The International Organization for Migration (IOM) implements a wide range of protection programming aimed at addressing the needs of migrants and host communities in the context of irregular migration and displacement. During the last years, IOM has increasingly adopted Community-Based Protection (CBP) approaches, which address Protection issues and outcomes with a focus on inclusiveness, active participation, engagement of affected communities, and local ownership. 

The Cooperation on Migration and Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Solutions (COMPASS) is a strategic cooperation between IOM and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Currently in its second phase, COMPASS is a multi‑year, multi‑region programme that contributes to strengthened migration governance systems and multistakeholder cooperation. It also supports services that facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration while protecting and upholding the rights of migrants. COMPASS operates across four regions—Asia and the Pacific, East, Horn, and Southern Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and West and Central Africa—characterized by mixed migration patterns and movements driven by a multitude of interconnected drivers. It contributes to strengthening migration governance and IOM’s operational capacities in 14 countries spanning these regions: Afghanistan, Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tunisia. 

The Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa (RDPP-NA) -currently in its 7th phase- is a specialized protection programme covering North Africa, as well as Mauritania and Niger, and with a specific focus on Counter-trafficking, Child Protection and Community-Based Protection. Through RDPP, IOM implements protection-focused, route-based interventions along the three main migration routes: the Central Mediterranean, the Western Mediterranean and the Western African Atlantic Routes.  

Building on the finalization of the comprehensive IOM institutional guidance on CBP and the growing implementation of CBP programming within IOM operations, there remains a need to i) operationalize the guidance, ii) strengthen CBP programming effectiveness and consistency, and iii) inform further action. Through documentation and analysis of lessons learned, promising practices, and operational challenges, this consultancy, co-funded under RDPP and COMPASS, will fill this gap by developing a Learning Note on CBP that will be published as an Annex to IOM institutional CBP Guidance. Particular attention will be given to identifying and documenting best practices and illustrative case studies drawn from a global context, with a specific focus on countries covered under RDPP¹and COMPASS^2. The IOM CBP Learning Note is intended to serve as a practical resource for IOM staff, partners, governmental actors and donors, supporting the quality and consistency of CBP approaches, and informing future interventions.

The CBP Learning Note will focus on a variety of settings where migrants face a range of protection risks, including limited access to basic services, exposure to exploitation and abuse, and social tensions linked to resource constraints and marginalization. In such contexts, community-based approaches are essential to fostering trust, strengthening local coping mechanisms, and ensuring that protection interventions are contextually appropriate and sustainable. Documenting and taking stock of best practice and challenges in CBP implementation in these contexts will be key to guide future programming and strengthen accountability to communities.

• The Cooperation on Migration and Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Solutions (COMPASS)

• Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa (RDPP-NA)