2018_CitiesGroW Toolkits_methodology-Calibri

The CITIES GROW mentoring

methodology: an overview

City-to-city mentoring – helping

partner cities to implement change

Acknowledgements

EUROCITIES would like to acknowledge the experts who worked on these
toolkits: Sue Lukes and Ceri Hutton from MigrationWork, Hanne Beirens,
Aliyyah Ahad, Camille Le Coz and Liam Patuzzi from Migration Policy Institute
Europe and Isabelle Chopin, Beth Ginsburg and Catharina Germaine from
Migration Policy Group. Their work facilitating the city-to-city mentoring
process and producing the toolkit content has been invaluable.

We would also like to thank all the city partners involved in the CITIES
GROW project whose experience and feedback contributed to shaping the
benchmarks and which provided most of the best practices illustrating the
key factors:
ATHENS: Lefteris Papagiannakis, Panagiotis Psathas, Marigo Chormoviti
BARCELONA: Gloria Rendon, Helena Lafita
BIRMINGHAM: Maureen Griffith, Jill Griffin
BRIGHTON: Lucy Bryson, Sean Webber, Elisa Fortunado
DRESDEN: Regine Kramer, Dominic Heyn
GDANSK: Piotr Olech, Barbara Borowiak, Katarzyna Bertrand
GHENT: Luc Vanden Berge, Marie-Astrid Balcaen, Emmy Vandenbogaerde
HELSINKI: Anu Riila, Toivo Utso
LISBON: Mónica Coimbra, Mário Rui Souto
MUNICH: Maria Prem, Regina Ober
NANTES: Phillippe Rigollier, Sylvain Guillot
NICOSIA: Stavroula Georgopoulou, Charis Theocharous, Roula Thoma,
Chryso Katsavra
RIGA: Dmitrijs Zverevs, Juris Osis, Irina Vasiljeva
ROTTERDAM: Rob Gringhuis, Arjan Cok
TAMPERE: Marja Nyrhinen, Mika Itänen, Ramona Bilmez, Maija Niskavirta
UTRECHT: Niene Oepkes, Jan Braat, Imara Antonius, Jorinde Hof
In addition we would like to extend our gratitude to other cities that did not
take part in the CITIES GROW project but contributed their best practices for
this toolkit: Amsterdam, Dublin, Leipzig, London, Milan, Nuremberg, Prague
and Vienna.

Copyright © 2018 EUROCITIES asbl, Brussels, Belgium. If you would like to cite any part of this
publication, please make reference to its title and authoring organisation.

Work to produce the thematic benchmark in this toolkit and introduce all partners
to the project methodology was led by CITIES GROW partner MigrationWork CIC,
a not-for-profit consultancy that works on issues of migration and integration.
www.migrationwork.org

Available from EUROCITIES asbl

www.eurocities.eu / www.integratingcities.eu / [email protected]

This initiative received funding from the European Commission, Directorate-General for Migration
and Home Affairs through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). Responsibility for
the ideas and opinions expressed in this publication lies with the authors of the project. The
Commission is not responsible for those ideas or opinions nor for any use that may be made of
them. © EUROCITIES 2018.

CITIES GROW mentoring methodology - the background

The CITIES GROW method helps cities to learn CITIES GROW took up most of the methodological
from each other. Participating cities are paired elements of ImpleMentoring as well as the
up. One is a ‘mentor’ city, sharing experience and recommendation of a review that the discussion
offering independent support and reflection to and learning between mentor and implementing
the implementing or ‘learning’ city that wants to city would be strengthened by adding a visit to the
raise standards and carry out changes. Both parties mentor city. This enables approaches and projects
benefit. Mentors not only help their implementing to be placed in context and ‘brought alive’ for the
partners to bring about desired improvements, learning city in a way that is not possible by talking
they also learn from this dialogue. alone. It also helps strengthen the relationship and
bond between both cities, thus allowing the learning
How was the CITIES GROW methodology city to better understand the challenges, as well as
developed? CITIES GROW is the continuation the successes, of the mentor city’s experience.
of a series of transnational projects, funded by
the European Commission, aiming to put into In the CITIES GROW process, therefore, there are
practice the EUROCITIES Integrating Cities Charter. two visits: a ‘study visit’ of the implementing city
This commits signatory cities to ensure equal to the mentor city, during which the visitors can
opportunities for all residents, integrate migrants see the mentor’s good practice in action, and a
and embrace the diversity of their populations. ‘mentoring visit’ hosted by the implementing city.

