Ahmed completed all participation hours in 15 months’ time
Work Symposium on Participation and Work in Integration
Between the Borders: collaboration with Museum Arnhem
The flipside perspective: about NewBees INC. and inclusion with employers.
Rouba Saada, coordinator of the new NewBees team in Purmerend talks about her work...
Ahmed completed all participation hours in 15 months’ time
Between Borders: Collaboration with Museum Arnhem
Introduction NewBees in 2023
Dear Reader,
We are pleased that you are reading our Annual Report for 2023. Since our inception, we have used the annual report to share what we do, why we do it, and how we are doing. Also this year, which was an eventful one. The world around us was marked by great challenges.
The war in Ukraine, which is the country of some of our colleagues and many participants, continues unabated. Wars broke out in countries such as Sudan and Gaza, where other participants and colleagues have their roots. On a more local scale, there were some shifts in the domestic political landscape, convincing us more than ever of the significance of our work toward an inclusive world and workplace, where every talent counts.
We consistently rely on our core values. We provide useful solutions that can be put to practice straight away. Our focus is always on talent, because a diverse array of talents benefits us all, and we treat everyone equally. In this way, we are always close to the people at the focal point of our mission towards an inclusive world and workplace. Although the (Dutch) Civic Integration Act came into effect in 2022, we saw many new participants entering the program, especially in the second half of 2023. We had conversations with over 1379 newcomers and these people joined in a customized participation program based on their talents, their wishes and their dreams. In addition, we specifically provided guidance to young newcomers to discover their talents and to use them for the benefit of others. You are welcome to read more about the activities they engaged in and their impact in this annual report.
This is how in 2023, NewBees developed into an organization where, together with colleagues from 12 countries, we championed newcomers in over 60 Dutch municipalities. These NewBees colleagues together invested more than 70,000 working hours in 2023 and consequently, all the participants together participated for 3,200,000 hours. People made sandwiches for school children in disadvantaged neighborhoods, installed solar panels, interacted with neighborhood police officers, worked in stores and offices, were active in community centers, picked apples for the food bank and much more. Above all, participants made many meaningful connections with other people, with agencies in the area, and with our colleagues. This is how they all discover their own unique path, guided by their talents. With the “chronic optimism” inherent in NewBees, we saw our impact increase, and our colleagues’ enthusiasm and creativity blossom.
This enthusiasm and proven impact of our organization resulted in a decent investment by the end of 2023 from new impact partners who share our mission. This investment will allow us to even further expand our services in the coming years, reaching even more newcomers, which will enable us to work toward an inclusive world and workplace together. The narratives and statistics associated with the year 2023 can be found in the subsequent pages. The reverse side of this annual report reveals information about our employer-service provider, NewBees INC., who endeavors to establish an inclusive environment both in the world and in the workplaces of the companies, which our members aspire to join eventually.
Enjoy reading!
Annemiek Dresen, Dorien Marres en Rob Schipper
An inclusive world and workplace, where every talent counts
Mission
NewBees aspires to create an inclusive world and workplace, because we believe that a diverse array of talents benefits us all.
Vision
NewBees provides to newcomers direct participation in society and practical guidance to employment, such as through the Integration Act, together with municipalities. NewBees INC. provides guidance and support to employers in the practical implementation of a more inclusive workplace.
As an inclusive employer with a diverse workforce, we set the example (50% of our colleagues have a refugee history themselves), by providing practical solutions, and by providing transparency with regard to the impact made by us.
We consistently rely on our core values:
• Practical: at NewBees you can get started straight away, whether you are new to the Netherlands and have just moved to a city, or are an employer looking to make the workplace a little more inclusive.
• Close by: we are always within reach and easy to talk to. Our experienced colleagues know how to motivate both newcomers and employers.
• Equal: we position ourselves as a partner to everyone: newcomers, civil society, municipalities, and employers.
• Talent is always the focal point: we see the strength of each person, and know how to tap into talent in such a way as to create added value for people and society.
NewBees participation for newcomers
NewBees INC. inclusion for employers
Inclusive companies
Inclusive integration for municipalities
An inclusive society
Active citizens, ready to work
Awad Participant in the Z-route Leiden
Impact in 2023
“ From our inception, we have been measuring the impact of our work on participants, employers, the government, our own organization, and society as a whole. This is how we learn what works well and where even further improvement is needed. The 2023 impact measurement shows that NewBees’ approach is effective: practical, based on talent and equality, results in higher well-being and better integration. We are very proud of this.”
Annemiek Dresen
Making and measuring impact
In this annual report, we publish our results based on the impact our work has created. The reason why we do this is because, as a social enterprise, we are convinced that our results reach beyond counting the euros spent or the number of people we have supported in a traineeship. Instead, it all comes down to the impact our work has on the people who do traineeship, on the employers they add value to, and on the society they live in. By only giving consideration to the annual figures, it almost seems as if the above impact is irrelevant, when in fact it is paramount. That is why we present our report in an integrated way. In this way we show the financial and social impact of our work as well as the impact on the community.
What exactly is impact?
The impact measured by NewBees comprises the ultimate effect of NewBees’ work on people. For example, the participants’ increased well-being or language development. We measure this for all stakeholders involved: participants, companies where traineeships are specified, the NewBees organization itself, the government and society.
Resources – Activities – Results – Impact
In order to reflect how our impact comes about, we use the impact-pathway model from the Framework for Impact Statements. This is based on: InputOutput - Outcome - Impact. At NewBees, we call this: Resources - Activities - Outcomes - Impact. We are presenting this annual report on the basis of this model. We will explain each of the steps in the model in the next four chapters. This ultimately leads to NewBees’ impact in 2023. Financial information has been incorporated into the chapters and compared to the non-financial (or holistic) impact to show the real value of our impact.
Our impact measurement is scientifically based. In addition to the Framework for Impact Statements (FIS), we use the Impact Institute’s Integrated Profit & Loss Assessment Methodology (IAM Core), statistical analyses based on data from the European Social Survey (ESS), and both qualitative and quantitative research among NewBees stakeholders.
