publications/).

Knowledge Transfer Partnership — Empty Property Owners
(http://www.tameside.gov.uk/housing/emptyproperty/1315.pdf)