icommit

professionalising case analysis

Background of the icommit project

In order to counter the complex and rapidly changing landscape of (violent) extremism, a good cooperation of actors from different professional fields is needed. Therefore, the icommit project has set itself the goal of establishing and expanding collaborative structures at the city level. The actors involved act from different perspectives. Security authorities, for example, focus primarily on the threat that extremists pose to society. Therefore, a variety of tools have been developed in recent years to assess the risks and dangers posed by individuals. In contrast, tools that focus on the needs and resources of individuals have been sporadic.

Focus and benefits of icommit

The icommit project brings together different stakeholders in extremism prevention at the city level and supports the establishment of a structure that enables a continuous exchange about individuals who are in (de)radicalization processes. modus|zad focuses on strengthening practitioners who closely accompany individuals. For this purpose, modus|zad is developing a toolkit with the University of Bucharest that structures distancing processes and thus further professionalizes the work of caseworkers. The toolkit is based on new scientific findings of distancing research, is oriented towards the resources of the affected individuals and is gender and language sensitive. With the help of the toolkit, needs and goals are identified together with the individuals and interventions are planned based on these. A training of several days introduces practitioners to the toolkit.

The homepage of the project can be found here.

Outcome of the icommit project

We created the DesistKit – a toolkit that strengthens a resource-oriented and gender-focused perspective on distancing processes. The DesistKit draws the focus on those topics that are relevant for the individual, who is distancing. The individual and their needs are at the centre of the distancing work and process. The DesistKit recognizes the complexity of distancing processes, tries to consider the societal context the individual is living in and aims to assist practitioners in navigating the path of distancing.

The DesistKit consists of three items, which are available for download in the info box on this website. The manual can be downloaded directly. In order to receive the CaseReflector and the DesistCards, registration in the Infobox is necessary.

  1. The Manual introduces the DesistKit, CaseReflector, and the DesistCards.
  2. The CaseReflector is an instrument (PowerPoint) for caseworkers to reflect on individual distancing processes.
  3. The DesistCards is a set of cards to use in councelling sessions with individuals.

The DesistCards are available for download in English. The format allows you to print the cards at a local copy shop. Additionally, we have digital versions in German, Polish, Macedonian, Slovak, and Romanian, which we will be happy to send you on request.