We measure our impact by stakeholder (participants, companies, NewBees, government, society) both for the entire organization and for each NewBees team. Through this measurement, we outline the intellectual, social and human capital of our way of working. We express these impacts in euros, allowing us to compare different impacts and put them into perspective. We show the level of social impact NewBees creates and provide visibility and tangibility to the relevance of our line of approach.
The Impact Institute
We have partnered with the Impact Institute in order to measure NewBees’ impact and to make it visible. The Impact Institute enables organizations to accomplish the impact economy by creating a common language for impact and developing the tools and training to use it in practice. www.impactinstitute.com
NewBees can achieve results only if the right resources are available. For example:
• Financial resources
• Employees
• Locations
RESOURCES ACTIVITIES
The use of these resources allows NewBees to carry out its activities such as our participation building blocks: intakes, workshops, neighborhood safaris, film education, personal coaching, etc. This involves expenses.
IMPACT
When measuring impact, we take it a step further and consider the change caused by the effect for different stakeholders. We do this according to a baseline scenario, meaning: what effect did NewBees have on participants versus non-participants.
RESULTS
These activities cause an effect in NewBees’ direct zone of influence and have a result, such as:
• The number of participants who participated in one of the participation building blocks at NewBees.
• The number of matches made in (volunteer) work.
Resources Investment in growth and quality
In 2023, NewBees continued its growth of recent years by expanding its services to more municipalities and by continuing to invest in the quality of our staff and our products. For example, we started two new teams in Alkmaar and Purmerend, and are organizing valuable participation in the Netherlands for increasingly more newcomers under the 2021 Integration Act. In addition, we continue to actively work on diversity and inclusion within all NewBees teams.
Over the past year, our teams organized a wide scale of valuable participation activities under the 2021 Integration Act. Our services were expanded to 60 municipalities, with two new teams starting in the Alkmaar and Purmerend regions in Q4. From team Zaanstad, we expanded to the OVER-gemeenten, (Oostzaan of Wormerland). In Nijmegen we achieved great results in the project for participants who had fled to the Netherlands due to the war in Ukraine. Upon completion of this project, this location closed in October 2023.
In order to maximize our impact, we invested in the quality of our employees, services and our products. A total of 71 employees, divided among the nine local NewBees teams and our headquarters team, were responsible for carrying out NewBees’ participation activities during shorter or longer periods of time in 2023. Together we have 12 different countries of origin and speak 13 different languages. Five volunteers moved up to paid positions at NewBees in 2023. Each local team has been supported by one of our three national regional coordinators since 2023. This ensures that the participants receive the greatest possible attention from the teams, and we can effectively administer our network on a national level.
In 2023, we also paid close attention to diversity and inclusion within all teams through the services of NewBees INC. For example, each team participated in a Deep-Dive session, which laid the foundation for continued conversations about these topics.
Always in learning mode: Rouba Saada talks about her work as coordinator of the new NewBees team in Purmerend
“NewBees was looking for a coordinator to start up the Purmerend location. I spoke with Inge Kaaijk, the North Holland operations coordinator, and with Dorien Marres our operations director. I hit it off with them both straight away.”
Tough start
“The first two months were tough. We started in the Library in Purmerend. A brand new NewBees team; while we still had to learn everything, 40 participants had already signed up. We held introductory interviews with everyone, learned to know the people. We moved into our own office, set everything up, and put groups together. The first film-education workshop was about Purmerend. Immediately after that we went on a neighborhood safari and visited the places from the film.”
Growth
“Everyone is enthusiastic and motivated. People are eager to learn and participate, preferably in a place that suits them. The first three groups have fully engaged in activities and we are now conducting introductory interviews with over 30 new participants. For this reason I am looking for new colleagues.”
Challenging job
“This position suits me perfectly. It is a challenging job, which is something I enjoy. My professional
qualities can grow in this position. I derive immense pleasure from interacting with the participants, colleagues, the other NewBees coordinators, with Inge, my manager. In my duties as a coordinator I need to organize many things, inspire my team and solve problems. I keep learning and like it: I am always in learning mode. Every day I meet interesting people.”
Good cooperation with the municipalities
“I also enjoy working with the case managers and policy advisors of the municipalities of Purmerend and Edam/Volendam. These municipalities provide for good communications and connections among all (social) organizations. This allows us to build robust networks and organize activities. For example, we recently organized a field day with Spurd, an organization for sports and recreation in Purmerend. They provided a fun workshop on sports and exercise. Afterwards, Spurd offered our participants free activities. Together we are looking at options for volunteer jobs at sports associations.”
So much talent
“During the sports day, a woman who was usually modest and shy during other activities spontaneously started to move about and enthusiastically participate. That’s what this is all about. NewBees’ programs encourage participants to discover their strengths, talents and abilities and increase their self-confidence. With my team I want to appropriately guide and support the newcomers in Purmerend, Edam and Volendam to find their way to a good life here, to a good job that suits their talents, skills and ambitions. I notice so much talent, it would be a shame if it goes to waste.”
NewBees opened two new locations in 2023: one in Purmerend for newcomers from Purmerend, Edam and Volendam in the Z-route and the B1-route, and one in Alkmaar for participants in Z-route and newcomers who are still covered by the former integration law.
Activities Focus on valuable participation and knowledge sharing
Our actions in 2023 were also focused on NewBees’ goal: to assist newcomers in actively participating in the Netherlands. This is accomplished through our participation building blocks, which include programs aimed at direct participation in society and practical help towards employment.
A significant part of our actions in 2023 were carried out under the 2021 Integration Act. In 60 municipalities, we deployed our building blocks to organize inclusive integration for participants from the Z-route and B1-route, as well as participants who specifically do a PSP or the LMPM (LaborMarket Participation Module) with us. Through Film Education, Neighborhood Safari’s, Theme Workshops, networking talks and (volunteer) work, they fulfill their participation obligation while building their future in the Netherlands in a pleasant and educational way. In 2023, we have developed two new building blocks called ‘Participation Close to Home’ and ‘Media in the Netherlands’. Over an eight-week cycle, participants work independently to promote their independence in the Netherlands and become familiar with a wide range of media resources.
Besides our civic-integration activities, we also support participants who are not obliged to integrate, such as people who have fled due to the war in Ukraine. In the project: ‘Direct Meedoen’, in collaboration with OpenEmbassy, we have been able to help many participants towards paid work.
