Building Capacity for Private Sponsorship in the European Union (CAPS-EU) Project
The Building Capacity for Private Sponsorship in the European Union (CAPS-EU) project worked to build European, national and local government, and nongovernmental stakeholders’ capacity to design, implement, sustain, and scale up community sponsorship programmes for refugees. It sought to serve the needs of both emerging and established sponsorship states.
Led by the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) and supported by the Belgian reception agency (Fedasil) and MPI Europe, the three-year project (2020-2023) was co-financed by the European Commission under the Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund.
Project research collected here seeks to benefit policymakers, civil-society actors that manage sponsorship relationships, and sponsors by giving them the practical tools and requisite knowledge to overcome obstacles to the success and eventual growth of their programmes.
Long term, the CAPS-EU work seeks to benefit sponsored persons, via stronger relationships with their sponsors and the availability of more sponsorship places, and host communities, who will more meaningfully connect with newcomers.
Showing 1–4 of 4 results
From Safe Homes to Sponsors: Lessons from the Ukraine hosting response for refugee sponsorship programmes
Europe’s hosting response for Ukrainians offers lessons for refugee sponsorship, from simpler procedures and matching to stronger safeguards for hosts and guests.
Why Matching Matters: Improving outcomes in refugee sponsorship and complementary pathways
Matching refugees to sponsors using their preferences improves integration, yet most programmes rely on narrow placement criteria that overlook refugee agency.
Strengthening Refugee Engagement in Community Sponsorship Programmes
Speakers examined the challenges that hinder refugee participation in sponsorship program design and explored meaningful ways, tools, and mechanisms to effectively expand refugees’ role in current and future programmes.
Attracting, Retaining, and Diversifying Sponsors for Refugees in Community Sponsorship Programmes
European refugee sponsorship programmes fell far short of targets due to narrow outreach, burdensome requirements, and weak retention. To scale, they will need fundamental redesign.
