BRUSSELS — As more countries experiment with expanding humanitarian protection via complementary pathways such as existing refugee education or work channels or sponsorship programmes, it is important to share existing practices and highlight successes and areas for further development. A set of four Migration Policy Institute Europe (MPI Europe) fact sheets out today—among the first ones published from the EU Complementary Pathways Network (COMET) project—offers digestible insights for policymakers, practitioners and others. The design and implementation of complementary pathway programmes, which are intended to support the welcome, settlement and integration of refugees, can be complex and require the coordination of a wide range of stakeholders, including governmental agencies, civil-society organisations and community volunteers. Unique political contexts and the associated challenges and opportunities by location add another layer of complexity. The fact sheets explore practices in four key areas—approaches to matching refugees with sponsors, managing refugee expectations, supporting volunteer engagement and programme monitoring and evaluation. They also highlight areas for further development to help ensure the scaling and sustainability of these pathways. Drawing on a detailed review of current examples of sponsorship programmes and complementary pathways, each fact sheet outlines best practices based on an analysis of the most promising tools and strategies. The assessment of a rich repository of accruing experience points to the practices that can refine programme design, better support refugees, foster transparency and accountability, identify the best allocation of resources and ensure data collection that can best assess long-term impact and efficacy. Access the fact sheets, which have been translated into Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish, by clicking on the title or relevant language: - Approaches To Matching in Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways for Refugees and Other People in Need of International Protection
(translation in Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish)
- Managing The Expectations of Refugees and Other People in Need of International Protection in Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways Programmes
(translation in Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish)
- Supporting Volunteer Engagement in Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways for Refugees and Other People in Need of International Protection
(translation in Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish)
- Monitoring And Evaluation in Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways for Refugees and Other People in Need of International Protection
(translation in Catalan, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish) The fact sheets are part of the Complementary Pathways Network (COMET) Project. COMET is a transnational partnership that aims to develop a blueprint for complementary pathways in Europe by building the capacity of receiving communities and by creating common tools and quality standards for refugee matching, pre-departure orientation, reception and post-arrival support. Research and tools in the COMET Project, which is co-funded by the EU Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), can be found at www.cometnetwork.eu. MPI Europe is a partner in the COMET consortium, which involves organisations from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Its first publication under this project, Supporting Self-Sufficiency: Considerations for refugees’ transition out of sponsorship and complementary pathways programmes, can be accessed here: www.migrationpolicy.org/research/refugees-transition-out-sponsorship. For more of MPI Europe’s work, visit: www.mpieurope.org. |
