FOCUS partners
The FOCUS consortium unites academic partners, SMEs, NGOs and an innovation management consultancy, which have been carefully selected for their expertise and geographic location along today’s main refugee route from Jordan via Croatia to Germany and Sweden.
The research team has profound experience in socio-economic and socio-psychological research with relevant communities in key countries impacted by the 2015-16 Syrian migration crisis. Additionally, experts from the private sector contribute to transversal activities such as ethics advice, policy engagement and communication and network building. The consortium is led by the IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support, hosted by the Danish Red Cross, with its long-standing expertise in working mental health and psychosocial support, with reception of asylum seekers and integration of refugees. It is completed by four end-users for the piloting studies.
ARTTIC
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Psychosocial Centre
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AND Consulting Group
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University of Zagreb
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Malmö University
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Center for Strategic Studies (CSS), University of Jordan
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Humboldt University of Berlin
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Q4 Public Relations
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Charité Berlin
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Danish Red Cross
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Austrian National Red Cross Society
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German Association of Psychosocial Centres for Refugees and Victims of Torture
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Partnership Skåne
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British Red Cross
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IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support (PS Centre)
The IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support (PS Centre) works under the framework of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) and is hosted and supported by the Danish Red Cross. The PS Centre supports National Red Cross Red Crescent Societies worldwide in promoting and enabling psychosocial wellbeing of beneficiaries, staff and volunteers.
Role in the project
PSC will coordinate the FOCUS project and lead the practice stream.
The PSC team consists of Sabina Dziadecka Gråbæk, Nana Wiedemann, Anouk Boschma, Michelle Engels and Andreas Heyd.
PS Centre
Danish Red Cross
Blegdamsvej 27
Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
Sabina Dziadecka Grabaek
Senior Project Manager
Nana Wiedemann
Director
Anouk Boschma
Advisor
Michelle Engels
Advisor
Andreas Heyd
Project Coordinator
AND Consulting Group (AND)
AND Consulting Group (AND) is a vibrant and socially-responsible ethics and privacy consultancy, located in Brussels. AND aims to promote responsible business and innovation practice, and to help its clients create and exploit opportunities for increasing social value.
AND provides bespoke consultancy, research, and risk management services for businesses and public bodies on:
- Privacy and data protection
- Ethics in research and innovation
- Societal impact of technology and business development
Role in the project
AND is responsible for the ethics and privacy management in FOCUS, including the coordination of the Ethics Advisory Board. Key tasks involve elaboration of the Ethics and Data Management Plan, and development of research ethics validation procedures for field research and pilot testing activities in the project.
The AND team consists of Andrew Rebera and Dimitris Dimitriou.
AND Consulting Group (AND)
Marcel Broodthaersplein 8, 4th floor
Brussels 1060, Belgium
Andrew Rebera
Director
Dimitris Dimitriou
Director
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb (FFZG)
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FFZG) is part of the University of Zagreb which is the largest and leading Croatian research and education facility with over 70.000 students. The FFZG is the top national research and high education institution in social sciences. Department of Psychology is located within FFZG and is a recognised regional leader of research and education in psychology. Over 40 faculty members pursue research in key areas of psychology making it a vibrant and intellectually stimulating environment. Department of Psychology has about 250 undergraduate, 180 graduate and 45 doctoral students. The psychology department has extensive international research collaboration with EU member countries and the USA, including participation in the FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020 and other EU funded projects. The expertise most relevant for the FOCUS project include intergroup dynamics, migration, community oriented programmes and qualitative methodology.
Role in the project
In the FOCUS project, FFZG is mainly involved in developing a rigorous research methodology for the field studies looking at host community / refugee relations, it will complete a systematic literature review of state-of-the art of socio-psychological aspects of host and refugee communities relations, conduct field research in Croatia and provide inputs in other work packages.
The FFZG team primarily consists of Dean Ajdukovic and Jana Kiralj with other members of the psychology department contributing as needed.
University of Zagreb (FFZG)
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Ivana Lucica 3
Zagreb 10000, Croatia
Dean Ajdukovic
Professor
Jana Kiralj
Project Assistant
Malmö University (MAU)
The Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare (MIM) was established in January 2007 with the goal of strengthening Malmö University’s migration research profile. Further to this, MIM was also envisaged as a platform to expand Malmö University’s international networks and build bridges between the university and non-academic actors. MIM consists of a core of senior and junior researchers and a large international network of affiliated researchers. MIM regularly hosts prominent professors in IMER from around the world. These professors are hosted at MIM and financed by the City of Malmö through the Guest Professorship Program in memory of Willy Brandt.
The research conducted at MIM is multidisciplinary and is pursued in collaboration with international partners. It is funded either nationally or by the EU and can be classified under the following four themes:
- Migration and mobility
- Integration of new immigrants
- Attitudes and views on IMER
- Education, citizenship and welfare
Role in the project
The team from Malmö University is formed by Nahikari Irastorza, Jason Tucker and Pieter Bevelander. They are mainly involved in the mapping of host-community/refugee relations through a literature review and a comparative analysis of integration policies and outcomes. They are also taking care of the field studies in Sweden.
