EVI-MIG Evidence-use in migration policymaking in Nepal

Project Overview

The purpose of this one-year research project is to analyse the use of research and other types of ‘evidence’ in migration/ ‘foreign employment’ policymaking in Nepal. With approximately two million citizens working abroad, Nepal is highly financially dependent on migrant remittances at macroeconomic and household levels. Nepal’s ability to benefit from migration is critical to economic development and implementation of the SDGs, and to its foreign policy relationships.

Universities, NGOs, international organisations, media outlets and civil service research institutions all produce different types of evidence on migration which is aimed at influencing policy. Yet, studies conducted in Europe and the US show that policymakers often rely on emotion and ideology rather than robust research evidence to formulate policy on migration. This is partly because evidence, or those producing or funding it, may not be trusted by policymakers as being credible or legitimate. Moreover, the highly politicised environment in which migration policy is made in these regions often undermines the potential for evidence to be understood by policymakers.

This project will address a significant knowledge gap with respect to the use of evidence in migration (foreign employment) policymaking processes in Nepal. Whilst a lot is known about the (lack of) the use of migration evidence in policymaking in Europe and the US, next to nothing is as yet known about the use of evidence by global south policymakers, including in Nepal.

Project Objectives

To explore:

1. Which types of evidence are used, when, and under what circumstances is evidence used, in producing migration/ foreign employment policy in Nepal?
2. Which evidence is prioritised and assessed, valued as credible and trustworthy, and how is conflicting evidence is dealt with?
3. What are the the roles of leading evidence producers, and what is their access to policy channels and to research funding? Are social, economic and political inequalities reproduced in access to policy channels?
4. What are the external and internal factors (e.g. cultural, political, economic, ideological, social) which influence policymakers’ use of evidence in Nepal?

Project Impact Statement

EVI-MIG aims to foster the use of robust evidence into migration policymaking in Nepal,
enabling the formulation of evidence-based (potential) future migration policy that results in better development
outcomes for migrants, their families and the country as a whole. In this way, we will contribute to
implementation of the SDGs.

We will do this through engagement with the International Advisory Panel and through improving evidence in policymaking processes:

• increase the engagement of policymakers with researchers and others who produce knowledge;
• build the confidence of policymakers in assessing the credibility of evidence;
• produce an evidence-informed policymaking roadmap to embed sustainable systemic change in Nepal.

More generally, EVI-MIG will generate a better understanding of inequalities in knowledge production for policymaking in the global south. To do this we will collect new and innovative empirical data on the cultural, political, social, economic factors influencing evidence-informed policymaking.

Finally, through sharing the new knowledge on evidence-informed policymaking in Nepal with our strong connections to the UN Network on Migration and the Migration Group of Nepal (which includes IOM, ILO, SDC, UN Women, USAID, UKAID, and UNDP) we will contribute to the implementation of Global Compact for Migration (GCM Objective 1 (Collect and utilise accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies).

Outputs

Production of a project final report, policy briefings, academic journal articles.