Migration Profiles: Concept and IOM’s

ExperienceJobst KOEHLER

Research and Publications DivisionIOM, Geneva

Joint UNECE/Eurostat Work Session on Migration Statistics, 16 April 2010

Outline

a) Migration Profiles: Background and

Objectives

b) Migration Profiles: Main components

c) Migration Profiles: IOM’s experience

d) Lessons learned

Migration Profiles:Background and Objectives

Migration Profiles (MPs):Migration Profiles (MPs):BackgroundBackground

MPs first introduced by the EC in Annex 6 of the 2005 Migration and Development Communication:

“Migration profiles aim to gather information on issues such as the labour market situation, unemployment rates, labour demand and supply and present or potential skill shortages by sector and occupation, skills needs in the country, skills available in the diaspora, migration flows, incoming and outgoing financial flows linked with migration, including migrant remittances, as well as relevant gender aspects and those related to minors."

To inform Community programming in the field of migration and poverty reduction strategies

MPs provide concise information in a standardized form,

(A country’s migratory picture at a glance)

MPs:BackgroundMPs:Background

2007 Council conclusion to Global Approach to Migration proposed to create:

sustainable extended migration profiles, which would include information regarding migration flows and stocks, as well as the economic dimension of migration."

MP should feed into new policy tools such a mobility partnership and circular migration schemes.

MP evolved from being a means to bring together data from a range of sources, to a more elaborate process involving consultation with many different actors in an effort to help identify and develop strategies to address data gaps and produce the evidence required to inform policy.

MPs: Background

Migration Profiles

Information toolCapacity-building

tool

Extended Migration Profiles (EMPs)

MPs: Objectives

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Objectives of E / MPs:• To enhance governmental knowledge about migration

and its relationship to development

• To support governments in establishing or strengthening mechanisms for regular reporting on migration-related information

• To improve the use of migration information for policy development

• To foster greater inter-ministerial coordination and collaboration with respect to data collection and policy development

• To monitor and assess the donor intervention in the area of migration

MPs:Main Components

3

MPs as an information tool

7

Standard MPs:

- consist of a migration situation report based on a standardized template

Two types of templates:

- Shorter template; used by EC Delegations in ACP and IOM in South-Eastern Europe and Black Sea

- Longer template; used by IOM in West and Central Africa and Latin America

• Both include indicators on immigration/emigration; types of migration (labour, forced migration) remittances, irregular migration and assessment of migration policy

Templates: Key features

Shorter Template Longer Template

- Fewer indicators (20) on migration;

- No specific focus on migration-related areas (e.g. labour market, human capital, demography);

- Short assessment of migration policies and actors, including diaspora.

- Detailed indicators (46) on migration;

- Focuses on development, demography, economy, labour market and human capital;

- Analysis of factors driving migration

- Assessment of policy framework and effectiveness

- inventory of data sources and list of key definitions.

Migration Profiles - Migration Profiles - TemplatesTemplates MPs as an information toolMPs as an information tool

bring together information about theactors and institutions involved in migration-related activities and policy frameworks in general

MP reports are more than a statistical report. They also ….

Migration Profiles - Migration Profiles - TemplatesTemplates MPs as an information toolMPs as an information tool

Government involvement in the production of MP reports:

National/Regional workshop

Intra-governmental mechanism to support data collection and

production of report

Statistical Advisory Group

MPs asa capacity-building tool

MPs as a capacity-building tool

Problems with existing migration data:

• Accuracy, reliability and validity• Coverage• Timeliness and frequency• Relevance and usefulness• Comparability• Access and transparency

MP exercise presents anopportunityto initiate

a capacity-development

processto improve

data collectionand availability

Dialogue between data users and producers

During the preparation of MP reports…

MPs as a capacity-building tool

Sustainable MPsM Data assessment

Inter-ministerialTechnical WG

Statistical Advisory Group

Training throughTwinning

National DataManagement

(Dissemination)Strategy

Training of Focal institution

New data collectioninstruments

MPs:IOM’s experience

IOM’s experience

IOM first tested the basic migration profile concept in 2006, in Ecuador and Senegal, has subsequently prepared MP reports in over 30 countries:

Africa: 13Europe: 16Asia: 2South America: 4

Prepared in the context of:

• Regional consultative processes (RCPs)

• National initiatives to support Government research units

• National initiatives to support main-streaming of migration into development plans.

IOM’s experience:Key projects

- Pilot project to test a methodology linking the preparation of MPs to a range of capacity-building and policy development activities that aimed to improve basis for coherent policy-making and foster country ownership.

“Migration in West and Central Africa: National Profiles for Strategic Policy Development” (funded by EC, Swiss and Belgian Government) 2008-2010:

10 countries involved: Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mauretania, Niger, Nigeria plus Cameroon and Cape Verde;

• To identify information and capacity-building needs and developing plans to address these needs

IOM’s experience:Key projects

- Migration Profile project linked to a broader capacity-building initiative, the EC’s Mobility Partnership.

“Supporting the implementation of the migration and development component of the EU-Moldova Mobility Partnership” (funded by the EC), 2010- 2012

• Data assessment

• Twinning

• Capacity-building through targeted training and additional data collection

Migration Profiles:Useful tool for policy

development?

MPs as a useful tool?

..Migration Profiles can support policy development through:

• ... improving accessability and availability of migration data

• … identifying data gaps and promote data-sharing at national and regional level

• … promoting discussion on migration policy, coherence and coordination involving a large range of ministries

• … deepen understanding of the policy options and information needs

MPs as a useful tool?

However, Migration Profiles still need...

• …to move from fairly descriptive reporting to more sophisticated analysis

• …to link research and policy-capacity building over the long run

• … to be effectively utilized

• …. to encourage Governments to take ownership and responsibility for updating MPs

IOM Contacts

Jobst KOEHLER

Research and Publications DivisionIOM Geneva

Tél.: +41 22 717 9260Fax: +41 22 798 6150

Email: JKoehler@iom.int, RES@iom.int