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Integration Department

Integration is more controversial and normatively charged than almost any other term. As a department, we contribute to making the debates more objective. To this end, we are in constant dialogue with political and administrative decision-makers and civil society organizations. We research integration processes and policies and always keep an eye on the integration achievements of migrants, their children and social institutions. The consistent inclusion of transnational and intersectional perspectives is also important to us. We take the nation-state lens off integration and family policy and collect data that enables a broader perspective.

We conduct research where public discourse looks the other way and legislators have leeway. In this way, we identify opportunities and help to improve the integration process.

Prof. Dr. Magdalena Nowicka, Head of the Integration Department

Name 1 — Prof. Dr. Magdalena Nowicka
Head of Integration Department

Dr. Niklas Harder,
Co-Head of Integration Department

Places and policies of conviviality: Projects in this focus area ask what makes Germany and certain places attractive and worth living in and how intersectoral challenges are tackled
Integration policy and policy advice: We investigate how integration policies influence integration processes and social participation. Our research takes place in dialog with politics, administration and civil society.
Methods of integration research: We closely follow methodological developments in international research, apply promising approaches in our own studies and contribute to their further development, particularly with regard to qualitative longitudinal studies and multimodal survey methods.

Conceptual and practical work on the term "migration background" as well as advising the public administration on this topic.(Child interpreters - cultural and language mediation in school contexts, understanding politics, trusting politicians, participating in politics, cross-generational integration processes)
Work on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to border closures and the effects on the organization of care and the impact of affected families. (Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic-related travel restrictions on the affected families in Germany, care in times of the pandemic)
Investigation of the living situation of women, especially single parents, as well as ideas of masculinity and femininity among young people.(Cross-generational integration processes, How many forced marriages are there in Germany?, Friendship, partnership and family)
Establishing a transnational perspective on the lifeworlds of people with a history of migration; among other things by developing new items and feeding them into surveys (e.g. DeZIM.panel and FReDA).
Acquisition and implementation of projects for national integration reporting.(First report on indicator-based integration monitoring, integration reports 2024 and 2026)

In the area of qualitative methods, the focus is on developing skills in the field of visual, creative, art-based and participatory research instruments. These serve as a supplement to traditional survey methods such as narrative or expert interviews.