Advancing the Localisation of Forced Migration Research

FFVT works together with international partner institutions and networks active in the field of Forced Migration Studies to highlight

  • the relevance of localised research and knowledge production, equitable partnerships,

  • the promotion of research infrastructure and academic teaching in countries of the Global South,

  • the access to tertiary education for forcibly displaced persons, and

  • the active participation of refugees in research processes.

The core partners are the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the UNHCR Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network (GAIN), and the UNHCR Sergio Vieira de Mello Academic Chairs (De Mello Chairs). This kind of locally grounded research is crucial for humanitarian and particularly development endeavours, as it strengthens local research capacities and, through appropriate local participation throughout the research process, it leads to context-specific solutions that enable more tailored policy advice.

One of the major achievements to date was the presentation of a draft pledge at the closing plenary session at the UN High Commissioner’s Dialoge on Protection Challenges: Development Cooperation in Geneva in December 2022.

Currently, we are expanding the coalition. We are developing a joint pledge for the Global Refugee Forum in December 2023 in partnership with persons with lived experience of displacement, academic institutions, research funders, governments, and the private sector. Take a look at our concept note “Shifting Power: Advancing Localization in Research and Elevating the Voices from Local and Forced Displaced Communities Globally”.

If you are interested in supporting our efforts and sign the pledge (and thereby contribute to the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees) please contact us (...).

Contact persons:

  • For FFVT:

    • Merlin Flaig (German Institute of Development and Sustainability, IDOS, Germany; ...)

    • Prof. Dr. Ulrike Krause (Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies, IMIS, Germany; ...)

  • For IDRC:

    • Roula El-Rifai (International Development Research Centre, IDRC, Canada; ...)

  • For LERRN:

    • Heather Alexander (Carleton University, Canada; ...)

  • For GAIN (...):

    • Prof. Geoff Gilbert (University of Essex, United Kingdom; ...)

    • Prof. Liliana Lyra Jubilut (Universidade Católica de Santos, Brazil; ...)

  • For UNHCR / the De Mello Chairs:

    • Ana Carolina Pinto Dantas (UN Refugee Agency, Switzerland; ...)

List of supporting networks and institutions:

  • International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM)

  • Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table (R-SEAT)

  • Chair in International Forced Migration, Inclusion and Human Rights, University of Guadalajara-IDRC

  • University for Peace - Latin American Observatory on Human Mobility, Climate Change and Disasters (MOVE-LAM)

  • Tertiary Refugee Students Network (TRSN)

  • U.S. Refugee Advisory Board (USRAB)

  • International Institute of Humanitarian Law (Sanremo Institute)

  • German Network for Forced Migration Studies (Netzwerk Fluchtforschung e.V, NWFF)

  • […]

Related activities

Online-Workshop

UNAI SDGs Workshop "Advancing refugee inclusion through the 2030 Agenda"

20. Juni 2023

Stakeholders involved: UNHCR, GAIN, De Mello Chairs, UNAI

This workshop emphasises the contributions of academia in fostering refugee inclusion and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Online-Podiumsdiskussion

Meaningful Refugee Participation: Taking Stock and Charting the Way Forward

20. Juni 2023

Stakeholders involved: R-SEAT, LERRN, RAN Canada, USRAB

Recent years have witnessed potentially significant developments in the meaningful participation of refugees in the governance of the global refugee regime. This panel engages with examples of efforts to develop mechanisms to facilitate the meaningful participation of refugees in the engagement of Canada, New Zealand and the US in the global refugee regime.

Podiumsdiskussion

Academia in the Service of Refugee Inclusion

19. Juni 2023

Stakeholders involved: FFVT, UNHCR, KUL

On the occasion of World Refugee Day and the completion of the 2022/2023 academic year, the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) and UNHCR is pleased to organize an international panel, bringing together experts in the fields of academia, research, humanitarian assistance, and refugee inclusion, to discuss how academia can support refugee inclusion.

 

Inaugural Workshop IDRC Research Chairs Network on Forced Displacement

30 - 31. Mai 2023

Stakeholders involved: LERRN, IDRC

Twelve experts from some of the places most impacted by forced displacement gathered in person for the inaugural workshop of the IDRC Research Chairs Network on Forced Displacement. Funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, and with support from Carleton University, they came from countries where mass displacement is not just an abstract talking point, but a daily lived experience, countries that host the majority of those fleeing the world’s most urgent humanitarian emergencies.

 

Second edition of the European Summit of Refugees and Migrants

17. Januar 2023 – Berlin

Stakeholders involved: European Coalition of Migrants and Refugees (EU-COMAR), Global Refugee-led Network (GRN), UNHCR, FFVT, German government representatives, private research funders

Ankündigung

Promoting localised research and equitable partnerships in Forced Migration Studies at the UN High Commissioner’s Dialogue

7. Dezember 2022 – Geneva

Stakeholders involved: UNHCR GAIN, LERRN, FFVT, IDRC, De Mello Chairs, R-SEAT

Workshop

Forced Migration Studies and Policy Dialogue: Promoting New Ways of Knowledge Production and Policy Transfer

15. September 2022

Stakeholders involved: LERRN, FFVT, German and Canadian government representatives, public and private research funders, refugee-led organisations and international forced migration researchers from the Global South, North and East.

Online-Podiumsdiskussion

Rethinking international research partnerships: from old hierarchies to new forms of co-creation

30. Juni 2022

Stakeholders involved: FFVT, LERRN, and academics from Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Tanzania and Turkey 

Online-Workshop

LERRN-RRN Webinar | Changing the Structures of Forced Migration Research

31. März 2022

Stakeholders involved: LERRN, FFVT, IDRC, RRN

The webinar engaged with how the structures of research and research funding may be changed. While some changes can be brought-about by individual researchers, we recognize that some of the challenges are deeper and more structural, like unequal access to research funding. What is the role of donors in addressing these issues? What would it take to get more donors on board with initiatives like direct funding to local researchers? What structures need to change and what is the path forward?