The initial meeting of the Horizon 2020 project QuantMig: Quantifying Migration Scenarios for Better Policy took place on 19-20 February 2020 in Brussels. QuantMig aims to develop innovative analytical tools for exploring quantitative scenarios of different futures of European migration based on strong theoretical fundamentals, and to disseminate the results in a close collaboration with project stakeholders.

The kick-off meeting invloved the representatves of all consortium members and the international partner, members of the Project Advisory Board, as well as the representative of the European Commission, which is funding the work. The meeting was hosted by the UK Research Office on the first day, and by the Brussels office of the Max Planck Society on the second. The programme included a presentation of the project and its overall objectives, discussions of the research plan, project administration and management, dissemination activities, and specific operational plans for the first year of the project duration.

The Project Lead, Professor Jakub Bijak from the University of Southampton, said: "QuantMig is an exciting opportunity to develop methods for setting migration scenarios based on the most recent developments in quantitative migration studies. In such projects, it is all the more important to have the right interdisciplinary team and genuine interest from scenario users, both of which this project is lucky to have. The timing is also ideal, with recent events highlighting the unpredictability of migration and the need for designing robust tools for managing it."

The QuantMig work programme includes 12 innovative work packages, looking at the migration concepts, drivers, and data as building blocks for future scenarios of migration into, within and out of Europe. The work on the project has started on 1 February 2020, and is expected to be completed by the end of January 2023. More details on the project and specific activities are available from the project website, www.quantmig.eu