For young newcomers, we organized specific activities that piqued their interest, enabling them too to immediately participate in the Netherlands and use their talents to improve society in small ways. We did this under the Social Service Time.
Knowledge sharing was another prominent aspect in 2023. In November, together with Divosa, NewBees organized a Work Symposium on Participation and Work in Integration. Over 200 civic-integration professionals gathered in Ede to share knowledge about the challenges and solutions within civic integration in 10 workshops. It turned out to be a very successful and inspiring meeting. We are also in the process of licensing our Online Platform, which we will use to make our method of participant administration and time registration also available to external organizations.
New participation building blocks designed through co-creation with the trainees Youssra El Kadi and Ashraf Rezek
Ashraf Rezek is studying Applied Psychology and Youssra El Kadi is studying Social Work, both at Hogeschool van Amsterdam. They did a five-month traineeship at NewBees in Leiden. During this traineeship they provided guidance to newcomers and did research on two new participation building blocks: ‘Media in the Netherlands’ and ‘Close to home’.
participants go out in their own neighborhood or hometown. They receive tailored tips on local amenities and community activities at the start. They make a personal plan focusing on what they themselves need in their lives such as: what things you can do with your children, where to play sports or where social or cultural activities take place. Sometimes participants form subgroups by neighborhood or area of interest. At the end, all experience is discussed and shared.
Youssra: “We first researched people’s needs. What do they like? What do they want to learn? The participants’ input was vital to designing this participation building block.”
Ashraf: “Every participant is different. There are people who read and write poorly, others speak five languages. That’s why NewBees develops participation programs that benefit everyone, based on people’s individual talents and ambitions.
Youssra: ‘Media in the Netherlands’ is an eightweek cycle in which participants find their own way through the plethora of media sources. They receive instructions and tailored advice at a starter group meeting. Everyone sets up a personal plan inspired by a list of links to various media channels on a variety of themes relevant to them, such as (local) news, cooking, culture, nature, etc. Participants work independently or in small groups and receive tips, tools and remote guidance during this period. They keep a weekly record of their activities and experiences. The group meets again in the last week for feedback and sharing their experience.
Ashraf: “The participation building block ‘Close to Home’ is also an eight-week cycle in which
Youssra: “Participants enjoy the flexibility: not coming to a class every week and working independently. The NewBees matchers will off course continue to motivate and inspire participants. Through WhatsApp groups we keep in touch and we still speak to each other every week during the other participation building blocks, and so there is room to ask how things are going and if everything is working out.”
Ashraf: “The activities close to home by the participants included going to the library, the zoo, the market, or to the doctor. Others participated in sports days at the community center. One participant went to explore new cities. He visited The Hague and Haarlem and took his son with him. Someone else invited his Dutch neighbors at home for a cup of coffee.”
Youssra: “Thanks to the participation building block Media in the Netherlands, people improve their digital skills and find useful information and inspiration on all kinds of topics. This makes it easier to find your way in Dutch society. During the feedback workshop, a young Eritrean who was very much into animals enthusiastically shared that these videos were the source of her Dutch animal vocabulary. Another participant who works in a restaurant shared that he had discovered interesting new recipes through the participation building block ‘Media in the Netherlands’.”
NewBees Traineeships Participation Building Blocks
Our pathways – the NewBees Traineeships - are customized and comprise flexibly deployable building blocks: Learning and experience modules that are inseparably connected, the daily activities, and the environment of participants. A customized learning plan is created for each newcomer, which consists of a combination of the building blocks. The building blocks are designed based on our years of experience with participation for and by newcomers.
Application
Newcomers under the new Integration Act are registered with us through the city. Other participants find us through partners or the network of the local NewBees team.
Intake
During the Intake, we get to know the participants, their talents, their experiences and ambitions. Together we create a customized learning plan and provide guidance through the plan.
Themed workshops
Learning interactively about working and living in the Netherlands. The themes are specified by the participants. For example: How do you write a cover letter, and what can you ask your local police officer?
Media in the Netherlands
Participants are introduced to Dutch media sources that allow them to independently find useful information to better understand Dutch society.
Network
meetings
Participants meet people from their area with the same studies, profession, hobby or interest.
PSP - Participation Statement Pathway
Three workshops introducing participants to Dutch core values: freedom, equality, solidarity and participation.
MAP - Labor Market & Participation Module
Eight workshops with eight themes on the Dutch labor market such as work culture, network building and vocational orientation plus 40 practical hours at a suitable workplace.
Neighborhood Safari
Exploring the neighborhood together or visiting local organizations: An interactive way to learn about the labor market and relevant places in the neighborhood or city.
Introduction
Introduction to a potential employer or (language) traineeship supervisor
Match
Match between the newcomer and the employer
Matching
Participants engage in (volunteer) work or (language) traineeship in line with their talents and ambitions.
Close to home
Participants rebuild their independence by actively participating in various activities and tasks at home.
Contract
Contract to formalize agreements
Working visit
Working visits to assess what improvements can be made and developed from both sides
Evaluation
Traineeship evaluation
Film Education
Participants watch videos together on a particular theme and discuss them. In this way, they create their own picture of the Netherlands in a fun way.
Certificate
At the end of the traineeship, or upon completion of a participation building block, participants are awarded a certificate. The purpose of the certificate is to allow participants to demonstrate what they have learned during their traineeship.
MDT (Social Service Time)
The MDT traineeship is part of the Social Service Time and is designed for newcomers between the ages of 17 and 30. Young people who are integrating in the Z-route participate in NewBees participation building blocks.
Results Customized quality participation and integration pathways
NewBees’ resources and efforts contribute to our results, which have an impact in our immediate zone of influence. An important result in 2023 was the substantially increased number of participants joining in with activities in civic integration in the Z-route and B1-route, and in the Participation Statement Pathway (PSP) and the Labor Market Participation Module (LMPM). In addition to civic integration, we offered people, who had fled the war in Ukraine, a program in which we linked them to and introduced them to paid jobs in their own environment, and we linked newcomers with ambitions to work in healthcare to jobs in healthcare.
