What are you looking for?

Knowledge Component

Scroll down
Member States Programme

The Knowledge Component gives Member States access to ICMPD’s evidence base, expert insights, and regional networks. It includes activities such as peer exchanges, webinars, trainings, and tailored knowledge products that support national policy development and strategic processes like EU Presidencies and ICMPD Steering Group Chairmanships. 

If you are interested in a dedicated exchange on a specific topic or would like to explore the development of tailored knowledge products, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Alfred Woeger, Senior Project Manager, at Alfred.Woeger@icmpd.org.

Past activities

Between Access and Participation: The Labour Market Integration of Displaced Ukrainian Women

  • Background:

More than three years after the launch of the Temporary Protection Directive, over 4 million displaced persons from Ukraine continue to reside in the European Union. A significant majority are women, many of whom arrived with children and now carry primary caregiving responsibilities. While labour market access has been granted across all Member States, the actual participation of displaced women in employment varies considerably between countries.

For national authorities, this raises important questions about the effectiveness of existing integration measures and the long-term sustainability of national support systems. Persisting barriers to employment risk underutilising available skills, missing opportunities to address labour shortages, and placing additional strain on public services. Uncertain residence status, complex qualification recognition, limited childcare availability, and language requirements all continue to influence labour market outcomes – though in many ways depending on the structure of national welfare and labour market systems.

The INTAKE project provides fresh empirical insights into these challenges through a comparative, gender-sensitive lens, focusing on the cases of Austria, Germany, and Poland, which have received significant numbers of displaced persons from Ukraine and reflect different national systems and approaches to labour market integration. This webinar, organised within the framework of ICMPD’s Member States Programme, provided key findings from the ICMPD research and explored their implications for policymaking across ICMPD Member States. 

ICMPD Regions in Focus - Mediterranean

  • Background:

2025 marks an important moment for the Mediterranean, with several developments likely to influence migration and mobility. The political transition in Syria and the unresolved situation in Gaza, along with their broader regional impacts, are contributing to shifting dynamics. At the same time, countries in North Africa continue to see rising South-South migration, driven by limited socio-economic opportunities, climate crises and increasing conflicts in the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa. These trends have triggered concerns, including around socio – economic integration, contributing to a growing political focus on migration management, particularly in addressing irregular migration.

Due to the region’s geographic proximity and paramount role in the external dimension of EU policy, the cooperation efforts of the EU and its Member States with Southern Partner Countries (SPCs) are important determinants of migration dynamics in the region. Whilst irregular migration remains a focus, cooperation has broadened to cover a variety of public policy areas including skills circulation, labour mobility and economic development.

This webinar took place in the lead up to the June Ministerial on the Pact for the Mediterranean where migration is expected to feature in the discussions between EU MS and Mediterranean partners. The session was shaped to help inform Member States through operations-based reflections on the Pact ahead of the meeting.

As part of the ICMPD Member States Programme webinar series, this session provided Member States with timely insights into key migration policy trends, evolving regional dynamics, and ICMPD’s work across its regions of engagement. Participants also gained first-hand insights from ICMPD colleagues working in the region, who shared on-the-ground perspectives. The session further outlined ICMPD’s strategic priorities in the Mediterranean, highlighted recent initiatives and operational achievements, and reflected on current opportunities for regional cooperation.

Policy Responses to Irregular Migration: The Role and Impact of Regularisation Programmes

  • Background:

Irregular migration remains a central policy challenge for many ICMPD Member States, with governments seeking effective and sustainable solutions. While return policies have traditionally been prioritised, regularisation is another approach that has been employed to address the realities of migrants with irregular status who are unlikely to be returned. However, concerns persist that regularisation could encourage further irregular migration – creating a so-called "pull-effect". Evidence-based assessments are essential for understanding whether such concerns are justified and how regularisation fits into broader migration governance.

The Measuring Irregular Migration (MIrreM) project offers new empirical insights into the pathways into and out of irregularity and examines the different policy responses states adopt to address irregular migration, including regularisation. This webinar, organised within the framework of ICMPD’s Member States Programme, provided key findings from MIrreM’s research on regularisation measures and explored their implications for policymaking. Speakers examined different policy responses to irregular migration, assessed regularisation as a policy tool, and discussed its impact. Practical experiences from ICMPD Member States offered valuable insights into the implementation, challenges and lessons learned from regularisation programmes.

The current situation in Syria and what it means for the displaced population in key hosting states

  • Background:

After 14 years of conflict, more than 6 million Syrians live abroad as refugees and 7.2 million remain internally displaced. The recent developments in Syria have prompted some to return already despite remaining uncertainty, while others continue to flee in search of safety. This evolving situation has also triggered diverse reactions from countries hosting Syrian refugees: Several European governments have paused asylum decisions, awaiting clarity on the changing security and human rights conditions, while some are exploring options to facilitate voluntary returns and support the stabilisation of the situation.

In response to these developments, ICMPD convened a virtual exchange to examine the situation in ICMPD Member States, which host 67% of the world's Syrian refugees, and in the broader region. The meeting provided insights from ICMPD regional offices on the current situation and foster dialogue on its impact on international protection needs. It also explored the future direction of policies on voluntary return and reintegration in relation to Syria’s broader recovery and reconstruction efforts. Additionally, it assessed the need for ongoing exchanges on this topic, utilising the ICMPD Member States Programme as a platform for continued dialogue.

ICMPD Outlook 2025

  • Background:

In 2025, the political world and the world of migration will continue to experience high levels of volatility. This will be marked by systemic rivalry between the world’s great powers, a polynodal international order, greater state fragility, an increasing number of violent conflicts, rising terrorism, the weaponisation of energy and food insecurity. Below are the ten key migration issues to look out for in 2025 that can shape international migration.

  1.  Global displacement growing at a fast pace.
  2.  European migration trends fraught with uncertainty.
  3. A world becoming more restrictive towards migration.
  4. Global impact of the second Trump Presidency.
  5.  The search for “innovative solutions” to irregular migration.
  6.  A European Union focusing on return.
  7.  The unwritten future of Syrian displacement.
  8.  The need to prepare for different outcomes of the war in Ukraine.
  9.  A reinforced debate on the transition of temporary protection.
  10. The quietly growing role of labour migration.