The first project, DIVE (Diversity and equality This outline leaflet explains in more detail the
in European cities), used the peer review methodology of the mentoring process as
model in which peers or ‘equals’ from different implemented by the CITIES GROW project. It
administrations jointly evaluated other cities’ complements four thematic toolkits developed by
performance against a benchmark and then made the project on the integration of migrants in the
recommendations to their hosts. The benchmark local labour markets. The toolkits, available online
set out detailed indicators to define a European and in hard copy, present the benchmarks illustrated
standard for cities’ work on integration. The second by city best practices covering four topics:
project, MIXITIES (Making integration work in
Europe’s cities), developed this peer review model. • Matching buyers and suppliers: access to
Benchmarks were streamlined, replacing complex public and private contracts for immigrant
indicators with ‘key factors’ that could drive success entrepreneurs
in a given area of integration. Host cities were
encouraged to report on context factors affecting • Promoting appropriate migrant participation in
their ability to meet the benchmark. local labour markets through partnerships

ImpleMentoring (City-to-city support for migrant • Services to promote and support migrant
integration), whilst still drawing on the peer review entrepreneurs
concept, further simplified the learning process.
It focused on city-to-city mentoring. Instead of a • Anti-discrimination strategies for the local job
full team of peers, one or two practitioners from a market.
mentor city visited their peers in the implementing
city in another member state. Dialogue between Although launched in the field of migrant
partners was again framed by a benchmark defining integration, the mentoring methodology as applied
a Europe-wide standard. Their bilateral learning was by the CITIES GROW project can be used equally
backed up by discussion within thematic groups or well in other areas, for example environmental
‘clusters’ of cities working on the same challenges. issues and social policy.

4 Cities GroW 2017-2019

The mentoring method in practice

Setting up: the mentoring relationship ROLES & RELATIONSHIPS

A typical city mentoring project starts with city Mentor city: helps the implementing city to achieve
authorities deciding to work as mentoring city change. It does so partly by drawing on its own
and implementing city pairs, which are also linked experience but equally by being a good listener —
through a supporting ‘cluster’ or network to other allowing its counterpart to explore concerns and
cities interested in the same topic. Whilst the develop ideas in confidence with a trusted partner
implementing city may want to draw on some from outside their own authority. Its mentoring
aspects of its mentor’s practice, it mainly needs encourages them to see what needs changing, to
its perspective —external but informed and identify options for change, and risks, and to move
sympathetic — on the challenges it faces in the towards the chosen solution.
relevant area of work. Participants from mentor
cities will need to understand the roles and Implementing (‘learning’) city: aims to improve
responsibilities of colleagues to be mentored in the selected aspects of its work on the relevant theme.
implementing city, particularly if their jobs are not To achieve change, it has to be open to new ideas
identical. and able to reflect on them, recognise the need for
change and be confident in leading it. It must be
Early face-to-face contact between them is able to harness local stakeholder support and get
important. A group training and discussion appropriate managers and policymakers on board
workshop will help both parties to develop trust, in discussions, in visits and, crucially, to buy into and
understand each others’ needs and talk through the help take forward the action plan created during the
challenges ahead. It will also help them develop the process.
skills needed for this type of project: the mentoring
approach, collecting and analysing data, including Expert facilitators: advise partner cities on how
interviews, and action planning. to apply CITIES GROW methodology to get good
results, both in specific plans for local change and in
As a common framework for their dialogue, both benchmarking for EU-wide use. They also link up the
participants assess themselves against an agreed work of all cities in a thematic cluster and make sure
benchmark or standard of good practice. This the project ends with benchmarks that are tested,
includes looking carefully at the political, social and user-friendly and reliable.
economic context in which their cities operate. The
implementing city then consults colleagues in its Project coordinator: ensures that the project
own administration, and other local stakeholders, runs smoothly by liaising with all project partners,
to get an initial view on where it needs to improve. organising meetings and visits and dealing with
communications and finances.