NewBees’ traineeships are customized by participants and NewBees matchers, who together determine the most effective form and duration of the traineeship. For example, participants integrating under the new Civic Integration Act start a pathway of up to three years at NewBees, in which young participants do additional activities specifically aimed at them, for 6 months. Others complete their LMPM or PSP within a few gatherings.
In 2023, the first participant in the Z-route through NewBees completed his 800 participation hours. Many participants in Zaanstad and in Hoorn successfully completed their PSP. We made great matches and organized many Film Tutorials, Theme Workshops and Neighborhood Safaris. Besides more knowledge and
Our participants
skills among the participants, the new social contacts they gain during the group activities, and the personal guidance from our teams, are highly valuable.
This year we used a new measurement method in our impact measurement. As this is the first year that we have been able to collect full-year data on the activities of our participation building blocks Film Education and Neighborhood Safaris, LMPM and PSP, we are including this information for the first time.
On average, participants rate the NewBees traineeship with a mark 8.7. 94% of the respondents would recommend the NewBees traineeship to others. The majority of our participants are between 20 and 49 years old. The majority of participants are from Syria, including many with a Palestinian background. We also welcomed many Ukrainian, Eritrean, Afghan and Yemeni participants last year.
Ahmed fulfilled the participation requirement in 15 months’ time: taking part in 800 hours of participation activities. A huge achievement!
Ahmed: “I do activities every day. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I attend language classes at NLTraining. On Tuesday afternoons I visit the library and on Thursdays NewBees’ participation activities, such as film education, neighborhood safaris and theme workshops at the town hall. This way I get to know Dutch culture and history, and learn
practical things, such as how public transportation works, or the range of services offered at the town hall in the Netherlands. The NewBees neighborhood safaris helped me to get to know my city and region better. And thanks to my matcher Shatha’s expert guidance and her extensive network, I found appropriate volunteer work at community center de Kolk and community center Kleurrijk, where I met many people with whom I communicate in Dutch. Sometimes they help with my homework. I serve coffee or tea and I help with tidying and cleaning. Sometimes I cook. Everybody enjoys my soup.”
Although Ahmed has finished his integration, he wants to continue learning Dutch
“I have all kinds of ideas for work but first I need to speak Dutch well. That’s my greatest challenge. Once I master the language well, I hope to find a job in the commercial sector. At home I speak Arabic with my wife and my daughter Noor. They came to the Netherlands last February. Noor is seven and in group 3. It’s great to hear her speak Dutch. She is already correcting me on my Dutch!
Giving something back to Zaanstad, the city where Ahmed was welcomed, trusted and embraced
“I am from southern Yemen. In 1975, I moved to Saudi Arabia for work and stayed there for 44 years. When I turned 60, I had to quit my job, but I was not allowed to stay in Saudi Arabia. I could not go back to Yemen, so I came to the Netherlands. Here I was welcomed, trusted and embraced. Now I want to give something back to the country and in particular to Zaanstad, the city that has given me a great deal.”
The Participation Statement Pathway (PSP)
The Participation Statement Pathway (PSP) is a mandatory part of the civic integration and part of the Personal Plan for Integration and Participation (PPIP). The purpose of the PSP is to introduce the Dutch core values of freedom, equality, solidarity and participation.
At NewBees, the participation building block PSP is made up of 3 workshops: 1.) Core values of Dutch society; 2.) The constitution; 3.) Self-determination. The workshops are concluded with signing the participation statement and a certificate ceremony.
The NewBees matchers ensure that theory about general standards and values in the Netherlands is supported by specific examples
and practical exercises. They ask questions and initiate discussions that all resulted in a better understanding of the workings of Dutch society.
PSP ceremony, Zaanstad City Council chamber
Impact Customized pathways with participation building blocks and matching towards work
Our services have been supplemented by additional participation building blocks since 2022. These are used by our teams to specify the participation component of the Integration Act. As the participants we work with have only just moved to a city, and most have only just started learning Dutch, these participation building blocks are designed for people with limited knowledge of the Dutch language. The impact tool, which we use to measure our impact, has been adapted accordingly. This way, we not only measure our impact on participants doing (volunteer) work and traineeships, but also the impact of the other participation building blocks on our participants. This is the first year that we are reporting on this and we have derived some interesting conclusions.
Participants stay with NewBees longer
We welcomed a total of 1379 participants in our pathways last year. This is a substantial increase since 2022, when we provided guidance to 490 participants. A large part of the participants who now participate in our programs and participation building blocks stay with us for a long time: after all, they have three years’ time to complete their integration. 654 participants partake in such a long-term course. The remaining 725 people followed a shorter pathway: for example, a series of three workshops for the Participation Statement Pathway (PSP), or a LMPM (Labor Market Participation Module). The measurement methodology, designed together with Impact Institute, is not yet set up for short pathways like these. The measurement therefore only applies to the 645 participants who stay with us for a long time. The impact of the different participation building blocks is included in the measurement. We have reported the activities for the other 725 participants separately.
Impact of our results
NewBees organization
impact
8.231 (2022: € 8.641)
impact € 0 (2022: € 0)
Society
impact
impact
19.200 (2022: € 20.269)
12.904 (2022: € 1.782)
9.772 (2022: € 10.534)
impact
1.781 (2022: € 1.683)
Participation in the participation building blocks allows people to be matched to traineeships or volunteer work later on in their pathway
The 645 participants with the longer-term pathways, who we know well, have done shorter traineeship and volunteer pathways in 2023 than in 2022, because they often complete other participation building blocks at NewBees first. Also, many of them have not yet finished their traineeship or volunteering, as this continues for them beyond the year mark. Effects of this can be seen in the impact figures on participants and companies: both reap more benefits from longer traineeships and placements. The fact that the teams got to organize fewer long-term matches in 2023 is not surprising: participants who start at NewBees benefit from first following a number of other participation building blocks, such as neighborhood safaris and film education. In the upcoming period, we will be able to organize long-term matches for more participants who have gone through these participation building blocks, and participants who are already in the long-term match will be completing them.
Societal trends affect participants’ perceptions
Another difference compared to 2022 that we unfortunately must note is related to the sense of safety and feeling welcome in the Netherlands. These data are directly derived from input from our participants, and we cannot help but conclude that this has to do, at least in part, with the political trend in the Netherlands and the world. This is not a direct effect of NewBees’ work, but it does show that our role will become even more vital in the near future.
