Master thesis project - measuring the societal and financial impact of 1-to-n online refugee counselling versus traditional 1-to-1 advisory services

The integration of refugees in Europe remains marked by information gaps, language barriers, and bureaucratic hurdles. Many people lack access to reliable, understandable, and timely guidance — especially those living in rural areas, reception centers, or without sufficient language skills. At the same time, traditional counselling services are reaching their limits: staff are overburdened, resources are scarce, and rising refugee numbers continue to strain the system.

Wefugees addresses this gap through a digital, moderated forum where refugees can ask questions, experts provide verified answers, and all information remains publicly accessible. This creates a collective knowledge base that is transparent, inclusive, and reusable — helping thousands of people while reducing repetitive 1-to-1 consultations.

Why is it relevant especially now?

• Rising refugee numbers in Europe demand scalable, digital solutions.
• Language and digital access barriers prevent many from reaching state services.
• Public advisory structures are chronically underfunded and overstretched.
• Investing in intelligent, self-help digital systems today can significantly reduce integration costs in the long run.

Through this research, we aim to quantify the societal and financial value of digital 1-to-n refugee counselling — laying the foundation for a new generation of social innovations that combine empathy, efficiency, and technology for the common good.

Aufgaben

Thesis topic

“Measuring the societal and financial impact of 1-to-n online refugee counselling versus traditional 1-to-1 advisory services.”

Publicly funded refugee counselling in Germany is still mostly delivered as 1-to-1 advice — either in person or through individual chats. Wefugees offers an alternative model: one expert answer can be read and reused by hundreds of others.

The goal of this Master’s thesis is to develop a scientifically sound estimation model of how much public cost could be saved each year if parts of refugee counselling shifted from 1-to-1 to 1-to-n, community-based digital formats like Wefugees.

How much money and administrative effort could Germany save annually by scaling digital 1-to-n peer counselling compared to the traditional 1-to-1 advisory model?

Possible sub-questions

• What are the average costs per 1-to-1 counselling case (including personnel, translation, and overhead)?
• How many individual cases could potentially be solved by accessing existing online answers?
• What indirect savings arise through faster asylum procedures, fewer appeals, and reduced double counselling?

Methods and deliverables

• Literature review on cost-benefit evaluation of public advisory services and digital social
• innovation
• Data collection from official statistics (BAMF, municipalities, NGOs) and Wefugees usage data
• Development of a quantitative calculation model (Excel, Python, or R) for annual savings
• estimation
• Policy brief summarizing key findings and recommendations

Anforderungen

Your profile

• Enrolled in a Master’s program in Economics, Public Policy, Data Science, Social Innovation, or a related field
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills (Excel, R, Python, or STATA)
• Interest in migration, social innovation, and digital public services
• Ability to work independently and communicate results clearly
• Optional: experience with cost-benefit analysis, impact measurement, or public administration

Benefits

What we offer

• A highly relevant real-world research case with direct policy impact
• Access to unique Wefugees platform data and expert network
• Visibility of your findings in reports, conferences, and publications
• Flexible working arrangements and the chance to make a real contribution to social innovation in Germany

Kontakt

Application

Please send your CV, a short motivation letter (max. 1 page), and your university’s thesis requirements to info@wefugees.de with the subject line: Master Thesis – Cost Savings Analysis.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Über das Unternehmen

About Wefugees

Wefugees is the largest digital community for refugees and asylum seekers in Germany. Since 2015,

our platform has provided free, multilingual, peer-to-peer and expert advice on asylum, residence, and integration topics — connecting people with verified experts and creating a growing public knowledge base accessible to everyone.

We believe that knowledge should be a human right — and that scalable digital solutions can

relieve the burden on public systems while empowering people to help one another.

Dieser Arbeitgeber freut sich über Bewerbungen von geflüchteten Menschen.

Standort

Wefugees gUG, Hedwigstraße 7, 59609 Anröchte, Deutschland