Migration Profiles:
Concept and IOM’s
Experience
Jobst KOEHLER
Research and Publications Division
IOM, 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):
Background
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: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 tool
Capacity-building
tool
Extended Migration
Profiles (EMPs)
MPs: Objectives
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
7
MPs:
Main Components
3
MPs as an information tool
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
7
Templates: Key features
Shorter Template
Longer Template
- Fewer indicators (20) on
migration;
- Detailed indicators (46) on
migration;
- No specific focus on
- Focuses on development,
migration-related areas (e.g. demography, economy, labour
labour market, human capital, market and human capital;
demography);
- Analysis of factors driving
- Short assessment of
migration
migration policies and actors,
- Assessment of policy
including diaspora.
framework and effectiveness
- inventory of data sources
and list of key definitions.
MPs as an
information
tool
Migration
Profiles
- Templates
MP reports are
more than a
statistical report.
They also ….
bring together information about the
actors and institutions involved in
migration-related activities and
policy frameworks in general
MPs as an
information
tool
Migration
Profiles
- Templates
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 as
a capacity-building tool
MPs as a capacity-building tool
During the preparation of MP reports…
Dialogue between data users and
producers
Problems with existing migration data:
• Accuracy, reliability and validity
• Coverage
• Timeliness and frequency
• Relevance and usefulness
• Comparability
• Access and transparency
MP exercise
presents an
opportunity
to initiate
a capacitydevelopment
process
to improve
data collection
and availability
MPs as a capacity-building tool
National Data
Management
(Dissemination)
Strategy
New data collection
instruments
Inter-ministerial
Technical WG
Sustainable
MPsM
Training through
Twinning
Statistical
Advisory Group
Data assessment
Training of
Focal institution
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:
Prepared in the context of:
Africa: 13
Europe: 16
Asia: 2
South America: 4
• Regional consultative processes
(RCPs)
• National initiatives to support
Government research units
• National initiatives to support mainstreaming 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 capacitybuilding 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 datasharing 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 Division
IOM Geneva
Tél.: +41 22 717 9260
Fax: +41 22 798 6150
Email: JKoehler@iom.int, RES@iom.int