Introduction

Established in 1951, IOM is a Related Organization of the United Nations, and as the leading UN agency in the field of migration, works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

IOM is committed to ensuring a workplace where all employees can thrive professionally, while working towards harnessing the full potential of migration. Read more about IOM's workplace culture at IOM workplace culture | International Organization for Migration

Project Context and Scope

The Eastern Mediterranean Route is one of the main pathways into Europe, with about 76,000 migrants using it in 2024 (approx. 37 per cent of all arrivals). Most people travelling along this route come from Morocco, Afghanistan, Egypt, the Syrian Arab Republic, and Türkiye, driven by conflict, political instability, economic hardship, and increasingly restrictive asylum policies in neighbouring countries. The journey through the Western Balkans section is highly dangerous and migrants face many challenges, such as limited access to basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical care; harsh weather conditions; long overland treks; dangerous border crossings; and a high risk of exploitation or abuse. In 2024, 39 deaths or disappearances were recorded along this route. These dynamics underscore the crucial role of Western Balkans partners in managing migration flows and contributing to stability in the regions bordering the EU.

Irregular migration flows through the Western Balkans are comprised of a diverse group of people, including refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in search of a better life. According to latest data, 59% of migrants reported crossing borders with the assistance of smugglers at least once during their journey. These smuggling networks are increasingly violent and adaptable, with significant levels of migrant abuse and sophisticated capabilities to shift routes in response to law enforcement interventions. These dynamics, combined with extensive land borders with the EU and misaligned visa regimes, put significant pressure on Western Balkans authorities responsible for border and identity management.

At the same time, the region is undergoing major demographic shifts, driven by sustained emigration and growing labour market shortages. While Western Balkan economies are seeking to attract foreign workers, barriers such as lengthy and costly work permit procedures, limited labour market forecasting systems, and slow progress in aligning migration data standards with the EU continue to hinder the development of effective, long-term migration and mobility policies. Limited access to quality information and integration services further affects both the attractiveness of the region and the retention of migrant workers.

As part of their broader European integration processes, all Western Balkans project partners (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo [1] , Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia (WB6)) are candidates or potential candidates for EU accession. Advancing toward membership requires alignment with the EU acquis, including progress on negotiating and opening accession chapters. Chapters 2 (Freedom of Movement for Workers), 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights), and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security) are particularly relevant, as they encompass core standards on mobility, rule of law, border management, migration governance, and fundamental rights. Progress in these chapters directly influences each partner’s preparedness to meet EU requirements and strengthen institutional capacities in line with EU norms.
Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing
Regional Migration Governance Programme (RMGP)

To address some of these challenges, Denmark and IOM have developed a project titled the Regional Migration Governance Programme (RMGP). The overall objective of the project is to enhance safe, orderly, and rights-based migration and border management in the Western Balkans, focusing on two key outcomes:

Outcome 1:

Strengthening border governance by enhancing migration systems, legal frameworks and migration practices that respect international standards.

Output 1.1: Authorities and other stakeholders are capacitated to strengthen the regional operational coordination mechanisms that foster coherence and adherence to international standards, and more safe, orderly and rights-based migration and border governance in Western Balkans.

Output 1.2: Migrants transiting through the Western Balkans have access to information on return and reintegration in order to make informed decisions.

Outcome 2:
Enhancing access to regular mobility pathways in the Western Balkans region.

Output 2.1: Western Balkans expand regular mobility pathways that positively contribute to economic growth through cooperation frameworks, information sharing and policy support.

Through the RMGP, IOM will work with Western Balkan migration management partners to develop effective and rights-based responses to irregular migration that align with EU standards and practices; establish critical dialogues with countries of origin on return, readmission and reintegration; and explore opportunities to expand regular labour mobility pathways.

Purpose

IOM seeks to engage a consultant with specialized expertise on EU alignment and the EU acquis to conduct a comprehensive baseline assessment of the current state of alignment of border governance and migration management frameworks, legislation, policies and procedures of six Western Balkan entities [1] (Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo1) with the EU acquis. The assessment will focus specifically on EU acquis Chapters 2, 23 and 24, and will evaluate the extent to which each entity’s systems and practices correspond to relevant EU standards and requirements.