Between Borders: collaboration with Museum Arnhem
Manon Braat, curator of contemporary art at Museum Arnhem, has for a long time wanted to set up an exhibition around migration. This transpired into “Between Borders: Migration, Power and Borderless Imagination. What does it mean to leave everything behind and have to start all over elsewhere? Where are you welcome and where are you not? And when do you feel at home in another country? Artists and Arnhem citizens provide answers to these questions in this exhibition.
Highlight: the opening
Bastiaan: “Domenique and the students from ArtEZ, some themselves migrants in Arnhem, talked about the project, engaged in conversation with the participants and made drawings of their portraits. During other sessions, the participants made drawings themselves. NewBees matchers were always available to help with translation. The opening of the exhibition at Museum Arnhem, where the participants walked through the garden with their portraits in a special parade was a highlight.”
Impact on participants: From invisibility to the stage of visibility
Bastiaan: “The young people enjoyed being able to deal with something other than the asylum procedure, trauma, fear and survival. By being creative, they felt more freedom, were given the opportunity to come up with new ideas and asked questions they did not dare or could not ask before. Who am I? Where am I at? Where do I want to go? It fascinated them to get in touch with an art institution and artists, and to discover what a museum looks like inside and what being an artist in the Netherlands entails. It is great that these people are now immortalized in the permanent collection of Museum Arnhem! From invisible to the stage of visibility.”
Domenique Himmelsbach de Vries, one of the participating artists, started portraying people without an ID in 2013 to draw attention to stateless citizens. In collaboration with the team of NewBees Midden-Gelderland and students from ArtEZ University of the Arts, he created portraits of young refugees for this exhibition. This series is now included in the permanent collection of Museum Arnhem, which we are very proud of.
Bastiaan Kuijt, regional coordinator of NewBees Midden-Gelderland, says: “When Manon asked me if we could help, I immediately thought of the young people from the emergency shelter, a boat at the quay in Arnhem. We coordinated this with COA and invited the young people to NewBees.”
“I was surprised and moved by all the enthusiastic responses.” (Manon)
“We have had a pleasant collaboration and NewBees will do more projects with Museum Arnhem in the future. The museum also provides our participants with great volunteer work, especially for the young newcomers participating in the MDT traineeship.” (Bastiaan)
Impact on society
Manon: “Museums have not been representative of our diverse society for too long. Many people don’t come because they don’t recognize themselves in them. Their story is not being told. The opening of “Between Borders” was very well visited. I had never seen so many different people in the museum, including people who never visit museums. Hopefully they are now encouraged to return and become familiar with the museum.”
Impact of NewBees by stakeholder
Participants
While participating in activities at NewBees, the participants gain valuable skills. This is reflected in a substantial increase in Creation of Human Capital. Welfare improvement through language integration and people having control of own lives is substantial, yet this slightly decreased compared to 2022. This is due to the smaller number of longterm matches made in 2023, as well as the impact of the societal trend felt throughout the country.
Companies
NewBees mainly has a financial impact on the companies and organizations where participants do (volunteer) work or (language) traineeships: newcomers provide work, yet also cost time and attention to provide guidance and training, as one would expect from trainees. The impact created by NewBees’ work for companies is very positive and has increased significantly since 2022. However, we do notice that employers mention that they need to put more attention into providing guidance to their new employees, trainees and volunteers.
NewBees
The greatest impact of NewBees’ work on its own organization is through payments to employees. With 50% employed newcomer colleagues, NewBees provides these talented colleagues with immediate work and development opportunities. For all other employees, this also has a positive impact, as everyone makes new and a variety of contacts. With more employees in 2023, this impact has increased slightly overall.
Government
NewBees has an indirect impact on the government because increased job opportunities for participants results in reduced expenditure on benefits and increased tax revenues. It also leads to savings in spending on promoting participation in the labor market. The highest negative impact on government is the financial burden associated with implementing the NewBees traineeships for, mostly local, governments. This increased substantially in 2023 because more participants were provided guidance under the Integration Act.
Society
Participants’ increased job opportunities and sense of autonomy directly impacts those around them: their family members and other members of their households. As more participants were living alone in 2023, the overall impact on family members decreased slightly. The negative impact on society includes contributions from funds and other nongovernmental organizations to the NewBees organization for the performance of its activities. Although that amount remained about the same, it decreased as a percentage of revenue in 2023 by increasing the work we do and the positive impact we have on society.
Another impact on society that is prominent in the public debate is the perception of displacement in the labor market in relation to newcomers. This is not related to actual displacement, but a perception that is alive in society and much an item of discussion. This impact has been measured qualitatively by NewBees and Impact Institute, but is not directly related to the work of NewBees. For this reason, we will report this impact separately. We aim to reduce this negative impact by increasing the work we do and the positive impact we have on society. In 2022, this impact was about 5 million. This is less than in 2021, which is mainly explained by an increasingly tight labor market. In 2022, the impact was about 5 million.
NewBees’ impact on all stakeholders
By 2023, NewBees’ activities had tremendous added value for all our stakeholders. The positive impact associated with our work generously outweighs the resources invested in our methods and people. This shows that NewBees’ approach works: practical engagement, based on talent and equality, leads to higher well-being and better integration. This is something we are very proud of.
RESOURCES
56 employees
€ 1.421.991 in total sales
ACTIVITIES
Participation Building blocks and personal guidance
Expenses: € 1.368.250
IMPACT
FOR THE PARTICIPANT
Positive impact: € 29.493.000
Negative impact: € 1.052.100
• Increased well-being through work, language and cultural integration
• Income improvement
• Increase in work fitness
FOR THE GOVERNMENT
Positive impact: € 17.747.000
Negative impact: € 1.023.000
• Lower government spending
• Higher tax revenues
• More involved citizens
FOR NEWBEES’ ORGANIZATION
Positive impact: € 5.383.400
Negative impact: € 0
• Satisfied employees
• Payments to employees
• Personal development
• Many newcomers at NewBees engaged in work
FOR COMPANIES
Positive impact: € 6.390.950
Negative impact: € 1.164.750
• Improved reputation and customer satisfaction
• Gaining experience in cultural differences
• Efficiency through a diverse shop floor
FOR SOCIETY
Positive impact: € 12.556.500
Negative impact: € 8.439.000
• Increased acceptance of newcomers
• Increased welfare effect on entire family of newcomers
• Increased trust in society
RESULTS
1379 participants
654 participants in long-term pathways
1050 collaboration partners
The impact resulting from NewBees’s work at a glance
The graph below shows the quantified impacts experienced by NewBees’ various stakeholders. The impacts are examined based on available primary and secondary data. The graph below refers to the 654 participants who NewBees is well familiar with, because they are following a multi-year pathway with us. They complete a questionnaire at the start and at the end of their program, from which we retrieve a great deal of information.
