A toolbox for measuring immigrant integration and inform programming

This project seeks to bring more effective policy expertise in the management of migration in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region in order to address migrants’ needs and increase social cohesion between migrant and local communities.

To achieve this, the collaboration will develop a toolbox to be used by IOM and its partners in order to facilitate the use of the IPL Integration Index, a survey tool for governments, nonprofits, and researchers to measure the integration of immigrants around the world. In the framework of this project, the Integration Index has been adapted to the LAC context by the Immigration Policy Lab (IPL) at ETH Zurich together with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Background

In recent years, political instability and violence in Venezuela have caused large parts of its population to flee to countries across the LAC region and beyond. This situation has adversely affected host governments’ capacities, resources and perceptions, as well as migrants’ broader integration experience. Many organisations based in International Geneva, such as IOM, try to address this challenging situation.

There is limited empirical evidence to inform the understanding of the integration challenges that migrants face and the design of policies and interventions to support their successful integration. One of the main reasons for the scarcity of actionable evidence is that international organisations (IOs) lack the methodological tools to collect and analyse the necessary data. There are no validated tools that measure migrants’ integration in a rigorous, consistent, and comparable manner across countries. Yet, without the appropriate measurement instruments, it remains difficult to generate evidence-based policies that effectively respond to the migration crisis in the LAC region.

Aim

The project aims to develop a toolbox to facilitate the use of the IPL Integration Index by IOM and its partners, in order to foster more effective migration policy expertise in the LAC region.

Impact

• Encourage policy discussions anchored in facts and reason rather than politics and emotions.
• Better address migrants’ needs and increase social cohesion between local and migrant communities.

Key activities

1. Joint development and implementation of the survey instrument by IPL and IOM in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Peru.
2. Analysing results and summarising key recommendations (country study briefs)
3. Designing the practitioner’s toolkit, and delivering capacity-building workshops and technical support during meetings with government and other stakeholders
4. Engaging stakeholders around findings and recommendations for each of the countries

Project updates

IPL Integration Index: A survey tool for governments, nonprofits, and researchers to measure the integration of immigrants around the world

IPL Webinar: Measuring Immigrant Integration, 28 May 2024, online

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