Problem addressed

EU4UA addresses a clear gap in support for Ukrainian refugees in Poland and Romania. Despite immediate emergency responses, Ukrainian refugees in host countries continue to face significant barriers to long-term integration, particularly in access to employment, adequate housing, healthcare and psychosocial support. Many refugees experience language barriers, underemployment, limited access to labour market information and fragmented support systems.
In Poland and Romania, existing services are often dispersed and sector-based, with no comprehensive, user-centred pathway guiding refugees and institutions through the integration process. There is a lack of structured, evidence-based guidance that connects social support, professional activation and psychosocial care into one coherent model. EU4UA addresses this gap by creating and testing a coordinated one-stop service blueprint.

Innovative solution

EU4UA project’s innovative solution is an evidence-based blueprint for a comprehensive one-stop support service for Ukrainian refugees. The blueprint integrates psychosocial support, professional activation, language support and integration pathways into one multi-stakeholder, need-tailored model. The final blueprint is designed as a practical guide with support pathways, action scenarios and working methods that will be tested with end users, improved through an iterative PDCA process (Plan, Do, Check, Act) and shared as an open, adaptable and replicable across diffrent European contexts. 
 

Key results and benefits

KEY RESULTS:
1. Evidence-based research on refugee support - The project will map existing interventions, identify what works, highlight gaps and bottlenecks, and produce a research report plus a structured data repository on refugee integration in Romania and Poland.
2. A comprehensive blueprint for integration - The core result is one innovative, evidence-based blueprint that brings together integrated services for Ukrainian refugees, including language support, vocational training, cultural orientation, mental health support, legal aid, employment guidance, entrepreneurship, and job coaching.
3. Pilot testing and improvement through feedback - The blueprint will not remain theoretical. It will be tested with end users and specialists in Poland and Romania, then refined through a PDCA improvement process based on evaluation findings and stakeholder feedback.
4. A final multilingual, adaptable resource - The final blueprint will be published in multiple languages and shared as an open, adaptable and replicable solution that can be used beyond the partner countries.
5. Wide dissemination and policy outreach - The project will deliver communication and dissemination tools, online promotion, articles, events, a webinar, and multiplier events, including a European conference in Iași, to support uptake by practitioners and decision-makers.
BENEFITS:
1. Better support for Ukrainian refugees - The project is designed to improve social and labour market integration and help refugees become more professionally and economically independent in their host communities.
2. Stronger capacity for specialists and institutions - Labour market professionals, NGOs, public services, and authorities will gain a practical tool and clearer guidance for working with refugee communities more effectively.
3. More coordinated stakeholder response - A major benefit is stronger cooperation between public, private and civil society actors, leading to a more integrated response to refugee needs.
4. Better preparedness for policymakers and practitioners - The project aims to increase awareness, readiness, and policy responsiveness, giving decision-makers and frontline actors a tested model they can apply and scale.
5. A basis for wider EU use - Because the blueprint is meant to be replicable, the project can contribute to a more unified EU support framework and a more coherent long-term approach to refugee integration.
 

Potential for mainstreaming

EU4UA is designed to ensure that the innovation extends beyond the pilot phase. The project will produce an open, adaptable and replicable blueprint, publish it on partners’ websites, and disseminate it widely to stakeholders at local, national and European level. The blueprint will be published as an open, adaptable resource and integrated into partners’ regular support programmes for refugees. European networks will help in disseminating the model among their members, supporting its transfer to other countries and contexts. The project’s strong policy relevance and involvement of public institutions create favorable conditions for scaling up and mainstreaming the model at local, national and European levels.