26. November 2024
Over the past two years, the Berlin Governance Platform (BGP) piloted a data-driven matching procedure for refugees and cities in the project Re:Match - Relocation via Matching. True to the spirit of piloting, we tested various approaches and gained valuable insights during this time. With this newly published guide, the BGP, in collaboration with Pairity, offers a practical resource for systematically applying data-driven matching between refugees and cities.
The algorithm-based matching procedure aligns refugees’ backgrounds, needs, and preferences with service availability and capacities of host cities, contributing to innovative, direct relocation and reception processes for people seeking protection into cities. The guide consolidates the experiences gained during the two-year pilot phase, provides recommendations, and highlights potential applications—including the potential for improving the EU solidarity mechanism.
The guide outlines the main steps of the matching process:
The publication is intended as a practical tool for experts in civil society, international organizations, and governmental bodies at the EU and national levels interested in using data-driven matching to enhance distribution mechanisms in relocation, resettlement, and other humanitarian programs. The Implementation Guide is publicly available here .
To advance an effective and humane migration and asylum governance, our approaches must be practical, grounded in solidarity, and inclusive of both the people seeking protection in our communities and the cities and municipalities welcoming them.
In this spirit, the Berlin Governance Platform held a webinar on our new Implementation Guide on Data-Driven Matching of Refugees and Cities:
More information and reports and of our project Re:Match - Relocation via Matching is available here . Do you want to stay informed about Re:Match? Then subscribe to our Newsletter.