Malmö University (MAU)
Nordenskioldsgatan 1
Malmö 20506, Sweden
Nahikari Irastorza
Willy Brandt Research Fellow
Pieter Bevelander
Director
Center for Strategic Studies (CSS)
University of Jordan
Founded in mid-80’s and embedded within the University of Jordan, the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) is highly experienced in empirical research within several fields ranging from socio-economic issues, to security, and international relations particularly concerning the MENA area but not limited to it. It has a long tradition in conducting a massive number of social surveys and has led trainings and worked with partners in other countries to improve their sample design, interviewer trainings, and fieldwork processes. The CSS actively engages in policy-oriented research at different levels and cooperates with several European and Arab institutions, universities, public bodies, think thanks within the Euro-Mediterranean Area and worldwide well reputed actors.
In 2018, 2017 and 2016 The Global Go to Think Tank Index Report, released annually by the Think Tank and Civil Societies Programme (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania, has ranked the CSS as 1st think tank in the Middle-Eastern and Northern Africa area (MENA) and, consequently, has been classified as Distinguished Think Tank Center of Excellence for the next five years (2019-2023).
In addition, in 2018 the CSS has been classified 36th Top Foreign Policy and International Affairs Think Tanks and 52nd best think tank in Top Defense and National Security research worldwide.
Furthermore the CSS has been ranked 128th in 2018 and 2017 and 132rd in 2016 among the top 150 top think tanks selected from respectively 8,162, 6,846 and 7,815 centres worldwide (Non-US).
On the 24th May 2018 the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) has been honoured by His Majesty King Abdullah with the Order of Independence of the First Class for the institution’s role in conducting studies and research papers of strategic dimensions.
Role in the project
The team from the Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan focuses on the coordination of the fieldwork in Germany, Croatia, Sweden and Jordan by assuring a coherent methodology in all the fielded countries.
The CSS team consists of Zaid Eyadat, Walid Alkhatib and Alakyaz Assadorian.
Center for Strategic Studies (CSS)
University of Jordan
Queen Rania al Abdullah Street
Amman 11942, Jordan
Zaid Eyadat
Professor
Walid Alkhatib
Director
Alakyaz Assadorian
Researcher
Charité
Charité University Medicine Berlin is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe renowned for its excellence both in research and practice in various medical fields. The multidisciplinary Center for Cross-Cultural Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (ZIPP) at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Charité, Campus Mitte comprises research, clinical practice and teaching. The clinical practice takes place in our ethnopsychiatric ambulance, research is carried out by the Research Group Transcultural Psychiatry. The research focuses on transcultural psychiatry and intercultural psychotherapy, intercultural opening of the general mental health care system, therapeutic work using language and cultural interpreters, trauma-research related to refugee experiences, medical anthropology, medical humanities and ethnopsychiatry.
The interlocking of scientific and humanistic approaches as well as the connection of quantitative and qualitative research methods are the basis of the research groups perspective on critical reflection and adequate research. This also includes critical discussions of the concepts, terms and definitions used in this area of research, such as culture, race, ethnicity, migrants, people with a migrant background, intercultural opening, cross-cultural competence, acculturation/integration etc.
Role in the project
The team at Charité consists of Ulrike Kluge and Steffen Schödwell. As head of the Center for Cross-Cultural Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (ZIPP) and with broad experience in psycho-social and cross-cultural research Ulrike Kluge will mainly function as head of the HU-Charité team and fulfill an active advisory role. With an academic background in psychology, psychotherapy and area studies, Steffen Schödwell will mainly tackle the tasks of the psychosocial dimensions of FOCUS.
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité)
Charitéplatz 1
10117 Berlin, Germany
Ulrike Kluge
Professor
Steffen Schödwell
Researcher
Laura Hertner
Researcher
Humboldt University (HU)
The Berlin Institute for Integration and Migration Research (BIM at HU) is one of the main research institutes in this field. It is located at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Humboldt University of Berlin, and its scientific disciplines range from social, cultural and educational sciences to sports sciences, psychology and medicine.
The BIM at HU strives for a systematic transfer of research into the public sphere and the scientific community. Therefore, the BIM at HU has a wide network in the scientific community as well as with immigrant and refugee communities, with local and federal policy makers, cultural institutions and diverse associations in the respective fields. The BIM will contribute to FOCUS with its experience in leading as well as collaborating in various national and international research and policy projects on topics related to integration and migration, several focusing on psychosocial and labour market integration.
Role in the project
The team from Humboldt University is contributing to the field research methodology and is proposing the protocol of the qualitative data collection in host communities. It is also conducting the field research in Germany.
