Addressing the challenge of migrant integration through ICT-enabled solutions

The integration of migrants, including refugees, in many Member States of the European Union and Associated Countries remains a challenge for both public authorities and local communities. ICT-enabled solutions and toolkits for the implementation of inclusion policies by public administrations may facilitate the management of the integration of migrants, improve autonomy and inclusion and therefore the lives of migrants. Such tools may help alleviate the tasks of public administrations and local authorities. They may also analyse available data and provide migrants with information on and easy access to relevant public services specific to their needs or support policy-makers and public administration at all levels in planning and taking decisions on migration-related issues through data analytics and simulation tools. The specific cultural features, including possible gender differences, the skills and capacities of migrants to express their needs as well as the equity of access to ICT may be considered in this regard.

Scope

An efficient management of migrant integration requires clear understanding of migrants' personal and family situation, including their legal status, origin, cultural background, skills, language skills, medical records, etc. Once such information is available to public authorities, it can improve societal outcomes to the benefit of both host countries and migrants:

• the management of migrant integration can be facilitated, e.g. by matching their skills with those needed in the Member States and Associated Countries, by designing tailored training programmes or by creating specific decision support tools;
• better and customised services can be delivered to match the needs of migrants;
• more efficient integration strategies can be defined and implemented at local level for a sustainable inclusion of migrants and a fact-based public perception of migration.

Proposals should address at least one of the 3 points above, which should be piloted against a set of clearly defined goals. Processing of personal data of migrants must be conducted in accordance with EU applicable data protection legislation (Directive 95/46/EC which will be replaced as of 25 May 2018 by the GDPR) and existing regulation such as eIDAS. Proposals should engage all actors and consider the potential for co-creation work with migrant in the design and delivery of services. In addition, proposals should demonstrate the reusability or scalability at European level and should develop strong and realistic business plans to ensure the long-term sustainability as well as take up of the results by the identified users. They should also engage multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral teams to explore the complexity of this challenge, to identify the necessary changes, and the risks and barriers to their implementation, including cultural questions.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 3 and 4 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact

New or enhanced ICT solutions and tools will facilitate the efforts of public administrations at EU, national and local levels to manage the integration of migrants. They will allow for developing and deploying the necessary processes and services in the view of the efficient identification and inclusion of migrants. They will also facilitate communication with migrants and their access to services such as community language teaching, education, training, employment, welfare and healthcare systems within the host communities.

Cross-cutting Priorities

• Gender
• Socio-economic science and humanities
• Open Innovation