In 2017-18, MOPAN, the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network, assessed the performance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The assessment looked at IOM’s organisational effectiveness (strategic, operational, relationship and performance aspects) and the results it achieved against its objectives. This was the first MOPAN assessment of IOM.
IOM’s role in the international architecture had grown in prominence as a result of increased migration volumes and greater international – and particularly political – attention to migration. While the organisation’s accession to the United Nations (UN) system in 2016 offered opportunities in terms of strategic and operational engagement at country, regional and international levels, it also presented challenges related to the organisation’s operating model and business practices. IOM’s designated role as co-ordinator of the Global Migration Network and its engagement with the Global Compact for Migration reflected increasing recognition of its comparative advantages and expertise. However, early preparatory work in this more normative space placed a strain on an organisation whose operating model and financial framework were almost completely “projectised”.