The consultant will compile, review and analyse existing monitoring mechanisms/screening reports/ country reports/documents established by the EU and accession countries to determine the present level of alignment in each WB6 entity, and identify gaps, challenges, and opportunities for advancing EU acquis compliance within the thematic areas covered by the project, focusing on migration and border management. This baseline will provide a clear and structured understanding of progress made to date, as well as the areas where further efforts are needed to support accession-related reforms.

Findings from the assessment will:

Enable IOM to design and implement targeted interventions with national authorities to strengthen border governance and migration management systems and support the development and revision of frameworks, legislation, policies and procedures to better align with EU acquis standards.

Serve as the benchmark for measuring progress achieved over the project’s duration. The same methodology, tools and indicators will be used to produce an endline assessment, allowing for a comparative analysis of advancements made toward EU alignment.

To ensure meaningful comparison across entities and over time, the consultant is required to develop a standardized, replicable methodology that includes clear, quantifiable indicators and an alignment scoring framework capable of capturing both qualitative and quantitative dimensions of EU acquis compliance.

Objectives and Scope of the service :

The study will establish a robust baseline of the current level of alignment of border governance and migration management frameworks, legislation, policies and procedures across the WB6 entities, with a specific focus on EU acquis Chapters 2 (Freedom of Movement for Workers), 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights), and 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security)

To that end, the assessment will achieve the following objectives:

Determine the baseline alignment status for each WB6 entity against the relevant provisions of Chapters 2, 23 and 24, documenting the degree of correspondence between existing frameworks, legislation, policies and procedures and applicable EU acquis requirements by compiling and comparing existing official monitoring mechanisms/documents/ progress and screening reports for each country.

Produce a measurable “EU alignment scoring framework” (e.g., index/scorecard with quantitative and qualitative indicators, rating thresholds and narrative justifications) to translate data and evidence into comparable alignment scores for each entity and chapter, which will enable cross-country comparisons at baseline and like-for like-measurement at endline.

Identify gaps, risks and priority opportunities to advance EU alignment within the project scope, providing actionable, sequenced recommendations that directly inform RMGP interventions with relevant authorities.

Deliver standardized country profiles and a regional synthesis, summarizing baseline findings, evidence sources, standardized and comparable alignment scores, and targeted recommendations per WB6 entity.

Lay the foundation for project monitoring and evaluation, providing baseline values for indicators (developed under Point 2) and a clear roadmap for applying the same methodology, tools and scoring framework in the endline assessment and comparative analysis.

The assessment will serve as a baseline to establish the current level of EU alignment and institutional readiness to effect changes in frameworks, legislation, policies and procedures related to border governance and migration management. The assessment will serve as a benchmark to enable IOM to track changes in policy, legislation and institutional frameworks over time; verify reported results; and identify gaps, inconsistencies or delays in alignment efforts.

METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH

Analytical Scope

The analysis will assess the alignment of border governance and migration management frameworks, legislation, policies and procedures with the EU acquis, focusing on Chapters 2 (Freedom of Movement for Workers), 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights), and 24 (Justice Freedom and Security). The emphasis of the assessment will be on the existence, quality and application of measures across the WB6 entities that are relevant to these chapters, targeting qualitative evidence.

The consultant will develop a methodology in close collaboration with the Project Management Team (PMT), built around two complementary data‑collection and analysis approaches which will enable cross-country comparability and endline replication.

A standardized knowledge survey

A structured desk review

The methodology should be standardized so that it can be replicated at the end of the project to conduct an endline assessment of EU alignment, to measure progress made through the implementation of the project. The methodology must also incorporate a rights-based, gender-sensitive, and conflict‑sensitive approach.

Knowledge Survey (standardized and lightweight)

A concise survey will collect structured inputs from key stakeholders across all WB6 entities on institutional arrangements and practices (e.g. existence of laws, SOPs, guidance, training) and measure the baseline level of knowledge related to EU alignment, the EU acquis, and identification of gaps and challenges with regard to EU alignment. The consultant will be responsible for developing survey data collection tools in coordination with the Project Support Unit (PSU) Focal Point and the Project Management Team (PMT). The survey will then be sent to a defined minimum set of institutions per WB6 entity (e.g. Ministry of Interior/Security, Border Police, EU Integration Office etc.) in coordination with the Project Management Team.

