Updating and sustaining migration measurements
How do we measure migration? Where do we find the data? And what kind of information is needed to make the research more complete and policy relevant? As part of CrossMigration and the Migration Research project, researchers gathered in Malmö, in the framework of Imiscoe’s 16th Annual Conference to discuss the long-term development in the assessment of migration and integration policies to support policy decision making. Speakers and participants created a lively environment for high-level discussion.
In the current research panorama, the field of assessment of migration policies is very well developed, and a number of indexes cover many topics related to migration. However, during the meeting, researchers pointed out that while there is plenty of information on themes of admission, residence and citizenship, more data needs to be gathered on, for example, emigration, governance, integration, and exit.
From the discussion it also became clear that research needs to extend the geographical scope of the analysis, including both developed and developing countries and focusing on the different aspects of immigration and emigration policies. The question is how to do this, without reinventing the wheel: how to sustain indexes over time, and update existing datasets?
CrossMigration can be a useful space in this regard, as the Migration Research Hub that is at the core of the project takes stock of existing knowledge and aims at harmonizing the already developed indexes, increasing their depth, scope and completeness. With a central point for knowledge gathering, it becomes easier to see if there are already available indexes or data sets, or if there are previous efforts that can be expanded. Further, because the Migration Research Hub is open access, it can give plenty of opportunities to foster cooperation among researchers from different spaces and geographies.
On this picture, from left to right: Francesco Pasetti (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, CIDOB); Luicy Pedroza (GIGA Institute of Latin American Studies); Emma Borgnas (International Organisation for Migration, IOM); Daniela Vintila (University of Liege); Giacomo Solano (Migration Policy Group, MPG); Glenn Rayp (Ghent University); Marco Scipioni (Joint Research Centre - European Commission).
Find CrossMigration on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to stay updated on the Migration Research Hub.