The study is intended to inform policy makers and people working with refugees and asylum seekers.

A total of 174 sources of evidence relating to refugee integration have been identified, the majority of which use mixed research methods (42%) or qualitative research methods (29%).

Some of the most holistic sources of evidence come from long-running integration programmes such as The Holistic Integration Service. These also offer insight over a longer time period, rather than a snapshot at the end of a short term project or through a time-specific survey.

The executive summary reads: “Evidence is key to informing good policy and practice. Sources of evidence can vary. It can be from evaluation of the impact of work and projects, academic research or recording of practice and experience within organisations.  

“This report aims to provide a base for understanding the existing evidence on refugee integration in Scotland. It identifies available evidence to help inform policy makers and people working to support refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland.  

“Evaluation of the quality and content of individual evidence sources was not part of this project. This project provides an overall understanding of the evidence sources identified in terms of their date of publication, geographical scope, research methods and funding.”