The landscape of health data concerning migrants, including refugees is fragmented, incomplete, and often of low quality. This situation is compound by political, governance, legal and structural aspects that challenge the effective integration and utilisation of available data.

Proposals should map the existing landscape of health data integration for migrants, including refugees across national health information systems, evaluating existing data collection frameworks, methodologies, and technologies used to gather and integrate health information on migrant populations, highlighting potential systemic and organisational barriers. They should identify challenges and best practices that have successfully facilitated data integration while maintain high standard of data privacy and security and provide policy recommendations.

Moreover, there is a lack of research exploring how intersecting factors such as age, gender, disability and legal status influence health outcomes among migrant and refugee populations, including older migrants. Addressing these gaps (including through a contribution of SSH disciplines) is essential for the development of informed policies that ensure equitable health care access and improve overall health outcomes with special consideration to persons in a vulnerable situation. Proposals should incorporate analysis of the impact of intersectional factors in access to health for migrant and refugees’ populations.

Beyond health, understanding the long-term impact of social inclusion and integration strategies, is critical. Proposals should develop comprehensive and comparative evaluation frameworks to measure the effectiveness of existing strategies at the EU, national and local levels, identifying best practices at all levels (EU, national, local) and particularly the role of small and medium-sized towns; municipalities and recommending innovative policy adjustments. Areas of focus should include labour market access, mobility options of asylum seekers within the Dublin framework, housing, youth and women participation, the contribution of private sector and non-state actors and the broader social, political, and cultural inclusion of migrants, including refugee communities, including the role of education, as well as linguistic competence in the language of the receiving country. Proposals are encouraged to explore the biographical dimensions of integration, acknowledging the personal trajectories of migrants, including refugees. Research should also explore the relationship between migratory movements and social identity formation, ensuring that integration policies are adaptable to evolving societal dynamics and sustainable over time. Proposals should incorporate quantitative data and sound methodologies to identify effective practices, target groups, and enabling conditions to assess integration policies and in particular labour market integration outcomes. Wherever relevant proposals are encouraged to include migrants and/or refugees as participants in their research assessing first-hand their experiences, needs, attitudes and opinions.

Proposals may envisage JRC participation, drawing on its cross-cutting expertise in migration governance, social inclusion, and integration including from a health aspect. The JRC could, for example, contribute to comparative policy analysis, harmonised data collection across Member States, and evidence-based support to EU-level decision-making, utilising its experience in modelling policy mechanisms, analysing data and developing indicators, analysing inequalities, and providing forecasting and foresight on migration trends.

Where relevant, proposals may consider citizen engagement and dialogue beyond migrants, including refugees, with a view to collecting broader input.