City-to-city mentoring – helping partner cities to implement change 5

Preparing for mutual learning: the HOW CITIES GROW BENCHMARKS WORK:
benchmark AN ILLUSTRATION

A EUROCITIES benchmark is an agreed standard Benchmark theme: Promoting appropriate migrant
of good practice for cities Europe-wide (see box). participation in local labour markets through
Developed jointly by independent experts and partnerships
practitioners in the field, it draws on a range of
evidence and is tested in real-life situations. It sets Integrating Cities standard
out key factors for success in the given thematic
area. The city works with partners to ensure that the local
labour market takes full advantage of all the skills and
To inform their initial discussions, each city gathers competencies that migrants bring and that migrants,
evidence, including statistics, policies and project especially the young, are assisted to get appropriate
examples, to see how far it goes to meeting each training and employment.
key factor. They then use the benchmark as a
diagnostic tool to assess their own strengths and The following, shown for illustration, is one of 10 key
weaknesses. Integrating Cities online tools explain factors in the benchmark necessary for a city to realise
how to do this. the standard above.

Format of CITIES GROW benchmarks Key factor 3: Coordination of those providing
services to migrants
Each benchmark begins with the ‘Integrating
Cities standard’ for its work area — a headline There is a structured relationship between the city,
summarising best practice for cities to aim for. It those providing services to refugees, local employers,
then lists key factors — critical issues which cities educational institutions and employment agencies
need to address if they want to reach this European that enables coordination and planning of services.
standard. For each key factor, there is:
Rationale
• a brief rationale, saying why this factor is key
to success in achieving the standard Pathways into employment need to be established,
maintained and reviewed regularly. These involve
• guide questions to help users check whether organisations providing resources, information,
the factor is present in their own city training and employment and so they all need to work
together and coordinate their efforts.
• examples to show how other cities in Europe
have addressed the factor. Guide questions

Does the city have agreements in place with local
employers, educational institutions and employment
agencies?

Does the city have a structured relationship with
those providing services to refugees?

Are there regular meetings or other arrangements
to coordinate and plan employment services for
refugees and migrants?

Good practice examples

The key factor is illustrated with examples of successful
actions in two or three European cities.

6 Cities GroW 2017-2019 proforma which contains standard headings that
can be adapted to local requirements and offers
City-to-city study visit advice on, for instance, setting targets, managing
risk, communications and monitoring and review.
The first visit in the CITIES GROW mentoring
process is the visit of the implementing city to the In this further work to develop the action plan, the
mentor city. The purpose of this visit is to allow implementing city will want to consult relevant city
the implementing city to see the mentor’s good departments and outside partners. It should aim
practice in action and to understand its context. to include as many local stakeholders as possible
The implementing city can also explore what including frontline staff, community groups and
challenges the mentor city has faced and how they service users in order to get initial ‘buy in’ for the
have overcome these. The visit can also provide plan as well as spark interest in the forthcoming
inspiration and understanding on how to go about mentoring visit.
planning for change back home and how to build an
implementation plan. When drawing up its action plan, the implementing
city, supported by the mentor and the facilitator,
To assess how far the approaches of one city might should ask itself:
transfer to another, both mentor and implementing
city need to think about what external constraints • How will the proposed actions make a
and opportunities exist that frame and influence difference?
the choices they make. These might include social,
political and economic conditions that are outside • Will they really move the city closer to
the city’s control but which nevertheless need to achieving its overall aim for change?
be taken into account. Assessing what these are,
and how conditions differ, potentially, between the • Do they complement one another well?
mentor and implementing city will be crucial when • What are the risks to completing this action
trying to work out if an approach adopted in city
A will work in city B, and what, if anything, might plan and how should these be tackled?
need to be adapted and changed. This is why the
CITIES GROW toolkits include a checklist of context Setting the scene for change locally:
factors for the cities to consider early on in the the mentoring visit
process, preferably before or at the early stages of
the learning visit. In the second phase of the mentoring process, the
implementing (learning) city organises a visit for
Hosting a visit offers benefits for the mentor too. their mentor city partner. This is the core of the
Showcasing its practice to other cities interested mentoring process and what leads to a concrete
in the same area of work, with discussion between revised action plan that will be endorsed by local
visitors and local officers, can raise the profile of stakeholders and implemented in the implementing
their work and help both sides to learn. city.

