|
Intercultural cities: research
Objectives
The Intercultural cities joint programme has developed a methodology for reviewing and enhancing local integration efforts based on the concepts of interculturality and diversity advantage. These concepts focus on public discourse, perceptions of diversity and community relations; cultural literacy and intercultural innovation as key components of good governance and policy-making in diverse communities; and mediated intercultural mixing in public space and organisations.
In 2011 a research component was added to the programme to try and verify the following hypotheses:
1. that diversity represents, under certain conditions, an advantage for city development
2. that a comprehensive, strategic approach to urban diversity management, based on the principles of interculturality as defined in the ICC programme documents, helps to minimise the costs of diversity and brings tangible social and economic benefits for cities.
Hypothesis a) has been dealt with primarily through literature
review
Hypothesis b) has been dealt with through a two-stage research process:
- a quantitative correlation study based on the Intercultural cities INDEX and other data sources seeking to establish whether there is, on an aggregate level, a general link between the level of intercultural policy development (as defined by the INDEX) and positive outcomes for cities, and identify areas where such link is most likely to exist.
- qualitative research/ case studies to look into some of the areas where possible relationship exists between intercultural policy and positive outcomes for cities and study the nature of this relationship.
Another objective of the research component is to
involve universities and researchers from cities members
of the Intercultural cities network in the local debates
and contribute to the development evidence-based
intercultural policies.
|
+33 388 41 32 19