How Afara Can Be Used to Co-design a New Integration Programme
Integration programmes are more likely to address real barriers when the people expected to use them help define the problem, shape the solution and evaluate the results. Afara offers organisations a way to bring relevant professional expertise into this process.
Municipalities, nonprofit organisations, educational institutions and employment-service providers invest resources in programmes intended to support migrant inclusion and participation.
Yet developing an effective programme requires more than identifying a target population and selecting activities.
An organisation may provide career counselling when participants need clearer access to employers. It may offer information sessions when the main problem is navigating existing services. It may expand training opportunities without first understanding why people cannot attend.
These possibilities cannot be resolved through assumptions.
Before introducing a new programme, organisations need evidence about the problem they intend to address and meaningful participation from the people affected.
That is the purpose of co-design.
What does co-design mean in practice?
Co-design is a structured process in which service users, relevant stakeholders and programme professionals participate in developing a solution.
It goes beyond asking people to comment on a programme that has already been designed.
Participants should have meaningful opportunities to identify problems, influence priorities, examine possible solutions and contribute to decisions within an agreed scope.
The European Commission's 2025 analysis of migrant participation in integration policymaking emphasises the importance of involving migrants and migrant organisations in the design, implementation and evaluation of relevant policies.
Read the European Commission's analysis.
For an organisation developing a programme, co-design should therefore be treated as part of the planning and decision-making process, not merely as a consultation exercise.
A practical example: Designing an employment integration programme
Consider a hypothetical Finnish municipality preparing a programme to help foreign-born professionals transition into employment relevant to their qualifications.
The municipality has identified a potential service gap but has not established its causes.
Possible explanations include limited employer networks, difficulties understanding recruitment practices, recognition of overseas qualifications, language requirements or inadequate coordination between existing support providers.
The municipality should not assume which explanation is correct.
It could commission a structured research and co-design assignment through Afara to investigate the problem and develop a programme that can be tested.
Here is how the assignment could work.
Stage 1: Define the problem and establish the evidence
The first stage is a diagnostic assessment.
Before conducting workshops or recruiting programme participants, the organisation and the selected experts agree on the central questions.
Who is the programme intended to support? What evidence shows that a problem exists? Which services already address it? What decisions must the proposed research inform?
The assessment may draw on existing programme evaluations, relevant administrative data, published research and interviews with service providers.
Where appropriate, Afara can help identify expertise in social policy research, labour-market integration, stakeholder analysis and programme evaluation.
Expected output: A diagnostic brief defining the problem, available evidence, knowledge gaps and questions requiring further investigation.
This establishes a basis for designing the programme rather than immediately proposing activities.
Stage 2: Engage the people affected
The next stage involves structured engagement with the intended participants and other relevant stakeholders.
For an employment integration programme, this could include jobseekers, employed professionals, employers, employment advisers, educational institutions and community organisations.
The research should include people who have not participated successfully in existing programmes, not only those already engaged with service providers.
Depending on the assignment, Afara could support participant recruitment planning, interviews, facilitated discussions and multilingual engagement.
Participation must be voluntary, accessible and based on clear information about how contributions will be used.
Where appropriate, organisations should budget for participants' time, interpretation, accessibility needs and practical participation costs.
Expected output: A research summary identifying recurring needs, differences between participant groups, service barriers and potential opportunities for improvement.
The findings should make clear which conclusions are supported by the evidence and which remain hypotheses.
Stage 3: Co-design possible solutions
Once the evidence has been assessed, the organisation can convene co-design sessions involving intended participants and relevant delivery stakeholders.
The purpose is to develop and assess possible programme components.
For instance, the group may examine whether the proposed programme should include employer introductions, sector-specific orientation, professional mentoring, assistance navigating qualification requirements or better coordination between existing services.
These are options for consideration, not predetermined solutions.
Facilitated sessions should examine feasibility, accessibility, institutional responsibilities, resource requirements and potential unintended effects.
Participants also need to understand which decisions they can influence and which remain the responsibility of the commissioning organisation.
Expected output: A proposed programme model identifying its intended beneficiaries, service components, delivery responsibilities and the evidence supporting each design choice.
