© Reset 2021–2023.
Registered Charity No. 1179799
Company Registration No. 11081370
We believe that research, monitoring and evaluation are essential for making evidence-based decisions that will support Community Sponsorship to grow and flourish. We publish our own learning and reports and also work closely with universities to produce in-depth research into Community Sponsorship.
We commissioned a report by The Research People to evaluate our Homes
for Ukraine matching service from April 2022 to March 2023. One year after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, we commissioned the evaluation, to understand what has been learnt by guests, hosts, Reset and our partners about matching and how this can inform our response to future refugee crises.
We worked with the University of Birmingham on an evaluation of the Community Sponsorship scheme in its pilot phase. The findings resulted in six policy briefs in areas such as refugee integration, motivating volunteers and the wider impact of the scheme.
We also worked with the University of Birmingham on a focused case study of the wider community aspects of Community Sponsorship.
To enhance our understanding of the experiences of those being resettled through Community Sponsorship, in December we brought together a group of women who had arrived in the UK through this scheme. We then facilitated a workshop in January with welcomed refugee men who had arrived in the UK through this scheme.
Read this fantastic overview and discussion exploring the experiences of refugee women and men who have arrived in the UK through Community Sponsorship.
The experience of resettlement through Community Sponsorship: learning from refugee women
Over the past weeks and months, we’ve been thinking about what we’ve learned about community-led welcome and what that means for the future of refugee sponsorship in the UK. We are incredibly proud of the achievements of the 300 Community Sponsorship groups we support; the thousands of people across the country who have opened their homes to Ukrainians and all the volunteers who make sure our communities are welcoming. We know that community-led welcome harnesses the drive, skills, and power of trusted volunteers within communities to welcome and integrate refugees, creating stronger, more cohesive communities and we believe that more refugees can and should be welcomed in a planned and structured way.
While the asylum system needs to be fixed, over the last few months, the UK Government has established successful schemes to welcome displaced people to the UK. The Homes for Ukraine and the Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) Welcome Programme have demonstrated that well-planned and effectively resourced schemes are embraced by the UK public. Meanwhile, the only safe route some refugees can access is the Global Resettlement Programme, and the partner programme Community Sponsorship which, while successful, has limited placements.
We want to encourage the government to learn from all these programmes and create a single sponsorship scheme which enables refugees to come safely to the UK. We don’t have all the answers which is why we have produced a discussion paper to find out from others what needs to be done to increase community led welcome.
Read our discussion paper and outline of community-led welcome in the UK below.
The Future of Sponsorship: the case for a single sponsorship scheme
Reset Communities and Refugees launched the first Neighbours for Newcomers (N4N) programme in October 2021 as part of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s programme to recruit refugee nurses. N4N was designed in partnership with Talent Beyond Boundaries and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to provide a community welcome to 25 refugee nurses arriving to work in the NHS.
This is an evaluation of the programme for the first cohort of people who were supported through Neighbours for Newcomers.
Download Neighbours for Newcomers Evaluation
We’ve partnered with the British Red Cross VOICES Network to produce research examining the experiences of adult refugees resettled through Community Sponsorship. The aim of the research is to understand how the programme could be improved. The findings of this work inform Reset’s training and support to Community Sponsorship groups.
We regularly commission smaller pieces of research and conduct our own research to help us understand more about who undertakes Community Sponsorship and how it impacts them.
Volunteer learnings
Our ongoing research into the impact of Community Sponsorship on volunteers has been running for more than 18 months. Findings to date demonstrate skills development, a strong sense of fulfilment and a greater sense of community. There is a roughly equal split between the 35–54 age group and the over 65s, although more working age men volunteer than working age women.
Sourcing accommodation
In many parts of the country, finding accommodation that a refugee family will be able to afford when receiving Universal Credit is a real challenge. We undertook an in-depth investigation into the different ways groups source accommodation and produced a resource to guide other groups.
Volunteer reflections
Reset regularly surveys Community Sponsorship groups when they reach the end of their 2 year sponsor agreement. The aim of the survey is to collect honest reflections from volunteers about their experience of Community Sponsorship so that Reset can find ways to improve the programme.
Download analysis of volunteer reflections
Poll on opinions towards welcoming Refugees
We commissioned research by Opinium to poll people on their attitudes towards welcoming refugees to their local communities and other opinions on refugee welcome.
