IMPACT Study - EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration (HoA)

The IMPACT study (eastandhornofafrica.iom.int) was the impact evaluation of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa, a EUR 64.5M return and reintegration programme funded by the European Union Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) between 2017 and 2023. The study had three components: (1) a core analysis based on a semi-experimental design comparing the (re)integration outcomes of different analytical cohorts of beneficiaries exposed to different treatments, with calibration of the results against matched non-migrant individuals; (2) a natural experiment-based evaluation looking at the effects of the shocks experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of beneficiaries; (3) a qualitative analysis component complementary to the other two. The IMPACT study was conducted in Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan - the three countries accounting for the largest reintegration caseloads in the East and Horn of Africa region - and was the first impact evaluation conducted on a large-scale programme of this type. Returning migrants assisted under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan, as well as matched non migrant individuals serving as a calibration group for the analysis of reintegration outcomes of the former.