Six Approaches
The following sections provide an overview of these forms of monitoring on the basis of seven characteristics. It should be noted that they are at different stages of development.Reference is made to the following approaches:
- at the community level, the monitoring of Wiesbaden;
- at the federal state level, the integration report presented by North Rhine-Westphalia in 2008 as well as the federal states' joint indicator set;
- at the Federal Government level, the "Integration report" produced by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees as well as the indicator set and the report based on it for the Federal Government Commissioner;
- and as an example of a non-state report applicable on various regional levels, the study carried out by the Berlin Institute.

1) What is the aim of monitoring?
Almost all of the examined approaches explicitly pursue the aim of depicting the state of integration for the respective regional unit (local municipality, state (Länder) level, national level). However, there are also references to the procedural character of integration by means of formulations such as "state of the integration process and its development" (Wiesbaden). Two approaches differ somewhat in this respect: the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees is endeavouring to provide "basic information on the subject of integration" for various user groups, while the Berlin Institute aims above all to demonstrate which immigrant groups experience particular integration problems. In fact, however, both these organisations are conducting first and foremost a state diagnosis.2) Integration in what sense?
The term integration is not always explicitly defined in the forms of monitoring under consideration. Table 1, however, shows two central elements:- "equality of opportunity" and "participation on equal terms" for people with and without a migration background as an aim of integration policy,
- and the "equalisation" of conditions of life between the two groups.
Indicators on naturalisation in the Wiesbaden monitoring system | ||
Year | Proportion of foreigners entitled to apply for naturalisation (in %)* | Naturalisations per 100 entitled to apply |
2000 | 48,1 | 4,2 |
2002** | 49,1 | 3,2 |
2003 | 49,1 | 3,9 |
2004 | 49,4 | 3,1 |
2005 | 50,5 | 2,5 |
2006 | 52,1 | 3,1 |
2007 | 51,6 | 2,9 |
Source: State capital Wiesbaden 2008. Own calculation * Entitlement to apply for naturalisation: at least 16 years old, resident in Germany for at least 8 years, secure residence permit. ** No data published for 2001. |
The second stated aspect that of the "equalisation of conditions of life" between immigrants and the native German population, means, in practice, that the similarity or dissimilarity of the distribution of characteristics in both groups is measured. Thus, for example, the first indicator report for the Federal Government Commissioner shows that among 18 to 25 year olds without a migration background in the year 2007, 1.6% had no educational qualifications, whereas the proportion of those of the same age with a migration background was two and a half times greater at 4.4% [2]. This, then, concerns directly comparable figures of migrants and non-migrants. Other examples of this type are the proportion of homeowners or the proportion of the population receiving minimum benefits payments.
