Migration and the localisation od SDGs: the role of diaspora associations for sustainable development

Title The role of diaspora associations for sustainable development: new tools for analysis and measurement

Location Italy

Partners IOM-IOM International Organization for Migrations

Framework The role of diaspora associations for sustainable development: new tools for analysis and measurement

Funding MAECI UAP SDS – Contribution to study, research and analysis projects in the field of foreign policy and the promotion and development of international relations (Year 2021)

 

Context

Given the Italian context, where there are more than a thousand associations with a migratory background, the involvement of diasporas in the various processes aimed at sustainable development, both in the communities of origin and in the communities of settlement, is becoming increasingly important.

Diaspora associations are assuming an increasingly important role in co-development and cooperation processes between the countries of settlement and the migrants’ communities of origin, and may in the future play a decisive role in helping to localise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The research project intends to create and test a new analysis and measurement tool in order to obtain an information base to qualify and quantify the role of diaspora associations for sustainable development and the localisation of the 2030 Agenda.

 

General Objective

The general objective of the research is to provide the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) with an overview of the opportunities that migration phenomena offer in terms of sustainable development and trans-localism between Italy and the countries of origin.

Particular attention will be given to diasporas and the role that migrant associations currently play – and could potentially play in the future – in terms of sustainable development and international cooperation with communities of origin.

The research envisages both the elaboration of a specific questionnaire and the creation of a new synthetic measurement index, for which the most appropriate set of dimensions will be selected in order to immediately grasp the role and contribution of diaspora associations to sustainable development;

The research intends to directly involve a number of diaspora associations, so that they themselves can provide qualitative and quantitative information on the role (actual and potential) that diasporas can play in cooperation in terms of sustainable development.

Moreover, the research can count on the collaboration with IOM Italy, given its consolidated experience and know-how on migration, diasporas and co-development and its wide network of diaspora associations involved in past and present projects at Italian level.

 

Our Contribution

The Local Development Unit conducted an in-depth literature review on diasporas and their contribution in terms of sustainable development to communities of origin.

On the basis of the literature review and discussions with IOM Italy staff and experts on the subject, the analysis tool was developed. This tool aims to collect qualitative and quantitative information on areas and dimensions that allow us to grasp the role and contribution of diaspora associations to the sustainable development of countries of origin.

The analysis tool, in the form of a questionnaire, is currently being used by ARCO researchers to collect information from a limited sample of diaspora associations distributed throughout the national territory, identified thanks to the support of national actors such as IOM Italy and local ones such as ARCI Tuscany.

Once the listening activity of the diaspora associations has been concluded, the collected results will be analysed and a new synthetic measurement index will be created on the basis of them.

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