Desk Review:

The desk review will consist of a systematic analysis of project documentation and official EU documents relevant to alignment, including acquis chapters, directives, regulations; and EU progress reports, cluster/chapter assessments and other relevant EU monitoring or benchmarking tools. The consultant will evaluate the extent to which each WB6 entity has aligned their frameworks, legislation, policies and procedures to relevant EU acquis standards and requirements. Where necessary, the desk review will also incorporate national strategies, policies, action plans and legislative acts relevant to the thematic scope of the project; draft laws and legislation developed or supported under the project; institutional mandates, standard operating procedures, guidelines and internal regulations of relevant authorities.

EU Alignment Scoring Framework

During the inception, the consultant will develop and finalise an EU alignment scoring framework comprising:

Indicators per chapter/topic to measure alignment with relevant acquis requirements

A rating scale to indicate extent of alignment (e.g. 0 – 10) with explicit thresholds and justifications

Evidence rules specifying what constitutes sufficient proof from the desk review and survey results

A concise scoring manual outlining procedure for scoring alignment and to guide the process for the endline assessment.

IOM BiH together with its Regional Office in Vienna will provide guidance and feedback on the research design, methodology, tools for data collection, sources of data (key stakeholders, documents, legislation etc.), and the EU alignment scoring framework.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME

Inception Report

The consultant will deliver an inception report which will include the methodology for the baseline assessment. This will include:

Survey questionnaire and target list of key stakeholders to be developed in coordination with the PMT and PSU Focal Point

Comprehensive list of EU monitoring mechanism documents, policies, legislation etc. to be incorporated in the desk review

Analytical framework for an alignment assessment that compares existing official monitoring mechanisms/documents/ progress and screening reports for each country.

A final EU alignment scoring framework with measurable and repeatable indicators applicable to all WB6 entities, and a structured matrix template per country that presents the indicators and enables comparison from country to country and will allow a comparative analysis of progress between baseline and endline assessments.

IOM BiH and IOM Regional Office in Vienna will review the inception report and, if necessary, provide feedback, which the consultant will be responsible for incorporating. Once satisfactorily incorporated, IOM BiH and IOM Regional Office in Vienna will provide approval for the inception report, after which, the consultant will begin the data collection process.

Draft Report and Final Report

A draft report for the qualitative baseline alignment assessment will be shared with IOM BiH and IOM Regional Office in Vienna for comments. This report should include a detailed methodology, including data collection methods and tools, a comprehensive list of all documents included under the desk review, clear analytical approach to assess the degree of alignment between national frameworks, policies, legislation and procedures with the EU acquis, and clear and measurable indicators to measure alignment. The report must include:

Prioritised, actionable recommendations

Short-term / medium-term steps

Institutional capacities needed for alignment

One consolidated regional report is expected, split into sections divided by country, with a matrix of indicators and analysis per country.

Following feedback from IOM BiH and the IOM Regional Office in Vienna, the final version of the report will be developed taking into account any comments provided.

The service provider commits to submitting the above to IOM BiH for review and to coordinate closely with IOM BiH. IOM BiH must review deliverables and determine if deliverables are satisfactory prior to acceptance and payment.

Deliverables

Due Date

Draft methodology, survey questionnaire and indicators

7 June 2026

Inception report

15 June 2026

Draft Report

13 July 2026

Final Report

27 July 2026

DURATION, LOCATION, AND MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

The consultant is expected to submit all deliverables by 27 July 2026. The service provider will be working under the overall supervision of IOM BiH. As managers for this assignment, IOM will:

Provide the consultant with relevant project documents upon commencement of the assignment and provide guidance on documents to be incorporated into the desk review.

Coordinate and communicate with government counterparts, civil society partners, and other related stakeholders as needed.

Support in identification of key stakeholders to be surveyed

Provide and consolidate

CfA 15-05/26 RMGP EU Alignment Consultant, Sarajevo