Research
Area
The research conducted within the context of the IS-Academie, will on the
one hand result in various
outputs, such as 5 PhD
dissertations, academic
articles, and numerous
policy briefs and policy
papers. These policy briefs
and reports will be made
available for a larger
audience, through
publication on the website
of the IS Academy (www.is-academie.nl)
and the Maastricht Graduate
School of Governance (MGSoG)
(www.governance.unimaas.nl).
Furthermore, printed
versions will be distributed
through the dissemination
channels of the MFA, the
MGSoG and other consortium
partners. Each of the
consortium partners is
linked to a specific
network. The Maastricht
University and ICMPD are
strongly linked to the
academic communities in
developed and developing
countries. ECDPM has a
strong network among policy
makers in ACP countries and
with policy designers in
developed countries. EIPA
and ICMPD have excellent
contacts among the European
Countries and the
(administration of the)
European Commission. These
links and networks will be
used to disseminate the
results and output of the
research projects, but also
to attract both speakers and
audiences for the other
activities (see below).
On the
other hand the results will
also serve as input for
various other activities
that are proposed for the
partnership such as
conferences, workshops,
debates and discussions
(e.g. Advanced Academic
Updates and the M&D policy
debates with European and
international policy-makers
in Brussels and Geneva.).
Furthermore, the policy
relevance of the findings
can be discussed at these
events.
Research themes
The
research programme comprises
5 themes:
-
Remittances, development
(local economic growth)
and poverty alleviation;
-
Brain
drain and development
policy;
-
Return migration in the
life cycle of migrants;
-
The
Migration - Development
Nexus in EU External
Relations
-
EU
Mobility partnerships: a
comparative policy
evaluation
Database
The
construction of the database
is an important tool in the
proposed research programme.
The basic data allow
relating migration behaviour
of members of families to
their economic and social
embeddedness in the
societies in both the
country of origin, as well
as the country of
destination and to the
economic, social and legal
conditions under which they
live and lived at both sides
of the migration flow. This
database will provide part
of the empirical data for
the themes A, B and C
In the
field of migration and
development, quite some
quantitative data is already
being collected.[1]
Often these data sets lack
the linkage between migrants
and their families and
communities in their
countries of origin[2].
The database to be set up
for this program will fill
this gap.
Given the
time and budget constraints,
it has been decided that
data will be collected among
migrants in the Netherlands
stemming from 4 countries:
Afghanistan, Burundi,
Morocco and Ethiopia and
their families and networks
in the country of origin.
Data collection in all the
countries will be organized
in collaboration with local
research partners. Data will
be collected both by
quantitative surveys and by
qualitative data gathering
methods. The precise mixture
will be decided after a
pilot phase. These four
countries have been chosen
for various reasons. First
of all, all 4 countries
figure on the list of
partner countries for M&D
policy. Secondly in terms of
numbers migrants from this
origin form a fairly large
group in the Netherlands.
In addition these groups of
migrant all have quite a
different background and
came to the Netherlands in
different periods and for
different reasons. Lastly
also a geographical
distribution has been taken
into account.
The data
base will consist of the
following main parts: data
on the migration history of
the migrant families; data
on the social and economic
conditions under which the
families lived prior to
migration and in the
receiving country; data on
the future migration
intentions of migrant
families; data on the social
and economic networks of
migrant families in the
country of origin prior to
migration and currently, and
in the country of
destination; data on the
social and economic
relations between migrant
families and their networks
in both the countries of
origin and countries of
destination; data on the
policy parameters that
affect migrant families in
the receiving and the
sending country.
