Experimental Design
The eligible population for the study and their main characteristics: Female immigrants from outside the EU who are recipients of the Minimum Income schemes, either the national one (IMV) or the one administered by the region of Murcia (RBI).
The expected sample for the study and sample size: About 383 individuals in the treatment and in the control group. We expect that the individuals in the experiments are statistically not different from the population of interest.
Process of the selection of study sample and recruitment: We aim to start from the group of non-native women (preferably non-EU) residing in the Community of Murcia in a regular circumstance, recipients of the IMV or the RBI Basic Insertion Income.
Recruitment process: The first contact will be done by telephone with subsequent face-to-face sessions in groups in next meetings. If available, the first contact will be reinforced by email, by telephone or even individualized session if necessary.
Main data sources: There is a pre-treatment survey for all participants, and a post-treatment survey. In addition, administrative data on the participants will be provided by the Ministry and the region of Murcia.
Data collection process: The data collection will be done by Fundación CEPAIM, in collaboration with an academic team at the university of Murcia. All participants will be surveyed.
Duration and timeline: The whole process of data collection and data processing will be done between January and July 2023.
Data confidentiality, storage, and ownership: The data will be collected by CEPAIM and the researchers will only have access to anonymized data. The data will be kept and destroyed five years after collection.
Potential attrition: If it is not possible to reach the targeted number of people in the project through the regular procedure, the selection may be opened to non-native women who receive other public benefits of a periodic nature (RAI, unemployment benefit, etc). If the necessary sample is not reached even in that case, we may incorporate the profile of national/EU women receiving IMV/RBI.
A. INITIAL INTERVENTION/SOCIAL SUPPORT
a. An initial diagnosis from social work in the areas of: 1. material resources (financial resources and habitat/housing), 2. social relations and health (family unit, health and social integration), 3. psychosocial factors (perception of the situation, self-esteem, habits and culture), 4. capacities (labor and social skills).
b. Social inclusion itinerary: preparation, follow-up and individualized evaluation.
c. Referrals in the event of at-risk situation (minors at risk, gender violence, utility cuts and eviction).
d. Management and assessment of economic incentives to achieve objectives.
B. DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC SKILLS
a. Group sessions on “Creating solutions” for psychosocial care.
b. Individual sessions on “Appreciative inquiry” for individual psychosocial support.
C. KNOWLEDGE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT
a. Linguistic mediation. Translation and interpretation sessions.
b. Group sessions on "Getting to know my neighborhood", for contextualization and knowledge of the territory.
c. Group sessions on "Conflict resolution" for positive conflict resolution.
d. Face-to-face group sessions (“Meeting spaces”) for the formation of citizenship.
D. DIGITAL SKILLS
a. Sessions with online training (“Meeting spaces”), for the development of citizenship.
b. Digital inclusion. Access and guidance on the use of electronic devices.
c. Ongoing training, online with the support of a tutor in the classroom, divided into four blocks:
i. Use of information in the digital context
ii. Use of digital resources in life contexts
iii. Development and exercise of citizenship in the digital context
iv. Use of digital resources for groups in digital exclusion
Compensation and incentive: Both groups will receive a total compensation of 475€ for the participation in the experiment. It consists of 50€ for completing the initial questionnaire, and the rest of the compensation for taking parts in all the activities and completing the final questionnaire (treatment), and for completing the final questionnaire (control).
Level of randomization and clustering: Individual randomization, no clustering.
Treatment assignment conditions: The assignment to treatment and control is done after the individuals have accepted to participate in the intervention, and at that point they are committed to continue in the intervention.
Randomization process and stratification. The stratification is done by the town of residence. In the case of cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, it is done by the neighborhood or district of residence. The baseline data for characteristics is the administrative data of the Ministry.
The implementing agency will be Foundation CEPAIM with the help of the University of Murcia. This is a centralized process with trained providers that are sent at random to the different location for individual meetings, so no systematic heterogeneities are expected.