Re:Match - Relocation via Matching

The project is implemented by Berlin Governance Platform (BGP) in Germany, Poland and Ukraine. It began in October 2022 and is currently ongoing.

Re:Match is an innovative program that uses an algorithm-based matching system to relocate refugees to welcoming cities and towns. This system considers both the needs and preferences of refugees and the capacities of the municipalities, ensuring optimal, sustainable placements. The pilot program successfully relocated 137 Ukrainian protection seekers from Poland and Ukraine to 8 German municipalities, improving integration outcomes and strengthening European solidarity through participatory governance. It demonstrates a scalable, data-driven solution for refugee distribution.

The main goals of the good practice are: 

• Enhance refugee participation and integration by considering personal preferences and needs in placement decisions.
• Efficiently utilize municipal capacities and best allocate scarce resources, such as housing.
• Alleviate pressure on the EU’s external border states and strengthen solidarity by distributing refugees to welcoming municipalities across the EU.

Main activities of the Good Practice

• Co-Design: Displaced Ukrainians and cities alike were consulted on suitable match criteria, match process design, and communication materials. A bespoke matching-algorithm was created as a result of this close consultation. The algorithm and process were continuously adapted based on continuous feedback, ensuring that the matching procedures meet the needs of the population being served.
• Data Collection: Cities provide detailed information on an array of categories, like accommodation availability, local labor markets, and social services. Refugees complete surveys on their personal preferences, such as cultural opportunities, family ties, housing market, or personal needs.
• Matching Process: The bespoke Re:Match algorithm processes the data to find the best matches between refugees and cities. Refugees are provided with a tailored match rationale, information on their potential host cities and are given time to accept or reject the match.
• Relocation Support: Once a match is accepted, Re:Match facilitates the relocation by organizing transport, providing detailed pre-arrival orientation, and ensuring a smooth transition into the local community.
• Integration Assistance: Municipalities are better prepared to initiate and provide tailored services to refugees, including access to language classes, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities, ensuring long-term integration and reducing secondary migration risks.
• Evaluation and Feedback: Post-relocation, Re:Match collects feedback from both municipalities and refugees to assess satisfaction and integration outcomes, helping refine the matching process for future cohorts.

Elements which helped facilitate the implementation of the good practice

• EU’s Temporary Protection Directive enabling the relocation of displaced Ukrainians.
• Data-driven technology ensuring optimal matches between refugees and municipalities.
• Support from local municipalities and civil society in receiving and integrating protection seekers.

Partners involved

• Berlin Governance Platform (BGP)
• Pairity
• Salam Lab
• Right to Protection Charitable Fund (R2P Poland)
• German cities (Braunschweig, Dinslaken, Düsseldorf, Kiel, Munich, Rottenburg am Neckar, Salzgitter, Troisdorf)

What challenges were encountered in delivering the project and how were they overcome?

Challenges

• Limited accommodation availability in certain municipalities due to high demand from broader refugee populations.
• Adjusting to differences in municipal data availability, which required flexibility in the matching process.
• Fluctuating refugee expectations, which led to tailoring processes and materials to accommodate and enhance expectation management to adequately prepare for local circumstances.
• Logistical hurdles in coordinating relocations across borders, especially under tight timelines.

How they were overcome

• The matching algorithm was adapted to work in cohorts, allowing phased relocations based on available resources in each municipality.
• Regular communication and feedback sessions with municipal staff and refugees helped fine-tune the relocation process and expectations.
• Flexible travel arrangements and on-the-ground support in departure and host countries ensured a smooth relocation process.

Results of the Good Practice

• The vast majority of participants reported satisfaction with their relocation and integration six to 12 months after relocation. 94% would recommend Re:Match to other displaced people looking for a way to move between countries.
• Increased sense of belonging: 56% of refugees reported strong social connections with local Germans and 66% with the wider Ukrainian diaspora after 1 year.
• Municipalities reported higher capacity utilization and an enhanced planning ability for refugee arrival and integration.
• Measurable alignment of municipal resources with refugee needs, reducing strain on local services while fostering community engagement.

In what way does the good practice meet one or more of the four objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees?

Objective 1: Ease the pressures on host countries

The improved utilization of capacities and better allocation of scarce resources in the host country, alleviates pressures on the local support system and administration. Re:Match also directly contributes to easing pressures on external border EU states like Poland by relocating refugees to municipalities of other states, like Germany. This approach alleviates the disproportionate strain on frontline states while enabling more equitable distribution of protection seekers across Europe.

Objective 2: Enhance refugee self-reliance

The matching process takes into account refugees’ preferences for employment opportunities, housing, and community services, fostering self-reliance by placing them in environments that align with their skills and aspirations. Pre-arrival preparation for local circumstances improves expectation management, resilience, and easier navigation of available services and systems. This tailored approach promotes meaningful participation, as well as long-term integration and independence, reducing reliance on external assistance.

Objective 3: Expand access to third-country solutions

Re:Match expands access to relocation within the EU by providing a pragmatic, needs-oriented pathway for protection seekers. By allowing municipalities to take an active role in the relocation process, the program diversifies available resettlement options, ensuring that refugees are matched with communities that can support their integration.

Next steps

Re:Match is expected to scale up to additional municipalities across Germany and Europe, with plans to expand the matching process to other refugee populations beyond those affected by the war in Ukraine. Additionally, the refinement of specific aspects of the matching, such as labour market components, is under works.

Are there areas in which support would be required to continue and/or scale up your good practice?

• Financial support for scaling the program to more municipalities across Europe.
• Technical support to further enhance the matching algorithm for new refugee populations and diverse municipal contexts.
• Collaboration with European policymakers to integrate the Re:Match model into broader EU asylum and relocation frameworks.

Elisa Ertl, Re:Match Project Coordinator, Berlin Governance Platform (BGP)

[email protected]

[email protected]