Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth? Cross-Sectoral Collaboration for Refugee Integration at the Local Level

Politicians and the media often underline the beneficial effects of civil society engagement for refugee integration. Nonprofit organizations and volunteers are expected to foster social and systemic integration by providing social services, empowering refugees and strengthening social relations. At the same time, these organizations fulfill public functions or act as contractors of public agencies in providing services to refugees. This raises questions on the role of civil society organizations in refugee integration and their involvement in policy implementation at the local level. Are they abulic executive bodies that implement public policies to the letter? How do they pursue their particular interests and “civil society function” of advocacy and critical political debate (Evers 2005)? How do their roles and activities change over time in reaction to changing incentives set by public policies at different levels? So far, knowledge on local collaboration between public and private actors in the field of refugee integration policies remains patchy. The proposed paper will assess different models of collaboration, analyzing how the partially conflicting interests of public and nonprofit actors are reconciled. It aims at gauging how outcome gaps emerge and by what means public actors can ensure policy implementation. At the same time, it strives to explain in which ways civil society organizations can continue to engage in advocacy and political debate when participating in public programs. The paper is based on empirical data from a research project on models of co-operation between local governments and nonprofit organizations in refugee integration at the local level.