Participants
€ 146.000 (2022: € 27.000) Creation of long-term human capital through training of NewBees
€ 651.000 (2022: € 957.000) Welfare effect of cultural integration
€ 735.000 (2022: € 550.000) Welfare effect due to cultural differences (employment discrimination)
€ 847.000 (2022:€ 2.243.000) Welfare effect of control of own life
Total number of participants in the short track of the B1 route
“With participants taking shorter pathways with us, we did not collect primary data for all of 2023, which is why we only report the results here. Our goal though, is to show impact for 2024.”
Companies
€ 4.000 (2022: € 2.000) Government grants received by companies
€ 375.750 (2022: € 281.625) Changes in the workload for employees
€ 901.000 (2022: € 1.048.000) Financial benefits for companies
€ 1.052.100 (2022: € 788.550) Customer satisfaction for businesses
€ 1.052.100 (2022: € 788.550) Employee Retention
€ 1.503.000 (2022: € 1.126.500) Reputation
€ 1.503.000 (2022: € 1.126.500) Experience with cultural differences -€ 789.000 (2022: -€ 549.000) Financial costs for companies -€ 375.750 (2022: -€ 275.475) Change in productivity due to cultural differences
Qualitative impacts are shaded. Qualitative impacts are calculated from secondary data and the ratio of that impact to the greatest impact for a given stakeholder.
The graph below shows the quantified impacts experienced by NewBees’ various stakeholders. The impacts are examined based on available primary and secondary data. The graph below refers to the 654 participants who NewBees is well familiar with, because they are following a multi-year pathway with us. They complete a questionnaire at the start and at the end of their program, from which we retrieve a great deal of information.
Primary data are data collected by NewBees from its own sources, such as questionnaires and interviews. Our participants and a selection of other stakeholders provide feedback using questionnaires and focus groups. These data are therefore collected by us to measure impact on and satisfaction of our stakeholders.
Secondary data are data collected from existing (academic) studies, surveys or experiments conducted by other parties or for other research. The shaded impacts are so-called “qualitative impacts. These impacts are calculated relative to the largest impact. The order of magnitude of these impacts is an estimate based on examination of secondary data.
The scope of the analysis considers the activities within the participation building block “matching toward traineeships or (volunteer) work” by NewBees in 2023 by the different teams and in a variety of municipalities in the Netherlands, and its impact in the following two years.
The graphs below incorporate data from all teams. Long-term capital creation is an exception, because this impact focuses on long-term effects (2024 and beyond). In order to measure long-term impact as well, several stakeholders who have interacted with NewBees over the past three years are surveyed each year.
150 former participants were contacted for this analysis, of whom 72 were reached. Since participants’ current pathways are longer than before, we were only able to reach few former participants from 2022, because most people who started in 2022 were also participants in 2023. This was adjusted by including data from 2022 in the calculation of job probability, which is an important driver for measuring the impact on participant wellbeing and savings for the government.
NewBees has developed a traineeship for newcomers up to 30 years old who would like to develop their talents and expand their networks. They do something for someone else and prepare themselves for their future in Dutch society. The participants are provided guidance by mostly young NewBees matchmakers, many of whom also have a refugee past and have been here for some time. Like no other they understand what the young people need in order to be encouraged to use their talents.
A personal mix of participation building blocks
Linda Rook (Operations Coordinator at NewBees):
“Each traineeship is made up of a unique mix of NewBees participation building blocks. Equality, the talent and ambitions of the young people are the focal point to this. The participants volunteer at local community organizations, do ‘themed workshops’ and develop skills about working and living in the Netherlands. For example: How to write a cover letter? Or where can I play sports with
other young people? They go on a ‘neighborhood safari’ together in their neighborhood and participate in the film education program where they watch and discuss short films about themes relevant to them. In this way they get to know the Netherlands and find their way here in an interactive way.”
“It’s really great how we, at NewBees, can help young people take a step forward to connect and find their way in the Netherlands!”
Bastiaan Kuijt, regional coordinator for NewBees Midden-Gelderland
Connection to Dutch society
Mariëlle Truijen (Operational Assistant at NewBees):
“After completing the traineeship, participants feel more connected to Dutch society. They are motivated to participate in local activities and know better how to find work. In addition, by performing a service for another individual as a volunteer, young individuals experience an increase in their sense of involvement in Dutch society. The MDT traineeship leads to new encounters, expansion of the social network, language and talent development, and connection with Dutch society.”
* The MDT traineeship is part of Social Service Time, a program of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to encourage young people to contribute to their neighborhood or environment while discovering their talents.
“My matcher helped me create a good resume. During the themed workshops, I received many tips on how to improve my skills in applying for a job. Thanks to the MDT traineeship, I now have a parttime job as an office manager at a children’s aid organization.”
Shahed, a young woman from Syria, wants to do studies in the social field in the future.
Work symposium for municipalities
On Monday, November 13, 2023, over 200 civic-integration professionals participated in the work symposium
“Participation and Work in Civic Integration” organized by NewBees together with Divosa at the Mauritskazerne in Ede. The participants shared with each other the lines of approach that are locally successful, the existing issues and the solutions that can contribute to participation.
Talent is unduly lost in the Netherlands, in part due to an insufficient number of participation places. During the symposium, newcomers, civil-society organizations, employers and cities shared their perspectives, stories and experience and came to new insights. The most relevant are listed below:
• Ensure a appropriate connection to the perception of the person in the integration process.
