Evaluation of the German Community Sponsorship Programme "NesT – New Start in a Team" , Date: 2023.06.21, format: project (current), area: Authority

The Research Centre of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF-FZ) evaluated the community sponsorship programme "New Start in a Team" (NesT) between 2019 and 2022.

The NesT Programme

Between May 2019 and December 2022, the German Federal Government has been testing a community sponsorship pilot programme called "NesT – New Start in a Team". NesT became a regular programm of the German Federal Government on January 1., 2023. Nest is part of the resettlement programme and support the resettlement of up to 200 especially vulnerable refugees in 2023 by offering the opportunity to local volunteer groups to sponsor refugees. The goal is not only to offer additional resettlement opportunities for vulnerable refugees, but also to provide them with financial and social support after their arrival in Germany, thanks to the contribution of the sponsors. In fact, sponsoring teams finance the refugees' accommodation (Nettokaltmiete in German) for one year. Additionally, they help the refugees to exercise their rights, to get access to central services of the daily-life as well as to become a part of local community for a year, too.

Refugees within the resettlement programme as well as in NesT fled their countries of origin and reside in a first country of asylum. These programmes grant to the refugees the perspective of a safe relocation and a long-term stay in Germany.
Different actors of the government and the civil society work closely together. The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, the Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration, and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees are responsible for implementing the programme, while a Civil Society Contact Point – especially set up for NesT – provides information and offers training for interested parties and sponsors.

Evaluating the programme

The Research Centre carried out a formative evaluation during the pilot phase of programme. The focus lies on the recruitment and schooling of sponsors, the matching between the refugees and the sponsoring teams and the first year after arrival in Germany. The study contributes to scientific discussions on the role of the refugee admission programs and aids in producing policy advice as well.

Qualitative interviews and administrative data form the core material of the evaluation. The researchers conduct semi-structured interviews with sponsors, refugees and actors responsible for NesT. Additionally, they analyse administrative data documenting the sponsors' recruitment process as well as the refugees' admission process, especially the matching procedure.

The results of the evaluation are available online in the research report 44 "The German Community-based Sponsorship Programme ‘NesT – New Start in a Team’: Implementation Study".