Using our algorithm-based Re:Match procedure once again, we have successfully matched and relocated Ukrainian protection-seekers from Poland to the German municipalities Braunschweig, Düsseldorf, Kiel, Rottenburg am Neckar, Salzgitter and Troisdorf.

While the participating refugees of the first relocation cohort have already started settling into their new municipalities in Germany since May of 2023, the Re:Match team has been busy preparing the matching and relocation procedure for a second group. This new cohort of 26 Ukrainian protection-seekers has been relocated from Poland to Germany in the last week of June. This second relocation has allowed us to implement changes resulting from first learning experiences and therefore to make important progress in the piloting of needs-oriented matching and relocation.

What’s next?

Relocation programs exist in an environment that is shaped by conflict and ever-changing conditions. Additionally, with every step this project takes we gather new learnings which are meant to be applied to the further course of the project. Therefore the Re:Match team will do another preliminary evaluation and adjustment of communication materials between the second and third cohort as well as getting in contact with further NGOs in Poland and Ukraine to inform additional protection-seekers about the project.

In August and September we will be matching and relocating a third (and preliminarily last) cohort of Ukrainian protection-seekers and German municipalities. Meanwhile our team will be preparing itself for an in-depth evaluation this year’s project implementation. Considering current developments in migration policy on the EU-level, we will also be analyzing the potential scalability of our pilot project for an EU-wide distribution and reception mechanism in this evaluation report, as well as the applicability of relocation via matching for other protection-seekers.

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