- Provide customized training, listen to participants and ask about their personal experience;
- Be attentive to their family life;
- Employ persons who are experts by experience, key people and bridge builders.
• Be attentive to the specific needs of young people in integration.
• Engage experience experts, be flexible, use visuals and ensure mutual connections for people with still limited knowledge of the Dutch language.
• Facilitate the combination of working and integration. For example, offer (online) language classes in the evenings, weekends or at the workplace.
• Look for solutions to get the prerequisites such as travel expenses and child care well organized and share these solutions with all chain partners.
• Assist people in building a network.
• Distinguish between unwilling, ignorant and powerless. Motivation among participants is an important predictor of success.
• Ensure good collaboration between chain partners and local organizations and continue to share ideas and expertise with each other.
• Delegate the timekeeping of citizenship to one party through a well-organized system.
• Do not be overly restricted by rules and regulations.
More information about the work symposium can be found on our website.
left: Annemiek Dresen, founder and director of NewBees
right: Manal Jambeh coordinator team NewBees Zaanstad.
Be receptive to the unknown How to rethink in the migration debate
Waiting. Waiting for mail. Waiting for news from family and friends. Waiting to hear from the IND. Waiting until you can pick up your life again. People who seek asylum in the Netherlands are relegated to an extended asylum procedure that lacks employment and professional development opportunities. They are compelled to abandon their homes and families in order to establish a new existence in this country, but are afforded few opportunities to participate in society. In their argument for the collection of essays “De Nieuwe Polder,” Annemiek Dresen and Manal Janbeh explain the reasons why the situation is like this, and argue for a more open outlook.
The obstacles
People seeking asylum in the Netherlands are relegated to an extended asylum procedure that lacks employment opportunities and offers few chances to participate in society. The main reasons are:
Policy
Asylum policy: the IND (Immigration and Naturalization Service) screens newcomers to assess if they qualify for asylum. During these long procedures, people live in an asylum seekers’ center (AZC) where they wait without many opportunities to engage in outside activities.
Integration Policy: After people receive their residence status, the same legislation applies to them as to other residents of the Netherlands. They are allowed to work, are entitled to benefits and social housing. Within three years, people must integrate and meet certain requirements, which often means they have to achieve B1 level for the Dutch language. This forces them to prioritize learning the language over finding work. Having Dutch classes three days a week leaves little time to work.
Image
Upon arrival in the Netherlands, all focus is on checking and double-checking the story: are you really a “refugee”? In this way, an essential part of the identity of newcomers is being removed: they are no longer a baker, engineer, doctor or cook, but refugees. Whether they are allowed to stay in the Netherlands depends entirely on the one thing they cannot do upon arrival: having a command of the Dutch language. The focus is being placed on what people yet need to learn, rather than on all the skills and abilities they do have and bring with them. This deprives people of their vigor and autonomy, and deprives society of an array of talent.
Fear
Because of the huge focus on speaking the Dutch language, employers tend to regard hiring newcomers as a risk. It is difficult for newcomers to demonstrate their talents in poor Dutch. Moreover, employers tend to hire people with whom they have something in common. As a result, newcomers are often overlooked. In addition, there is a great deal of ignorance among employers about hiring people with asylum status. Many are not aware of the possibilities and prefer not to risk doing the wrong thing. Due to the often unclear or contradictory laws and regulations, employers prefer to play it safe and not hire newcomers.
Embrace talent
Let’s break this pattern and put people back to the forefront of our society. Competencies should be considered and talent should be valued. The government has a great responsibility in this. First, the rules and bureaucracy described must be reduced and the talents of people should be taken as a starting point. Rules should be put at the service of residents, instead of the other way around. This also has a broader effect on society: if the government makes assessments less on the basis of bureaucracy and rules, and will rather consider persons and competencies, the narrative in society will also change. In addition, the government itself is of course a major employer that can create space in the labor market. And good examples will be followed.
Employers, financiers and society itself also play a role in making society more accessible to newcomers. How exactly do Annemiek Dresen and Manal Janbeh envision this new polder? This topic is covered in the essay.
Download the essay from our website (in Dutch).
Impact in 2024 and beyond
In 2023, NewBees defined the ambition to make significant impact towards an inclusive world and workplace. The ambition to reach at least 100,000 people a year from 2027 still stands. In 2023, we saw a significant increase in our reach and impact. We will continue this trend in the upcoming years.
Workshop: “Registering hours in the Z-route,” during the work symposium for municipalities organized together with Divosa.
Together with our partners, participants and stakeholders, we are committed to creating an inclusive world and workplace
2023 saw the largest number of participants in NewBees’ history starting a participation program. This means that increasingly more people who are new to the Netherlands can immediately participate in an inclusive and innovative way in the Netherlands. 2023 was also the second year of NewBees INC.’s existence, when we assisted a good variety of employers in accomplishing their ambition for a more inclusive workplace. In short, the growth initiated in early 2023 kicked off and will continue in 2024. The NewBees teams across the country, who provide participation in the integration process, continue to see growth in the number of applications. We anticipate a launch of additional teams in a number of new municipalities in 2024.
New in 2024: licensing model
NewBees offers a licensing model to municipalities that do not require a full participation pathway, but are looking for a flexible and practical interpretation for participation within the civic-integration process. These municipalities can use our services to ensure that their new residents can participate immediately. In addition to expert advice and training, NewBees offers participation programs and a unique online platform for time registration.
Expansion of the impactmeasurement model
In addition to licensing our services, we will also expand our impact measurement model. Together with our partners, NewBees will provide this model to other organizations and municipalities. This way we are working on a benchmark to measure and compare the impact of different interventions in the field of participation and integration, which will enable everybody to learn and improve services across the field.
Systemic impact
This is how we continue to contribute to systemic impact for an inclusive world and workplace from different perspectives. Our own diverse and inclusive teams are the focal points. They are the people who make NewBees, and NewBees wants all its employees to feel at home at NewBees with all their diverse aspects. This is our commitment every day, working closely with NewBees INC. together. NewBees INC.
also mentors our own teams, and learns in turn from our inclusive way of working. Together we provide the possibility for newcomers to start work for inclusive employers that do justice to diverse talent.
