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 is the Multistakeholder Pledge: Shifting Power - Advancing Localization of Research and Elevating the Voices of Host and Forcibly Displaced Communities Globally that was announced one of the plenary sessions at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December 2023. The pledge was develped in partnership with persons with lived experience of displacement, academic institutions, research funders, governments, and the private sector. A pledge draft was presented at the closing plenary session at the UN High Commissioner’s Dialoge on Protection Challenges: Development Cooperation in Geneva in December 2022.

If you are interested in the initiative and in supporting our efforts you are invited to submit your pledge here (and thereby contribute to the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees) or 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:

  • Laura De Somer (UN Refugee Agency, Switzerland; ...)

List of supporting networks and institutions:

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

• German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)

• IDRC Research Chairs

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

• International Institute of Humanitarian Law (Sanremo Institute)

• Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Sydney

• Latin American Academic Network on the Law and Integration of Refugees (LAREF Network)

• Maqsut Narikbayev University (MNU)

• Organization of Women Scientists for the Developing World (OWSD)

• Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH), University of Oxford

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

• Robert Bosch Foundation

• Tertiary Refugee Students Network (TRSN)

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

• University of Essex

• U.S. Refugee Advisory Board (USRAB)

• […]

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