The third Steering Committee meeting of the Project "Portugal: Enhancing Migrant Integration Services” was held on March 8.  

It was attended by the High Commissioner for Migration, representatives of the European Commission (DG REFORM) and the IOM Regional Office, staff from the High Commission for Migration (ACM) and the IOM Portugal project team.  

The IOM Head of Office opened the meeting by reinforcing the importance of collaborative work with ACM in all phases of the project. He underlined the IOM team's goal of delivering useful materials that can be incorporated into the daily management of the different services of ACM, and responding to the needs of the staff, and shared that the first products of the project will be completed in the coming months.  

The High Commissioner for Migration recalled the positive impact on ACM of the technical support received in the framework of the project.  She reiterated the importance of close collaboration between the different actors and shared that ACM had the opportunity to strengthen its internal coordination mechanisms in the structure of the National Support Centres for the Integration of Migrants (CNAIM), as well as the link with the Local Support Centres (CLAIM). The High Commissioner also mentioned the relevance of the project's support for the digital transformation in the ACM and, finally, the importance of staff training to meet the constant challenges.  

The meeting was also attended by the three teams of consultants who are currently collaborating with IOM on the three main outcomes of the project: improving the integrated response to migrants; supporting the transition of the digital platforms to a multi-channel approach; and reviewing and enhancing the training activities.  

- The team from NOVA SBE Data Science Knowledge Center shared the work they are developing for the Diagnosis and Benchmarking of ACM’s digital platforms 

- The Stone Soup Consulting and Aga Khan Foundation team of consultants focused on the steps for the development of a Training Plan and content on Intercultural Mediation for CNAIM and LAM staff 

- Linking Partners consultants advanced the next steps for the development of a Procedural Guide and Welcome Toolkit.  
 
The meeting allowed for the presentation of the progress made to date on the project. In this context, the ongoing development by the IOM team of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for ACM’s emergency teams, was also detailed.  

ACM shared the implementation status of the recommendations for an integrated response of ACM’s services produced in the first phase of the project. 

Lastly, IOM presented the activities and products to be developed in the coming months. 

The project is funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by IOM, in cooperation with the European Commission.