Eight mission-driven organisations working towards refugee inclusion in the UK took part in the latest edition of our training course, Lean Impact for Scale.

Every day, thousands of people are displaced by conflicts, disasters, climate change and the risk of persecution. According to UNHCR, as of November 2022, there were over 231,000 refugees in the UK and 127,000 pending asylum applications. Once they are granted refugee status and other forms of protection, refugees receive significantly reduced support, facing substantial hurdles integrating into society.

Over ten weeks, the Lean Impact for Scale Training Programme helped these impactful organisations develop their scaling strategies and iteratively develop or refine solutions for scale so that, ultimately, more refugees can access housing, income, education, community, and what they need to rebuild their lives in the UK.

Meet the cohort

Breaking Barriers

A specialist refugee employment charity that enables refugees to build new lives, step by step.

They welcome refugees into meaningful employment with one-to-one advice and guidance, education, and training. Helping people find financial independence, purpose and identity through work. Together, they’ll forge innovative partnerships and share knowledge to inspire more social impact.

Since its founding in 2015, it has supported more than 2,300 refugees, and over 80% have achieved employment, education, or volunteering outcomes.

Imix

They work to amplify the words and stories of those affected by the immigration system. Everything they do seeks to challenge and humanise the often-hostile narrative on migration and displacement. 

As a team of communications experts, they seek to resource and build the sector’s capacity to speak confidently about issues that affect them, their projects and campaigns, and their vision for a fairer immigration system. 

They have developed guides that give detailed advice on effectively communicating about migration, whether promoting an organisation’s work or telling an individual’s story.

Migrateful

An organisation that works with refugees and migrants on their journey to employment and integration, supporting them in running their own cookery classes.

The idea started after a group of qualified women who were unemployed because of legal and linguistic barriers and their qualifications not being recognised in the UK. When asked about the skills they could share with the group, many said they could cook.

Since 2017, they have worked with almost 50,000 participants and trained more than 90 chefs.

Screen Share

A charity that exists to support, inform, and advocate for digital inclusion for refugees and asylum seekers across the UK, with the aim of ending refugee digital exclusion in the country.

Digital exclusion is experienced widely and disproportionately by refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK. It remains a major challenge as they seek to rebuild their lives, stay in touch with family and friends, and get on in the UK.

They provide a specialist, environmentally-friendly solution at no cost to the recipient or partner organisation by collecting donated electronic devices, refurbishing them with new hardware and software, and passing them on to a refugee referred by one of their partner organisations, inviting them to join our other programmes.

The Bike Project

A charity that collects second-hand bikes, refurbishes them, and donates them to refugees and people seeking asylum in London and Birmingham, UK. The project began because the charity believes no one should have to choose between eating a square meal and catching public transport.

A bike helps refugees access food banks, legal advice, healthcare, education, and employment opportunities. 

To date, they have donated more than 11,000 bikes, saving more than £11.8 million on transport costs to refugees.

Upbeat Communities

An organisation supporting those seeking sanctuary since 2005. They believe a good social network is one of the best resources refugees can have to help them settle in their new home.

Working mainly in Derby, UK, they began by giving practical help and support to refugees and asylum seekers, rapidly growing into projects that built cohesion among the community.

Stand and Be Counted Theatre 

Founded in 2010, they are a group of creative professionals and artists committed to working with and for people seeking sanctuary in the UK and internationally.

SBC Theatre is the UK’s first and leading Theatre Company of Sanctuary, committed to working with and for people seeking sanctuary (refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants). We proudly sit at the intersection of arts, culture & social activism. Through a rigorous and adventurous co-creation programme, we provide thousands of people seeking sanctuary with regular, long-term opportunities and events in order to celebrate, platform, and ensure equality of opportunity.

Springboard Youth Academy

An organisation working to bridge the gap to provide young refugees with the support lacking in the mainstream school system. 

Refugee and asylum-seeking young people who have made the difficult journey to the UK are saddled with many challenges common to start a life somewhere new. Though they are required to attend school, they are often not provided with the language and psycho-social support necessary to succeed in their new circumstances.

Springboard provides them with holistic support, including participatory learning, life skills related to settling in the UK, and holistic support in the form of wellbeing support to improve their mental health, advocacy to help them access services, one-to-one mentoring to encourage pathway planning, and sports and field trips to boost their physical health and teamwork skills.