Study visits prepare the ground for the second phase The mentoring visit helps to deepen the mentor’s
of the mentoring process — the action planning and understanding of the implementing city. Interviews
mentoring visit. and discussions give visitors an opportunity to ask
probing questions and understand the issues from
Planning for change: actions and the perspective of those who are affected by policy
activities or help to shape it. Ideally, the visit should include:

Based on the results of the study visit, and taking • seeing projects in action
into account the needs analysis, the mentor and the • face-to-face interviews with city officers,
facilitator will help the implementing city draft a
preliminary action plan mapping out a pathway for politicians and managers
change. The city can use its own planning tools or it • meetings with community representatives and
might find the Integrating Cities online tools helpful
for this task. These include an action planning service users
• workshops with other local stakeholders or a

local support network.

City-to-city mentoring – helping partner cities to implement change 7

The mentoring visit is more than a means to The implementing city and mentoring city will
gather information and exchange ideas. It could submit the draft action plan to principal local
help to change attitudes locally among a range stakeholders to get their comments, buy-in and
of colleagues and stakeholders and win their informal endorsement. Their feedback will inform
commitment to tackling the gaps or barriers that further revisions by the implementing city and
have been identified. visiting team.

Throughout their visit, the mentoring city and visiting Following through: the implementation
colleagues will conduct an interactive enquiry to find phase
out about current practice in the implementing city
whilst working with implementing city colleagues to The mentoring relationship: Sustaining this link
explore options for improvement. after a visit can be important for the implementing
city as it begins to turn its plan into action. Regular
CITIES GROW MENTORING APPROACH: informal contact online or by phone between
MULTIPLE USES mentor and implementing city will help to keep
up the momentum of change, especially if actions
The CITIES GROW mentoring process is an effective meet obstacles. If this mentoring method is being
means of city-to-city learning across national borders, used by a network of cities working on the same
with extra benefits when working in a larger group to theme, they can keep in touch remotely to learn
share ideas and expertise. Besides this transnational from one another’s experiences and suggest ways
use, CITIES GROW toolkits can also be used for: to deal with challenges.

• self-assessment within a single city so that Concluding the mentoring process: Whether the
departments can share viewpoints, review mentoring is being used in a bilateral partnership
progress, identify priorities for further or by a cluster of cities, a final meeting provides
development or promote existing good the opportunity to reflect on what all parties have
practice among city departments learned, so partners may want to build this into
their project timetable. At this meeting, whether its
• collecting baseline evidence for monitoring and action plan is completed or not, the implementing
evaluation against which a city can then check city can review progress in achieving its objectives or
progress moving closer to the benchmark standard. A closing
event is also an opportunity to tell a wider range of
• checking how far the city meets national or stakeholders about project results, giving individual
local authority quality standards or quality cities a platform to celebrate their achievements
marks and good practice.

• comparing the practice of cities nationally
and then sharing the findings with officers,
politicians or other stakeholders.

Whilst a benchmark is not essential for these tasks of
self-appraisal and review, cities may find it valuable
as an external standard to which officers and local
partners can refer and aspire.

The mentoring relationship can also be adapted, for
example, with two mentors from each city or from
different cities. This mentoring method could also
work within a single country, in a region or cluster
of local authorities or in a wider network of people
working in neighbouring countries. It can even be
used for mutual development between external
service providers to cities or between civil society
organisations in the city.