NORFACE PLUS

NORFACE Transnational Programme on Migration in Europe

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'During recent years persistent rates of international migration have generated a very high level social, economic and policy concern in Europe. Migration has become a multi-faceted phenomenon, transcending traditional explanations. There is much still to be understood about the causes, actualities and effects of these movements of people. The NORFACE transnational programme “Migration in Europe: Social, Economic, Cultural and Policy Dynamics” has been developed to explain the new challenges Europe faces with migration. It will contribute strongly to our theoretical understanding and knowledge and raise the level of comparative, multi-disciplinary and multi-level research on migration in Europe. The research will provide results with valuable knowledge to be used by policy makers at a national, European and international level. The implementation of the NORFACE research programme will contribute to the building of the European Research Area by strengthening European capacity for multilateral and transnational research. It will also provide an example of significant sharing of research funding between national research agencies in Europe. It will demonstrate that a major transnational programme can be created using a real “common pot” funding. The scientific co-ordinator, Programme Director, will ensure that the individual projects work together so that all the Programme's resources address the challenge of migration. The Programme will give new visibility to European research, and connect to researchers and policy makers both within and outside Europe. The Programme will stimulate the building of new international connections and networks, and provide new opportunities for the fruitful exchange of knowledge. In order to make major advances in our theoretical understanding and knowledge by bringing together a significant corpus of high quality international teams, the programme will need a budget of the order of €30 million to meet its ambitious objectives.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

The reasons behind migration to Europe and the dynamics that govern it have become less clear in recent years. An elaborate EU programme is well on the way to addressing the topic and improving relevant policymaking.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Migration is on the rise, and it's changing the face of Europe as we know it. While on one hand this makes Europe more multicultural and dynamic, it also presents challenges such as xenophobia, social exclusion and higher unemployment. The EU-funded programme 'Norface transnational programme on migration in Europe' (Norface PLUS) is investigating all the social, economic, cultural and policy-related challenges converging on Europe in the wake of increasing migration. The multidisciplinary programme is aiming to produce valuable data for policymakers both in Europe and abroad to manage socioeconomic issues related to human migration.

Armed with a budget of almost EUR 30 million, the programme is funding 12 transnational projects that are collaborating through workshops and forums to address the migration challenge. In more detail, the projects are tackling a myriad of hot topics such as migrants' choices, children of immigrants, residential segregation, temporary migration, social integration and impact of migration.

In the meantime, Norface PLUS is working diligently on collecting qualitative and quantitative data on key migration issues. It recently launched a rich, comprehensive website on migration research that outlines the 12 projects, in addition to featuring related conferences, publications and news. The website now acts as a powerful platform that highlights research findings, engages stakeholders, and raises awareness on key migration issues among stakeholders and concerned parties.

In April 2011, Norface PLUS hosted its first international conference on migration studies in London. This attracted 300 scholars from a wide variety of disciplines and probed the often contradicting approaches to migration studies. It also highlighted funding possibilities for researching migration issues and encouraged joint academic discussions. A plethora of new partnerships, projects and publications have already emerged from the event.

By the time the project ends in early 2014, Europe will possess a much deeper understanding of migration-related issues. This will enable policymakers to design better migration policies and connect with countries abroad, enabling governments to effectively balance the needs of European citizens and those of migrants. The results of such an ambitious programme can only be a fairer, more knowledgeable and more tolerant Europe.