“Research evidence is just one voice in a noisy room. (...) The challenge is not the lack of evidence, but how to ensure this data is used more effectively by those who can benefit from it", – noted the Migration Policy Centre’s director, Andrew Geddes, at the launch event last month. Funded by the EU's Horizon Europe program, the Co-Lab aims to facilitate knowledge exchange, provide tools for improved research communication, and promote active collaboration.
To achieve this, the project will provide training through executive courses and open-access modules. The first in-person training will take place in Florence on 10-11 March 2025. Moreover, the online platform features a migration research database and evidence-based techniques for engaging with policymakers and enhancing the visibility of research.
With close to 200 participants at the kick-off event, the project has already sparked engaging discussions on best practices for research applications. The launch event roundtable brought together experts from various organisations who provided diverse perspectives and shared concrete techniques for increasing the visibility of research while impacting real-world implementation. Chaired by Veronika Bilger from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the panel included Catherine Woollard from the European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Daniela Vono de Vilhena from the Max Planck Institute, and Sabina Sirokovska from the European Commission.
Together, they emphasised the importance of building relationships beyond academia, investing in engagement strategies, teaming up with other researchers to strengthen efforts, establishing trust, and tailoring research communication to policymakers' needs.
Collaboration is at the heart of the project and works on developing products with policymakers and communications professionals from the beginning of the research, not the end. Over the coming months, the Co-Lab will focus on enhancing engagement strategies, promoting holistic research approaches, and equipping researchers to communicate evidence more effectively.
To learn more, visit the project’s website and subscribe to the newsletter.
This initiative is part of the broader INNOVATE project, a consortium of 12 partners led by the Migration Policy Centre.