Anonymised Data of Opinions
We commissioned a report by The Research People to evaluate our Homes
for Ukraine matching service from April 2022 to March 2023. One year after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, we commissioned the evaluation, to understand what has been learnt by guests, hosts, Reset and our partners about matching and how this can inform our response to future refugee crises.
We worked with the University of Birmingham on an evaluation of the Community Sponsorship scheme in its pilot phase. The findings resulted in six policy briefs in areas such as refugee integration, motivating volunteers and the wider impact of the scheme.
We also worked with the University of Birmingham on a focused case study of the wider community aspects of Community Sponsorship.
To enhance our understanding of the experiences of those being resettled through Community Sponsorship, in December we brought together a group of women who had arrived in the UK through this scheme. We then facilitated a workshop in January with welcomed refugee men who had arrived in the UK through this scheme.
Read this fantastic overview and discussion exploring the experiences of refugee women and men who have arrived in the UK through Community Sponsorship.
The experience of resettlement through Community Sponsorship: learning from refugee women
Over the past weeks and months, we’ve been thinking about what we’ve learned about community-led welcome and what that means for the future of refugee sponsorship in the UK. We are incredibly proud of the achievements of the 300 Community Sponsorship groups we support; the thousands of people across the country who have opened their homes to Ukrainians and all the volunteers who make sure our communities are welcoming. We know that community-led welcome harnesses the drive, skills, and power of trusted volunteers within communities to welcome and integrate refugees, creating stronger, more cohesive communities and we believe that more refugees can and should be welcomed in a planned and structured way.
While the asylum system needs to be fixed, over the last few months, the UK Government has established successful schemes to welcome displaced people to the UK. The Homes for Ukraine and the Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) Welcome Programme have demonstrated that well-planned and effectively resourced schemes are embraced by the UK public. Meanwhile, the only safe route some refugees can access is the Global Resettlement Programme, and the partner programme Community Sponsorship which, while successful, has limited placements.
We want to encourage the government to learn from all these programmes and create a single sponsorship scheme which enables refugees to come safely to the UK. We don’t have all the answers which is why we have produced a discussion paper to find out from others what needs to be done to increase community led welcome.
Read our discussion paper and outline of community-led welcome in the UK below.
The Future of Sponsorship: the case for a single sponsorship scheme
Reset Communities and Refugees launched the first Neighbours for Newcomers (N4N) programme in October 2021 as part of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s programme to recruit refugee nurses. N4N was designed in partnership with Talent Beyond Boundaries and funded by the Department of Health and Social Care to provide a community welcome to 25 refugee nurses arriving to work in the NHS.
This is an evaluation of the programme for the first cohort of people who were supported through Neighbours for Newcomers.
Download Neighbours for Newcomers Evaluation
We’ve partnered with the British Red Cross VOICES Network to produce research examining the experiences of adult refugees resettled through Community Sponsorship. The aim of the research is to understand how the programme could be improved. The findings of this work inform Reset’s training and support to Community Sponsorship groups.
We regularly commission smaller pieces of research and conduct our own research to help us understand more about who undertakes Community Sponsorship and how it impacts them.
Volunteer learnings
Our ongoing research into the impact of Community Sponsorship on volunteers has been running for more than 18 months. Findings to date demonstrate skills development, a strong sense of fulfilment and a greater sense of community. There is a roughly equal split between the 35–54 age group and the over 65s, although more working age men volunteer than working age women.
Sourcing accommodation
In many parts of the country, finding accommodation that a refugee family will be able to afford when receiving Universal Credit is a real challenge. We undertook an in-depth investigation into the different ways groups source accommodation and produced a resource to guide other groups.
Volunteer reflections
Reset regularly surveys Community Sponsorship groups when they reach the end of their 2 year sponsor agreement. The aim of the survey is to collect honest reflections from volunteers about their experience of Community Sponsorship so that Reset can find ways to improve the programme.
Download analysis of volunteer reflections
Poll on opinions towards welcoming Refugees
We commissioned research by Opinium to poll people on their attitudes towards welcoming refugees to their local communities and other opinions on refugee welcome.
Anonymised Data of Opinions
© Reset 2021–2023.
Registered Charity No. 1179799
Company Registration No. 11081370