Better Together: Strengthening the link between migration research and policy

How can migration research have a greater impact on policy? This question took centre stage at the Migration to Policy Co-Lab event on 18 March 2025, where 150 participants – including researchers, policymakers, civil society organisations, and experts – came together to explore ways to bridge the gap between evidence and decision-making.

Despite substantial investment in migration research, its influence on policy remains limited, often overshadowed by misinformation and political polarisation. As part of the Horizon Europe-funded INNOVATE project, the event tackled these challenges head-on, offering fresh insights into fostering more meaningful collaboration between researchers and policymakers.

Andrew Geddes, from the European University Institute, opened the event by emphasising the project’s goal: to strengthen connections between migration research, policy, and practice. He highlighted key ways to achieve this:

• Helping researchers and policymakers work better with evidence
• Encouraging more demand for research in policy decisions
• Creating opportunities for researchers and policymakers to collaborate
• Making sure research is actually used in real-world policymaking

 

A Toolkit for stronger engagement

A key highlight of the event was the launch of the Migration to Policy Co-Lab Toolkit developed by MPG in close collaborations with project partners. This practical resource is designed to help researchers and policy actors engage more effectively, offering structured methods for collaboration that make research more accessible, relevant, and actionable in policy discussions.

The toolkit is divided into six areas:

1. Understand your audience: Identify key stakeholders, map policy networks, and use strategic engagement to ensure your research reaches the right policymakers
2. Building relationships and trust: Foster trust with policymakers, create reciprocal partnerships, and establish yourself as a go-to expert in migration policy
3. Tailoring research to policymakers’ needs: Foster trust with policymakers, create reciprocal partnerships, and establish yourself as a go-to expert in migration policy.
4. Stakeholder engagement for policy change: Use strategic engagement, coalition-building, and evidence-based advocacy to influence policy decisions effectively
5. Reaching policymakers: Content and messages: Craft compelling, problem-oriented policy recommendations that resonate with decision-makers and drive meaningful change
6. Reaching policymakers: Timing, tools and channels: Master strategic dissemination, leverage key policy moments, and use the best tools to maximise policy engagement

Following the Toolkit’s presentation, experts who contributed towards the content of the Toolkit – Meltem Ineli Ciger (

Here are some key takeaways from the session:

• Align research with policymakers’ needs – Understanding their priorities ensures research is relevant and actionable
• Build lasting relationships – Understanding their priorities ensures research is relevant and actionable.
• Use creative approaches – Methods like design thinking make research more practical and inclusive
• Combine research with advocacy – Strategic engagement helps ensure findings reach the right people at the right time
• Communicate effectively – Tailoring messages to different audiences makes complex research more accessible and impactful

 

Tackling misinformation in migration debates

The second part of the event featured a thought-provoking panel discussion: “Information Wars – The Search for the Truth on Immigration.” Anna Strolenberg (Member of the European Parliament), Nikolaj Nielsen (EUobserver), and Alberto Horst Neidhardt (Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre) examined the complex relationship between evidence, facts, and narratives in migration debates. Their discussion shed light on how migration discourse is shaped by an increasingly polarised public sphere and explored strategies to ensure facts and research play a stronger role in policymaking.

 

Watch the full event below!

 

Explore the Toolkit

For more information, you can have a look at the Migration to Policy Co-Lab Toolkit.