REFINFO: Integrating Communications for Better Stakeholder Engagement

The Resettlement Support Center (RSC) in IOM Amman, Jordan, is committed to adapt to the rapidly changing technological landscape – as it leverages ICT solutions that enable collaboration and mobility between its internal and external stakeholders.

In this context, the Refugee Information website (REFINFOv2) operates as a web-based platform, with an overarching goal of enhancing information delivery and improving the quality of exchanges between the RSC and its external stakeholders – more specifically, the refugees who access the RSC’s information and services. REFINFO is an outward-facing external advocacy tool for information sharing on the complex process of resettlement and facilitates immediate information access among its stakeholders from anywhere. While the platform mainly caters to its refugee resettlement caseloads, it also publishes information for its domestic partners in the United States, foreign embassies, and other resettlement agencies.

REFINFO is a standard system that facilitates refugee access to their case. REFINFO’s available online services include: applying to the programme; checking their case status; scheduling case consultations; and submitting documents to the RSC online. It also enables the RSC to send notifications and information that are relevant to a large collective of United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) applicants. For example, in June 2016, when all USRAP cases in Israel were transferred from RSC MENA to RSC Austria. RSC MENA notified all affected cases using REFINFO’s notification feature to supplement the traditional methods of sending emails and making phone calls.

REFINFO’s mobile-responsive framework supports an environment of highly mobile and increasingly IT-savvy population. With a 75 percent viewership of a mobile device-enabled user base, the web application delivers information across different platforms to better engage with its primary stakeholders.

Through REFINFO, the RSC gears toward a “unified communications experience.” Correspondingly, further undertakings aim to explore the probability of integration with other communication and collaboration applications and services, such as IP telephony and Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which may increase virtual presence for its stakeholders. Future versions of REFINFO will consider virtual interactions to be more personal, contextual, and secure – unifying the stakeholder experience across multiple communication platforms used by the RSC. Leveraging mobility-enabling technologies allows the RSC to make that   experience available at any time and from anywhere.

For inquiries and more information regarding REFINFO, email the IOM Amman Information Management at IOMAmmanDIM@iom.int, or visit the RSC Middle East and North Africa Refugee Information Website at https://jordan.iom.int/refinfo/.