Out now—NIEM’s new report reveals ‘wide-ranging’ data gaps in refugee integration across Europe

Published today, NIEM’s latest report reveals wide-ranging data gaps in refugee integration across Europe. The report is based on the availability of data across 14 EU countries and 12 dimensions (e.g., housing, employment, education etc). 

Methodology
The analysis draws on NIEM’s Evaluation 2 research, referring to data availability and accessibility as of 2021. It uses the following colour coding scheme (pictured below) to highlight the quantity and the quality of data for specific indicators. 


 







Key findings
The report reveals wide-ranging gaps both geographically (across the EU countries) and thematically (in many of the dimensions). In particular, the gaps are observed in the availability of data for the following areas:
•    Public spending on refugee integration, staff resources and detailed statistics that would disentangle beneficiaries of international protection (BIPs) from other migrant groups;
•    The residency, family reunification, building bridges and citizenship dimensions. For example, Italy, Spain and Romania do not collect any data on indicators relevant to participation and the role of the receiving society (aka ‘building bridges’), while Lithuania, Spain and Italy do not provide any data on indicators about family reunification.

Implications
The report’s findings are not only relevant to NIEM, but also have important implications for policymakers, civil society, and society in general. Put simply, the availability of data is essential in order to measure and monitor progress toward building successful integration and inclusion policy frameworks. Without data, policymakers—and society as a whole—are in effect ‘navigating with blindfolds on’, unable to gauge progress toward their goals. Subsequently, NIEM researchers call for these data gaps to be addressed, thereby improving the essential infrastructure necessary for informed decision-making.