Catherine Lynch

1. Data Collection – Learning from ENAR’s Shadow Reporting System and process:A perspective from an author Catherine Lynch

2. What is ENAR? European Network Against Racism (ENAR) is a Network of NGOs active in the area of racism and anti-racism, across the European Union.

3. Overview • What is ENAR/Shadow reporting process • Purpose and added value of SR • My ‘added value’ and role • Overall experience • Principles and Process • Overall challenges • Specific challenges • What helped • Recommendations , questions, reflections

4. What is the Shadow Report? Concrete and cost-effective advocacy tool with regard to the main policy issues the network is working on • A practical tool • Reflects the experiences of the grassroots level • Monitoring mechanism of member states’ responses to issues • Clear link between the national and the European. • Chapters on communities vulnerable to racism, manifestations (8 areas), responses (4 areas), recommendations (4 areas).

5. My added value • Two perspectives – author of Europe and national report. • Hope: can identify what is needed at national level to support European level, in a realistic and achievable way. .. And visa versa.

6. SR Objectives • To bring together facts and developments from across the EU on matters pertaining to racism and anti-racism • To built a perspective on racism that reflects the views of NGOs and vulnerable communities • To be a major and recurrent tool of the network for communication and advocacy purposes towards relevant target audiences • To build a documented starting point for future and coordinated action.

8. Overall experience • Very positive experience. • There were challenges but none insurmountable.

9. Principles and process • Accessibility • Language • Target and end user • Useful • Inclusive • Representative • Top down / bottom up • Analysis and added value

10. Overall challenges • What do we mean by comparative? • Ensuring clarity with regard to overall objective(s). • Can only work with what is there i.e. national reports • So goals / ideas need to be discussed & agreed early on

11. Specific challenges • Terminology and understanding - • Group/communities • Phenomena • Area e.g. education • The issue (e.g. crime) • The goal e.g. assimilation, integration • Assumptions - • Context and explanatory comments • Consistency - with regard to data collection/presentation • Gaps - • Name and explain. Can be revealing in itself.

12. What helped • Very clear template – yet flexible (normative framework, clear themes) • Evidence of significant reflection work done in 2006 and 2007 to enhance capacity and effectiveness • Relationship of ENAR Secretariat with national coordination/partners

13. Strengths and added value • Up to date and timely • Comprehensive • Innovative and creative including through documentation of good practice • Response to a lack of ‘hard data’ (but not only this) • Cost effective

14. Reflections on … • Clarity and shared understanding regarding purpose and objectives of SR • Clarity re. what is needed in EU report • Evaluation • Multiple / intersecting forms of discrimination • Focus on strengths (approach, network)

15. Conclusion • Data Collection is an important means towards an end. It is useful to examine data collection specifically for the learning process but in practice the question needs to be treated in a holistic way and as part of the big picture. • We all have a role to play; our roles are be complementary but not exclusive.

16. Hvala.