FAQs

About the Residential

  • We host the residential to nurture strong relationships between those working on migrant justice and build the trust that underpins effective collective action. While organisations will always have their own priorities and won’t agree on everything, we have seen over the past few years that it is possible and powerful for people to come together around shared values and principles. As always, our focus is on exploration and not production – we do not expect you to develop new projects or work for yourselves. Instead, we hope you will take this opportunity to make connections, reach out to those you may not have met before, and participate in engaging discussions.

  • Our hope for the residential is to provide you with space away from daily work - to reflect, to explore, to meet and connect with others as works for you. There will be no pressure on you to develop new projects or produce any outputs.

  • Registration is now closed.

  • This year’s residential draws on consultation and conversations with many of our funded partners. Together with Held, we have curated a diverse agenda focused on connection, exploration and strategising for change with a mix of guided sessions, workshops and attendee-led discussions.

    You can now see the full residential agenda on this website.

  • As you prepare for the residential, you might find the following packing list useful. These are recommendations and none of the following is mandatory to bring.

    1. Stationery: While stationery will be available at the reception, we are reducing the amount of paper we use during the Residential so we encourage you to bring your own notepads and pens. If you would like to take digital notes, please bring your own digital notebooks and iPads.

    2. Umbrella: While we are hoping for sunshine, we can never be too sure. We recommend that you bring an umbrella to stay dry!

    3. Warm clothes: It can get chilly in Dorking, especially at night. We anticipate hosting dinner outdoors on May 8. We recommend that you bring sweaters to make sure you are warm and comfortable during dinner.

    4. Comfortable shoes: Wotton House is surrounded by extensive grounds. If you want to explore the area during your stay, please bring comfortable shoes!

    5. Wellies: The venue has approximately 20 wellies for guests who want to explore Wotton’s extensive grounds. These are available at no-cost. However, given the number of guests at the venue, we recommend that you bring your own or shoes you don’t mind getting muddy.

    6. Swimming gear: The venue has a pool and a jacuzzi. Don’t forget your swimming clothes and gear if you would like to use the leisure facilities.

    7. Medication: Wotton House is a 15 minute drive from the city centre. Please bring your medication(s) for your stay as getting to the pharmacy can take some time.

    8. Chargers and adapters: If you are traveling from a region that uses a different power socket than the UK, please bring your own power adapters.

    9. Toiletries: Basic toiletries, such as shampoo and body wash, will be provided by the venue. We recommend you bring any other toiletries you intend to use during your stay. Hair dryers are available to guests.

  • The Residential is a space to reflect, explore, meet and connect with others in the spirit of building our collective movement for migrant justice. But what about the things that come up along the way?

    We know that engaging in workshops, panels and conversations can bring up emotions, relational dynamics, difficult questions, and differences that folks may want to explore more deeply individually, in smaller groups and in more intimate settings with facilitator support.

    This might include exploring our ways of being with each other, issues of identity, oppression, power dynamics and conflict. Our Grapple Spaces are designed for individuals, pairs and small groups to get together to explore or “grapple” with something that’s come up for them during the residential, supported by one our facilitators from Held.

    These spaces will be available across May 9-May 10:

    • Afternoon Break on May 9 in Drawing Room

    • Between 20:00-21:00 on May 9 in Temple Suite

    • Table at the World Café Session on May 10 in Wotton Suite

Travel & Accommodation

  • You can now purchase your travel. Following the residential, you will be able to claim expenses related to your travel as per our expenses policy.

  • Yes – you can see existing train routes to Dorking from different parts of the UK in this document.

  • We recommend you to book with train companies that have not announced planned closure on May 8, 2024.

    Those who have announced strikes include: Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway and West Midlands Trains.

    If you are affected by the announced train strikes, please consider alternative routes, including: trains, buses or flights to London, and then take the Southern service from London Victoria to Dorking.

    If you need help in planning your travel, please reach out to migration@phf.org.uk as soon as possible.

  • Yes - if you are unable to attend on May 8 you can join us starting May 9. Please let us know in advance so we can make changes to room allocations.

  • We selected a venue that met participants’ requests for more green and outdoor space, while also being close to public transportation.

    If you are unable to find suitable transport options from where you are located, please let us know in your registration form as we are open to considering alternatives to support your attendance.

  • We are working with the venue to organise pick up/drop-off at Dorking station. If you would like to use this service, please fill in this form to let us know your arrival and departure time so we can arrange your travel to and from the station.

  • If you wish to arrange your own travel, you can use any of the following taxi providers:

    Dorking Taxis: 01306885533

    Ladybird taxi: 07880 703993

    Star Taxi: 01306 882299

    Gill Taxi: 07919053419

  • We encourage attendees to use public transportation to attend the residential. But we know that this is not suitable for everyone, including due to accessibility requirements.

    If you would prefer to drive to the venue, they offer free parking spaces for those staying overnight or participating in the event. There are 200 parking spots available and no registration is required before arrival.

    For your expenses, we pay £0.45 per mile. Please attach mileage details based on your travel and fuel receipts if applicable in your expense claim form.

  • On Day 1 (Wednesday, May 8) registration and check-in will be open from 11:00. Lunch will be available from 13:00. Our first session starts promptly at 15:00.

    On Day 3 (Friday, May 10), our last structured session ends at 13:30, when lunch is provided. Lunch can also be packed for people who wish to leave immediately after the last session.

  • We will cover your costs to attend, including travel, meals, accommodation and accessibility-related costs.

  • The venue is wheelchair accessible which includes fully accessible rooms. We can also organise quieter rooms or rooms closer to the main event area to support your attendance. Please also let us know if you need any interpretation support, childcare support or someone to accompany you to support your attendance.

    You can let us know about your accessibility needs through the registration form, and we will get in touch to agree expenses associated with this and anything else we may be able to provide to best support your participation at the residential.

  • The venue can accommodate service animals. If you have a service animal that will accompany you, please let us know in the registration form so we can ensure the venue has prior knowledge and can provide the best service possible.

Attendance

  • Please consider the attendance of the person who holds strategic relationships in your organisation. However, if this person has attended previous residentials more than once, please consider someone different to represent your organisation.

  • No. We are unfortunately only able to accommodate one person per organisation.

  • No. Only organisations directly invited by Paul Hamlyn Foundation are able to register for the residential.

  • The residential is an opportunity for PHF funded partners who work on migration and related fields to connect. We have invited all organisations who currently have a grant under the PHF Migration Fund (previously Shared Ground Fund) as well as some organisations from PHF’s invite-only funds whose work aligns with migration. As always, we will extend invitation to 3-5 funders working on migration and/or related issues.

    Attendee bios and photo are available on this website, which we hope will help you to connect during the residential.

  • Yes. There will be a few funders present at the residential and we are happy to introduce you to them. Please flag this to a member of the PHF team and we will introduce you.

Claiming Expenses

  • You can find information about how to claim your expenses and our policy under the ‘Expenses’ tab in this website. If you have any issues claiming your expenses, please contact our team on migration@phf.org.uk.

  • After the residential, please reach out to us at migration@phf.org.uk with your expenses request. We can set up a time for a team member to walk you through the process and complete the form with you over a short call.

  • We pay £0.45 per mile. Please attach mileage details based on your travel and fuel receipts if applicable.