Working together on an inclusive world and workplace
We are fully dedicated to receiving a rating of at least 7.5 (on a scale of 10) from all of our partners, participants, and stakeholders. Also in 2024, and beyond, the positive impact we have on our participants, our employees, the communities we work with, and the employers we assist is paramount. NewBees remains unabatedly passionate about working together with everybody to create an inclusive world and workplace.
Nadia Belhadi Office Manager, NewBees NL
NewBees is a social company. This means that making impact is at all times paramount to us, as does running a healthy and sustainable business. That’s how we make truly systemic impact.
NewBees as a Social Company
NewBees is a social company. This means that making impact is at all times paramount to us, as does running a healthy and sustainable business. For example, we ensure a fair distribution of pay between the highest and lowest salaries within the organization, and invest our profits back into the organization. As a warrant, we have an independent advisory body that monitors NewBees’ management for the social mission and its implementation.
The advisory body is the “NewBees Foundation. NewBees Foundation is a priority shareholder of ‘NewBees Inclusion Solutions B.V.’, which performs all the activities of NewBees. The NewBees Foundation board is made up of Asma Naimi (president), Leon Noorlander (treasurer), and Theo Oudelaar (secretary). The NewBees Foundation has a significant and independent voice, especially when it comes to decisions affecting the company’s social mission.
In addition to the “NewBees Foundation,” which has ANBI status*, “NewBees Group” is a shareholder of NewBees. Founder Annemiek Dresen, Operations Director Dorien Marres, and Finance Director Rob Schipper are joint shareholders of NewBees Group.
Here is how NewBees is organized
NewBees Foundation Independent management board
Priority share
71 employees
The NewBees Foundation and NewBees Group both have a seat in the shareholders’ meeting of NewBees. This ensures that the social object of the organization will be protected and it can participate as a business in economic transactions.
The articles of association of NewBees Inclusion Solutions are in line with the “Code of Social Enterprises’ and include as such:
• A thorough description of the organization’s social mission;
• An impact reserve that ensures that a large portion of any profits is always returned to the organization and not distributed to shareholders;
• An independent advisory body**. In the case of NewBees, the NewBees Foundation has this function, with additional powers as the holder of a priority share. This means that the foundation’s board must approve major decisions about the organization’s social mission, profit distributions and impact reserve;
• Limitation on executive compensation and management fees;
• NewBees always communicates transparently about its operations and finances, and keeps the communication going with its various stakeholders.
NewBees Group B.V.
100% ownership Annemiek, Rob and Dorien
NewBees Inclusion Solutions B.V.
NewBees P&I Participation & Integration
100% shares
NewBees INC. B.V.
NewBees INC. Solutions for employers
Stichting NewBees Independent advice
5 staff members
* The “NewBees Foundation” is recognized by the tax authorities as an ANBI (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instelling)4, which means that any donation is tax deductible. As an ANBI, we are required to present our policies and plans on our website.
** NewBees’ supervisor: It is vital that our supervisor does not have a financial interest in our activities, as we are a social enterprise and an ANBI. We can assure you that the board is completely voluntary and, regardless of the effort, no financial contribution is paid to members.
4 Non-profit organization for the general benefit
NewBees and the SDG’s
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015, provides a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet at present as well as in the future.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the focal point in this: an urgent call to action from all countries - both developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that strategies must be implemented in conjunction with the eradication of poverty and other deprivations., which improve health and education, reduce inequality and boost economic growth - while addressing climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
NewBees wants to contribute to this and specifically embraces four of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in its mission.
SDG 3
Good health and well-being
NewBees believes in talent, and in a society where everyone has the opportunity to use their talents. When people can use their talents in their daily work, their well-being increases.
SDG 8
Decent work and economic growth
Through its traineeships, NewBees offers participants the opportunity to use their talents to participate in the labor market in a sustainable way.
SDG 10
Reduced inequalities NewBees believes that everyone can contribute to society on the basis of talents and equality.
SDG 16
Peace, justice and strong institutions
NewBees provides guidance to its participants to find their way within institutions and aims to ensure that these institutions include the newcomers’ perspective in their policies.
Annemiek Dresen and Dorien Marres
Facet5 has a huge impact on our inclusive organization
Since the start of NewBees, Human Collective has made Facet5 available to NewBees. NewBees uses Facet5 to work well together and on an equal level, getting to know and understand each other better.
Dorien: “Facet5 contributes considerably to building an inclusive organization: conversations about personality invite us to look beyond cultural and language differences. It prevents ‘pigeonholing.’ The neutral, non-normative language used in the reports and the premise that strengths and weaknesses can be found at both ends of any spectrum soon direct the conversation toward roles and talents and the fit with certain aspects of your personality. The starting point is equality, and consequently the question of how to complement each other in a team.”
Annemiek: “Without a tool like Facet5, we run the risk of looking at each other with too much ‘bias’, making it more difficult to work with people who are ‘different’. This also applies, for example, to the collaboration between Dorien and me: we complement each other excellently, but if our differences had not been made transparent through Facet5, there would undoubtedly have been more mutual irritation in our collaboration and we would have been less able to make the most effective use of each other’s strengths.”
When it comes to selecting new employees for NewBees:
Dorien: “Although we do not recruit on a specific profile, and we have a highly diverse array of people and personalities in the team, we find that the factor ‘Affection’ is the factor that connects us. Looking at what the other person needs, making sure all perspectives are heard.”
Facet5 contributes to NewBees’ inclusive organization in three ways:
• Finding the aspects that unite us and how we complement each other rather than how we differ from each other;
• Preventing bias and “pigeonholing” by getting to know each other better;
• Looking beyond cultural and language differences.
Facet5 provides online personality questionnaires. It combines ease of use with a solid scientific basis and is based on the latest insights surrounding the Big Five personality theory. The Big Five personality test helps you gain insight into people’s character and personality. You can score on the 5 main dimensions i.e.: extravert/ introvert; accommodating, careful/ careless, emotionally stable/instable and openness to ideas and experiences. Humancollective is the Dutch partner within the global Facet5 organization.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of NewBees.
About NewBees
Founded in 2016, NewBees is a social enterprise.
Mailing address: Radarweg 60 1043 NT Amsterdam www.new-bees.org info@new-bees.org
