Checklist: Planning the promotion of municipal integration

Municipalities can use the checklist to support their planning for the promotion of integration.

1. Municipality decides the responsible parties 

• The municipality will clearly define the authority responsible for coordinating the preparation.
• Municipal decision-makers and bodies will be committed to the timetable and process and a timetable for processing any plans that need political decision-making will be outlined. 
• The municipality decides whether the planning task is carried out alone or in cooperation with other municipalities and the employment authority, for example.  
• If necessary, the ELY Centre will provide advice during the process. The municipality should contact the ELY Centre’s immigration contact person already at an early stage.
• If necessary, municipalities may also use external experts to assist them.

2. Municipality ensures cooperation and consultations

• The municipality will ensure cooperation with the wellbeing services county.
• The responsible body can establish or appoint a cooperation group that will agree on the planning timetable. 
• Representatives of different municipal bodies, such as education, leisure, business and housing services, can be invited to join the cooperation group if necessary. 
• Kela, wellbeing services county and other authorities can also be invited to join the group, as appropriate.
• Local organisations, educational institutions, companies and other bodies supporting integration can be invited to join the group.
• It is good to ensure that immigrants residing in the municipality are actively involved in the process.

3. Municipality creates a situation picture of immigration and integration 

The situation picture should include both quantitative and qualitative assessments. Following questions can be used for help: 

• How many immigrants live in the municipality? 
• Why have the immigrants come to Finland (are they asylum seekers, quota refugees, beneficiaries of temporary protection, students, persons recruited directly from abroad, family members)? 
• How old are the immigrants? Gender distribution, languages and employment? 
• What kind of needs do the immigrants have in terms of integration? 
• How have the immigrants been received in the municipality? 
• How many immigrants are expected to move to the municipality in the next few years? 
• What are the relations between different communities? 
• What are the challenges related to the promotion of integration in the municipality? 
• Does the municipality lack certain integration promotion services? Do the immigrants receive the services they need? 
• How are guidance and counselling services for the immigrants organised in the municipality? What is the state of and need for services of immigrants who have moved to Finland due to work, studies, family ties or displacement?

The following sources of information may be used: 

• Information material on integration services produced by the Development and Administration Centre for ELY Centres and TE Offices (KEHA Centre)
• Information provided to municipalities by Kela through the Kelmu benefit information system
• Regular reports on municipal residents submitted to municipalities by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s (DVV) change information service
• the Integration database and the Integration Indicators database at kotoutuminen.fi 
• local and regional authorities and regional immigration strategies, immigrants and organisations, educational institutions or employers working with them
• information on reception centres in the area and the Finnish Immigration Service. 

4. Municipality defines goals based on a situation picture 

• When it defines the objectives, the municipality will consider the Government Integration Programme and the national employment promotion objectives for integration clients confirmed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. 
• The objectives for the promotion of integration are based on a situation picture. Following questions can be used for help:
  • What are the opportunities and challenges of municipalities when people born abroad and speakers of foreign languages move to the municipality? 
  • Which themes are important in this municipality? 
  • What kind of change does the municipality aim for compared with the current state?
• The objectives are linked to the municipal strategy and equality and wellbeing plans, among other things.
• The objectives may be defined in cooperation at a seminar or cooperation group. The municipality may also organise a consultation.  

5. Municipality selects the means to promote integration and good relations between population groups 

• The means to pursue the objectives are defined.
• It is good to include concrete objectives describing the change, the achievement of which is monitored. 
• The bodies responsible for the measures and their implementation are defined. 
• The integration Act does not require municipalities to monitor the promotion of integration, but municipalities should consider indicators and monitoring according to their own needs.

6. Municipality includes measures of promoting integration in other strategies

• The municipality ensures that the promotion of integration is taken into account in the municipal strategy, the municipality's budget and plan, the welfare report and plan, and the plan for organising employment services.
• A municipality may, if it so wishes, draw up a separate action plan for the promotion of integration. The action plan makes it easier to manage the whole, especially in municipalities with a large number of people with an immigrant background.
• The municipality will agree who will monitor the achievement of the objectives set for integration promotion and in what situation and when the plan should be updated.

7. Communication on the promotion of municipal integration 

• The municipality should communicate about the process, objectives, measures and monitoring to 
  • municipal residents 
  • interest groups 
  • key bodies and authorities
  • the target group
  • decision-makers. 
• In this context, the municipality can communicate about both the early-stage integration services (integration programme) and the more extensive planning and developing of integration promotion in the municipality.