Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) Dr Andri Soteri-Proctor. Theory and Method Stream Lead & Dr Jenny Phillimore, Director of IRiS

Localism, Grass Roots & Superdiversity: Implications for the Voluntary and Community Sector  Localism  Superdiversity  Grassroots groups  IRiS

Localism  Devolution with shift of power from central government to: –local government –Communities –Neighbourhoods –Individuals  From traditional institutional settings and sectors to those that transcend boundaries  Pushing power onwards and outwards to people

Localism  Increasing politicisation of communities  Empower to shape the (local) world around them  Increasing creativity and innovation in public servicers  Obtaining assets and delivery services to communities  Opportunities and challenges in ‘hyper-local’ era in a wider context of austerity

Superdiversity  “Diversification of diversity” (Vertovec 2007)  Speed – 9% to 13% born overseas  Scale – census – 3.5m rise in population 56% are migrants  Spread i.e. Boston highest increase in AoW (11.4%)  Complexity – gender, status, age, reason for migration, class, faith  Fragmentation – from many migrants from a few countries to a few from many  Super-mobility

Top ten countries for non-UK born residents in England and Wales, 2001 and 2011

Everyday cosmopolitanism (Wessendorf 2010)

Birmingham – archetypal SD city  On course to become one of Britain’s first majority-minority cities  Move from homogenous groups to superdiversity  GP registration data shows 41,000 new arrivals from overseas July 2007 – June 2010  187 different countries, 25% new/old Commonwealth  Poland, China, Romania, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Iran and Iraq now in top 20  92 countries of origin with 20 or less arrivals  Spread around Birmingham

Local grassroots groups  TSRC study using ‘street-level’ mapping methodologies to identify ‘unregistered grassroots groups’ in Birmingham and Manchester  A lot of activity: –58 groups in 11 streets –Old and new –Locally embedded, reflecting local communities –but not confined to area

Local grassroots groups  TSRC study using ‘street-level’ mapping methodologies to identify ‘unregistered grassroots groups’ in Birmingham and Manchester  A lot of activity: –58 groups in 11 streets –Old and new –Locally embedded, reflecting local communities –but not confined to area

Local grassroots groups  Wide variety, grouped in six:  Many of these = mix: migrant, ethnic and refugee  Self-support eg, Death Committee, Village saving fund, friendship building, isolation  Concentrated in shared spaces offered by VCSOs  Drawing on ‘Community-building bricoleurs’  Dennis Minnis OBE, Piers Road Resource Centre  Cross-fertilisation  Drawing on and generating resources beyond immediate communities

Superdiverse Local grassroots groups  Localism, traditionally understood at spatial local level  ‘superdiverse’ grassroots connected –Virtual –Transnational  In addition, in their localities = not an island, they draw on and generate resources (VCSOs, Faith groups)

Superdiverse Local grassroots groups  They may be an untapped energy  Creativity and innovation  But not well understood, capacity and function  Potentially fragile, vulnerable & new  May not be in a position to take on services  If so, who’s going to do this….  Role of VCS and shared space = Sum is greater than all parts  ?

IRiS  UK’s first Institute devoted to researching SD  Birmingham as inspiration and laboratory  Critical mass of expertise  Platform for collaboration and interdisciplinarity  Build capacity of early career researchers as diversity experts  Introduce new methodologies and approaches  Focus on opportunities as well as challenges  Partnership with communities, institutions, and agencies  Inform policy and practice

IRiS structure – the workstreams  Language and superdiversity  Policy, practice and foresight  Health and well-being  Religion and culture  Theory and method  Practitioner-researcher programme

Practitioner Researcher Programme  Focus on Birmingham  Aimed at communities and institutions with interest in superdiversity  Collaborative development of research and projects  Training and mentoring  New research community  Support development of policy and practice in each organisation  Build a holistic and contemporary picture of Birmingham

Superdiversity and BTR  Role of civil society in SD areas under- researched  What does CS activity look like in SD areas?  What is role of CSOs in SD areas?  Does CS activity differ when population base is new/ complex?  How can activity be supported and networks nurtured?  Where does faith fit in to picture?