Social Integration: Are Voluntary Sector Organisation Public Partnerships (VSOPP) influencing municipalities’ labour market administrations’ views on integration?

Abstract: While public sector commonly works with system and civic integration, non-profit sector works with social integration. By doing a case study on Stockholm’s and Malmö’s municipalities, this thesis investigates how Voluntary Sector Organisation Public Partnerships (VSOPP) have influenced their labour market administrations’ views on integration. VSOPPs are partnerships between public and non-profit sector, where this thesis focuses on those related to labour market integration of newly arrived adults. By using content analysis, interviews, and indicators for social integration, the thesis looks at the municipalities’ commissions for social sustainability, budgets, and VSOPP agreements. These show that the VSOPPs at both administrations have influenced the administrations’ views on integration, mainly by increasing social integration through inclusion of established residents in their integration activities.