HORIZON EUROPE FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME┋Bridging the migration research to policy gap

Expected Outcome

Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:

• Strengthen EU migration governance by developing methodology and network to share research outputs with decision-makers and practitioners.
• Valorise existing research and maximise outputs produced by distilling useful information for policymakers.
• Develop series of opportunities for mutual learning between policymakers, practitioners and the research community, based on research outputs and implemented through innovative methodologies and practices.

Scope

Proposals should build a rigorous method to bridge science to policy relations on migration, building from existing literature not exclusive to migration policy, including on decision-making, organisational studies, behavioural insights, human rights, gender and intersecting aspects (e.g. socioeconomic background, ethnic/minority background, disability) and public policy literature. It should therefore define a strategy towards informing policymaking on migration through evidence, taking into careful consideration all elements of the policy cycle, including: institutions involved, networks of actors and stakeholders, frames, perceptions and narratives that shape the context in which decisions are taken, information available to decision-makers, and finally the way in which policy choices are taken. This should also include consideration of cognition, values, human rights and biases and the role these play in distilling information available and deciding upon a course of action.

Having developed such a strategy specific to EU migration policymaking at its different levels (supranational, national, local), proposals should make a selection of migration research, and distil useful findings for policymakers. The specific topics on which to focus should be selected in synergy with practitioners and policymakers, identifying research consensus as well as knowledge gaps in the policy processes on which quick advice can be most useful. Proposals are encouraged to focus first on EU funded research and projects (funded through Horizon 2020/Europe, AMIF, ESFD+, EUTF, NDICI), but are also encouraged to look for further evidence available whenever necessary.

Finally proposals should apply the strategy for engaging with policymakers already from the beginning of their lifecycle to create opportunities for mutual learning between researchers and policymakers, on the topics identified in synergy with practitioners. This should not be limited to a normal dissemination strategy (policy briefs, presentations) aimed at feeding research into policy. It should also include innovative methodologies for exchange and learning, such as, but not limited to: case study analysis, scenario building, and other useful strategies that may help simulate how to manage disagreements and the intrinsic complexity of migration policy making. This should create a network that could for example include participants from EU institutions, Member States, International Organisations, partner Countries, NGOs and other stakeholders, with a view to be sustainable as a basis for exchange beyond the lifetime of the project. The proposals are strongly encouraged to seek ways to work in complementarity and coordination with existing migration networks at the EU level, notably the European Migration Network and the Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography.