Strengthening the Voice of Refugee Community Organisations within London’s Second-tier Voluntary Sector: Barriers and Opportunities
LRV commission new report.
Large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers have been arriving in the UK since the 1980s.
During this period a considerable number of diverse Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) have become established totalling some 600 in London alone. These mostly small organisations, typically run by volunteers on shoestring budgets, have existed alongside the larger and better funded refugee support agencies with whom they have struggled to compete not only for resources but for wider recognition and influence at higher strategic policy levels in London.
Led by refugees, traditionally organised around a particular identity, such as nationality, ethnicity or faith, RCOs are seen to provide invaluable support and culturally sensitive services to new arrivals and yet are characterised by organisational precariousness, fragmentation and a lack of a coordinated and unified voice.
This study aims to support London Refugee Voice in its aims to provide a unified voice for refugees in London and strengthen RCO capacity. By identifying barriers to and opportunities for increasing influence through better collaboration with key second-tier organisations in London, the report contributes to LRV’s strategy for bringing the experience and perspective of refugees and asylum seekers to policy makers directly from refugees themselves.
The report has been written by Neil Amas and Jonathan Price of the Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees, City University, London.