This stage is where co-design differs from simply gathering feedback. Participants contribute to shaping the proposed solution before it is finalised.
Stage 4: Develop a pilot that can be tested
A co-designed proposal should be translated into an operational plan.
Rather than launching a large programme immediately, the organisation may choose to test it through a smaller pilot.
The pilot plan should establish eligibility criteria, recruitment procedures, participating organisations, delivery activities, staffing, budget, duration and reporting arrangements.
It should also explain what successful implementation would look like.
For an employment integration pilot, possible measures could include programme enrolment, attendance, completion, successful referrals to relevant services, participant-reported usefulness and progression to appropriate training or employment.
The measures must match the programme's objectives, and data collection must be proportionate, lawful and practical.
Expected output: A pilot implementation plan with clear responsibilities, agreed measures, a timetable and a budget.
Stage 5: Evaluate results and improve the programme
Co-design does not end when the programme launches.
Evaluation is needed to understand whether the pilot was implemented as intended and whether it produced the expected improvements.
An evaluation may examine participation, participant experiences, delivery costs, implementation difficulties and observed outcomes.
Where baseline information or a suitable comparison is unavailable, the evaluation should avoid attributing changes to the programme without sufficient evidence.
Feedback from participants and frontline professionals can help identify necessary adjustments.
Expected output: A pilot evaluation report, lessons learned and recommendations for continuation, redesign or wider implementation.
The organisation can then make a more informed decision about whether additional investment is justified.
What is Afara's role in the process?
Afara is an expert service-delivery function operated by Think Africa. It can help an organisation identify relevant professional expertise and structure an assignment around an agreed problem.
For integration programme development, the required expertise may span social and public policy research, community engagement, programme design, facilitation, project management and evaluation.
The form of engagement depends on the scope and responsibilities involved.
Facilitated introduction: Afara helps identify a suitable expert who then agrees on a direct engagement with the client.
Think Africa-managed assignment: Think Africa contracts with the client and coordinates an agreed assignment using suitably qualified experts.
Consortium or project collaboration: Think Africa and other organisations may participate under a separately negotiated arrangement defining responsibilities, deliverables, payment and accountability.
For complex programmes involving several disciplines or delivery partners, a managed assignment or properly constituted collaboration may be appropriate.
The contracting structure, available experts, professional roles and project costs must be confirmed before work begins.
Afara does not replace the municipality's statutory responsibilities, institutional decision-making or applicable public procurement procedures.
Protecting participants and maintaining accountability
Integration programmes may involve people whose personal circumstances require careful handling.
Research and programme design must therefore address privacy, informed participation, confidentiality, accessibility and potential conflicts of interest.
The commissioning organisation and service providers should agree who is responsible for personal data processing, what information is necessary, who may access it and how records will be handled.
Programme participants should not be required to disclose unnecessary sensitive personal information.
The organisation should also distinguish between community consultation, professional expert advice and decisions reserved for public authorities.
These safeguards are essential to responsible programme design.
How to start an Afara co-design assignment
An organisation considering an integration programme can begin with a request that describes the intended population, the problem it wants to address and the decisions it needs to make.
The request should also identify any existing research, expected programme location, available funding, important deadlines and relevant institutional partners.
It is not necessary to have a completed programme design.
In fact, commissioning research and co-design before deciding on all programme activities allows the evidence to influence the solution.
Afara can assess the proposed request, consider relevant expertise and help define an appropriate professional assignment.
From community consultation to informed programme design
An integration programme should not be judged only by the number of workshops held, people consulted or activities delivered.
The more important questions concern whether the programme addresses a documented need, can be delivered responsibly and produces meaningful results.
Co-design creates an opportunity to develop that understanding before committing substantial resources.
It allows community experience, professional expertise and institutional knowledge to contribute to a shared programme design, while preserving clear responsibilities and evidence-based decision-making.
Planning a new integration, employment, inclusion or community participation programme?
Submit a programme research or co-design request to Afara.
Afara connects organisations with relevant expertise through Think Africa's structured professional service model.
