“We need to use integration indicators better to understand the impact of the services we are providing”

“Measurable integration is the roadmap to success”, says the chairman of the Nordic Migrant Expert Forum, Takura Matswetu.

The Nordic Council of Ministers has mandated the experts to address what they think makes good integration in the Nordic Region. In the fall of 2023, they presented 13 recommendations to the integration ministers in the Nordic countries.

The expert forum consists of 16 experts in labour market, education, social and health care, gender equality, democracy and more. The experts are all born elsewhere, now living in Nordic countries.

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Takura Matswetu is from Zimbabwe. He has lived and worked in Sweden before moving to Finland more than a decade ago. He speaks both Nordic languages fluently. After some years in Tampere, he now works for the city of Helsinki, Finland’s biggest employer.

He has specialized in digital innovation and data-driven approaches to integration and currently part of the Migration Affairs Unit in Business Helsinki.

The problem with migration and integration is it often becomes a discussion based on feelings and experiences rather than data and actual needs

“We are setting a benchmark for integration services that cater to the diverse needs of migrants, aiming to foster a more inclusive and integrated society”, he says. The inclusion of a spouse program within their unit exemplifies this, offering assistance to the partners of those who have moved to Finland for work.

As the chairperson for The Nordic Expert Forum, Takura Matswetu has recommended the ministers from the Nordic countries to formulate a definition of a common Nordic approach to integration.

A definition that goes beyond mere assimilation to create genuinely inclusive societies where individuals from different backgrounds preserve their cultural heritage while actively engaging in the social, economic, and political life of their adopted country.

“The problem with migration and integration is it often becomes a discussion based on feelings and experiences rather than data and actual needs”, he says.

“What is needed is the development of measurable goals and a comprehensive model and tools for evaluating integration efforts. We need to use integration indicators better in order to understand the impact of the services we are providing”.

Measuring differences

Working on his thesis in Finland in 2022, he was developing a so-called Integration Gap Index for the City of Tampere. The index measured the disparities between migrants and the native population.

“That way, we could measure how well we are closing those gaps as we work towards our sustainable development goal,” he says.

For his thesis he was drawing upon the Zaragoza indicators used in the European Union system and Finland’s own national indicators.

His research targeted migrant groups from different continents living in different neighbourhoods in Tampere. It revealed that migrants living outside the city centre exhibited smaller gaps in key indicators compared to those residing within the city, suggesting varying factors affecting integration based on location.

Actively closing the gaps

Takura Matswetu highlights the differences between migrants and native populations in various key indicators. And the gaps in the Nordic countries are continuously significant in central welfare-areas, he points out.

He suggests the operational adoption of clear indicators for the Nordic region to assess and enhance integration progress over time. The general focus could be on employment, education, well-being, societal participation, the sense of belonging – based on the Zaragoza integration indicators.

“Finland already has these indicators, but they are underutilized and poorly followed in my opinion”, he remarks.

Takura Matswetu proposes a dual approach that not only provides migrants with opportunities for better inclusion but also encourages their active participation in closing these gaps.

He believes that comprehensive digital ecosystems that seamlessly integrate e.g. employment data and social services data could be a direct path to improve migrant integration service design and delivery. In theory, this can easily be done in an app-structure, he says.

How do we empower individuals to control their own data? We need to do that while facilitating more efficient and personalized service delivery. The key is prioritizing citizen empowerment, governmental trust, and cross-sector collaboration

Taking agency

The creation of such a digital platform would allow migrants to actively participate in their integration process, he says. The platform could be set to accommodate personal targets, tracking progress, and accessing resources.

“Utilizing artificial intelligence and other technologies, it could match migrants with jobs, with educational opportunities, community events, and even facilitate feedback to local authorities, enhancing their sense of security and belonging”, Takura Matswetu says.

“As a migrant, I could have a portal to my own integration process. I could have my own integration plan, follow my own progress, know my targets, see the skills that I have now, and the skills that I need to have to get to my target. And I would be involved in that process,” he says.

“I believe that an inclusive integration process is also the task of giving people the tools, capabilities, language, and an environment to be able to take agency for themselves.”

The hurdles

He recognizes the bureaucratic hurdles in data sharing. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) being one of many legal instruments that makes the adoption of technologies that handle data complicated.

And he acknowledges the complexities that often impede the implementation. Issues of data ownership, privacy concerns, and the politicization of migration pose significant challenges to progress.

“The governments in the Nordic countries already have the ability to put this data together and measure these things. What ministry wants to take responsibility for creating such an ecosystem?”, he asks.

“How do we empower individuals to control their own data? We need to do that while facilitating more efficient and personalized service delivery. The key is prioritizing citizen empowerment, governmental trust, and cross-sector collaboration,” Takura Matswetu says.

(Top photo: Martin Thaulow for The Nordic Council of Ministers)