Launch of the World Migration Report digital toolkit for policy officials

The World Migration Report digital policy toolkit was launched on 23 June during the ACUNS Annual Meeting 2022. The meeting, themed around Evidence-Based Solutions for Intensifying Global Challenges, took place between 23 and 25 June at the Geneva Graduate Institute.‍

Migration is a complex human phenomenon with an impact that is often challenging to assess. The process itself is often subject to risks and uncertainty and the way it is handled by governance actors depends on how well-informed their decisions are. At the same time, the research on migration is difficult to access and navigate, and is rarely tailored to officials’ needs and timelines, limiting its potential to inform migration policies.

In 2021, one of the projects selected by GSPI’s Impact Collaboration Programme addressed these difficulties around migration research. The project’s aim was to develop an interactive digital toolkit for policy officials to support them in leveraging migration research for evidence-based policy-making.  It is based on IOM’s flagship publication, the World Migration Report, and other key migration resources.

“The World Migration Report has become a key resource on world data for diverse audiences, from researchers, policymakers, to the media, teachers and others”, said Eva Akerman Borje, Director of IOM’s Department of Policy and Research at the launch event during the ACUNS Annual Meeting. “While rigorous data are not always readily available in a digestible format, the WMR policy toolkit enables easy access to migration data.”‍

“The IOM Research and Policy Unit stands out within the UN policy research landscape as entrepreneurial and creative in designing mechanisms that have direct relevance to policy actors while strategically ensuring their actual uptake in decision-making”, said Frédérique Guerin, Executive Officer at the GSPI. “Another reason why we supported this project lies in the consultative and collaborative methodology across the science-policy interface.”

“We looked at why and how policy officials are using new and existing migration knowledge products in order to understand their research consumption habits and their practical needs in terms of evidence type and format”, explained Cecilia Cannon.

Two policy representatives from the Portuguese and Australian Permanent Missions in Geneva stressed out the importance of migration knowledge for their countries and the relevance of the toolkit, together with its quick and easy use for fast-response in preparing briefings and proposing new policies.The project is the fruit of the collaboration between IOM’s Research and Policy Unit and the Global Migration Centre of the Geneva Graduate Institute and was funded through GSPI’s Impact Collaboration Programme.

See detailed information and updates on the project here.‍

Access and start using the toolkit here.