About the project

The National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM) project Monitoring and improving refugee integration is a six-year-long transnational project which aims to prepare key actors in the integration field in 15 EU Member States to better face the current challenges and improve the integration outcomes of beneficiaries of international protection. Conflict situations tend to last longer and it takes currently on average 17 years, before refugees fleeing civil wars may eventually have a chance to return to their home country. Hence, the long-term integration of newly arrived beneficiaries of international protection is without alternative and presents an immediate challenge for European societies.

NIEM will establish a mechanism for a biennial, comprehensive evaluation of the integration of beneficiaries of international protection to provide evidence on gaps in integration standards, identify promising practices and evaluate the effects of legislative and policy changes.

NIEM is developed against the background of the changing legal environment on international protection both at national and European levels, induced by the high numbers of new arrivals in recent years. The project endeavours to provide evidence on some of the most burning discussions concerning these changes: Are EU standards on the integration of beneficiaries of international protection well implemented? How are they impacting integration policies? Are policies aimed at beneficiaries of international protection having an impact on successful integration? What are the challenges and good practices, and which policy gaps need to be addressed? 

NIEM is led by IPA, the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw. MPG, the Migration Policy Group, is the coordinating research partner responsible for the elaboration and further development of the NIEM indicators and the comprehensive comparative reports. Other strategic partners are the UNHCR Representation in Poland and UNHCR Regional Representation for Central Europe in Budapest, the Polish Ministries of Interior and Administration and of Family, Labour and Social Policy, and the University of Warsaw.

Partners: Migration Policy Group (Belgium), Bulgarian Council on Refugees and Migrants, Association Multi Kulti Collective (Bulgaria), People in Need (Czech Republic), France Terre d'Asile (France), Berlin Institute for Empirical Research on Integration and Migration, Humboldt University (Germany), Menedék – Hungarian Association for Migrants (Hungary), Fondazione ISMU – Initiatives and Studies on Multi-ethnicity (Italy), Providus (Latvia), Diversity Development Group (Lithuania), Maastricht University (Netherlands), Institute of Public Affairs (Poland), Centro de Estudos Sociais, University of Coimbra (Portugal), The Foundation for an Open Society (Romania), The Centre for Public Innovation (Romania), Peace Institute (Slovenia), CIDOB – Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (Spain).