The HU team as part of the joint HU-Charité team consists of Dana Abdel Fatah. With an academic background in Public Policy and Near and Middle Eastern Studies Dana Abdel Fatah will especially contribute to the tasks tackling the socio-economic and policy dimensions of FOCUS.
Humboldt University of Berlin (HU)
Berlin Institute for Integration and Migration Research
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin, Germany
Dana Abdel Fatah
Researcher
ARTTIC (ART)
ARTTIC assists clients from all business and research sectors, small and large, private and public, to ensure the success of their collaborative research & innovation ventures. During close to 32 years of success, ARTTIC developed and demonstrated expertise in the set-up and management of to date 400 large-scale ambitious projects of which 96 were successful under H2020 calls. Based on its long-standing experience in a range of funding programmes across scientific and technological domains, ARTTIC helps clients to move from strategic plans to effective competitive research and development of innovative solutions, resulting in successful applications and businesses. ARTTIC is a company of the PNO Consultants group, the European leader for consultancy in innovation and funding.
Role in the project
ARTTIC SAS together with its linked Third Party ARTTIC Innovation GmbH will lead the communication and dissemination activities in FOCUS with a special focus on establishing a network of host communities through an online community management tool and offline conferences and events.
The ARTTIC team consists of Christiane Abele, Andreas Schweinberger, Teresa Gross and Karin Rosenits.
ARTTIC (ART)
Rue du Dessous des Berges 58A
75013 Paris, France
Christiane Abele
Project Manager
Karin Rosenits
Project Manager
Andreas Schweinberger
Senior Consultant
Teresa Gross
Communications Expert
Q4 Public Relations (Q4)
Established in 2003, Q4 is Ireland’s largest independent public affairs and public relations firm. A core component of Q4’s work is the development and delivery of strategic plans and activities for public bodies, NGO’s and representative organisations at a local, national and EU level.
Role in the project
Q4’s principal work in FOCUS is to ensure that the project’s work is linked directly to the needs of policy makers.
In WP2 the company will carry out a series of policy maker interviews across eight countries in order to identify both best practice and existing gaps.
In the research WPs it will assist the other partners in ensuring that FOCUS is addressing the need for policy impact.
In WP6 Q4 will lead the project and ensure the delivery of a roadmap for addressing policy needs and key guides for policy makers identifying best practice tools and a structured approach to adapting practices to national and regional contexts.
In WP7, Q4 will assist in the planning and servicing of the proposed communications and engagement tasks.
The team at Q4 consists of Peter MacDonagh, Martin Mackin, Sara Creta and Síle Murphy.
Q4 Public Relations (Q4)
St Stephens Green Street 88
Dublin 2, Ireland
Peter MacDonagh
Senior Consultant
Martin Mackin
Partner
Sara Creta
Researcher
Síle Murphy
Senior Account Director
FOCUS Implementing partners
Danish Red Cross (DRC)
The Danish Red Cross is a major volunteer organisation. The DRC’s Migration and Refugees section focuses on several challenges: provision of health to undocumented migrants through health clinics, enabling family reunification and tracing through Restoring Family Links (RFL), and the implementation of volunteer-led activities for and by asylum seekers and refugees.
Austrian Red Cross (ARC)
The Austrian Red Cross is extensively involved in the care of refugees and asylum seekers especially through its federal units. The organisation plays a particularly important role in the early stages of people seeking the benefit of international protection. The ARC’s unit in Upper Austria operates accommodation facilities hosting asylum seekers from different countries, with some persons staying a few weeks, and others for months.
German Association of Psychosocial Centres for Refugees and Victims of Torture (BAfF)
BAfF is an umbrella organisation of psychosocial centres, facilities, and initiatives all over Germany which provide psychosocial and therapeutic care for displaced people. BAfF operates 47 psychosocial treatment centres, initiatives and facilities for the medical, psychotherapeutic, and psychosocial care and rehabilitation of victims of torture and other serious human rights violations.
Partnership Skåne (PS) Regional Integration Partnership
Partnership Skåne is a multi-stakeholder partnership operating in the large Skåne region of Sweden which has primary responsibility for integration-related services in the region. PS gathers multi-disciplinary partners from the public sector, academia and civil society. PS is organised and coordinated through five regional hubs to facilitate collaboration and reach all arriving community members.
British Red Cross (BRC)
The BRC is the United Kingdom’s largest provider of services for refugees, asylum seekers, vulnerable migrants, and survivors of trafficking. The BRC’s policy and advocacy work helps make sure people seeking protection in the UK are treated fairly and with dignity. British community members are encouraged to join BRC’s advocacy work by joining the ‘Every Refugee Matters’ community.
Join the FOCUS community
Do you share our interest in fostering integration with a strong focus on agency and inter-group relations, and on emotional and social capability? Sign up to the FOCUS community to receive updates on project results and activities and get involved!
