Gruppo Ágora

Abstract (English)

"IMISCOE" develops a Europe-wide survey on the state of health research and health care in Europe for migrants involving a group of researchers working in the field of Migration and Health from a Network of Excellence that comprises 20 institutions throughout Europe. It will present an accessible overview of existing knowledge about migrants’ state of health, the factors influencing this, the quality and accessibility of health care provisions for these groups, and the efforts being made to tackle problems in this area. As such it will shed light on theoretical issues and suggest priorities for research and policy agendas.

Abstract (italiano)

"IMISCOE" sta sviluppando un’ampia indagine, su base europea, sullo stato di salute e cura degli immigrati. Lo studio è condotto da un gruppo di ricercatori che lavorano nel campo dell’immigrazione e della aalute, appartenenti ad un network di eccellenza composto da venti istituti, dislocati in tutta Europa. Esso presenterà un’accessibile visione di insieme della conoscenza esistente sullo stato di salute dei migranti, sui fattori che lo influenzano, sulla qualità e l’accessibilità di questi gruppi ai servizi di cura della salute, sugli sforzi che sono stati fatti per affrontare i problemi in questa area. In tal modo lo studio farà luce su questioni teoriche e proporrà le priorità da inserire nell’agenda politica e della ricerca.

1 The practice

1.1 Description of the project

The project
"IMISCOE" (www.imiscoe.org) was established in 2003 as a Network of Excellence in the domain of International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion. Within "IMISCOE", a group of researchers working in the field of Migration and Health has been set up. This group is currently engaged in a Europe-wide survey on the state of health research and health care in Europe for migrants (including ethnic minorities). The survey is being carried out in close collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which in 2005 launched a call for the development of a European policy on migrant health.

This survey is the first major all-round study on the health of migrants and minorities in Europe. It will present an accessible overview of existing knowledge about migrants’ state of health, the factors influencing this, the quality and accessibility of health care provisions for these groups, and the efforts being made to tackle problems in this area. As such it will shed light on theoretical issues and suggest priorities for research and policy agendas. The survey will highlight different patterns of illness in different countries and among different groups. It will also make it possible to explore links between political and economic factors and the health policies adopted. Because information in each country is collected according to different criteria and with different methodologies, it will not be possible to undertake systematic, quantitative comparisons. However, the survey will indicate how this can be done in the future and what the most promising lines of research seem to be. It will indicate “black spots” in each country where the needs for research and policy measures are most urgent.

Objectives
The objectives of this research are to establish a joint European research programme; to build collective, enduring facilities for coordination, specialisation, training and dissemination; and to develop expertise within Europe as a whole by training and engaging new members. These objectives also include providing comprehensive theoretical and empirical knowledge that can form a reliable basis for uniform policy making in Europe concerning international migration in Europe and the integration and social cohesion of immigrants.
 
Activities
The research developed by "IMISCOE" includes two broad areas of study. The first is international migration as a process, together with its causes and consequences whereas the second pertains to the integration of immigrants and their descendants in the host society and its consequences for the receiving society. Research is organised in research clusters by sub-topic (international migration, integration and social cohesion, and cross-cutting topics or perspectives). "IMISCOE" also develops a PhD training program and a training program for policy makers and practitioners in the field of international migration.
 
Organisation of research
To develop a common research programme, three consecutive steps are taken:

• The current research activities of all "IMISCOE" members are brought together into one programme organised in 9 so called Research Clusters.
• A system of deliverables has been developed.
• Three new, strategic lines of common research are being developed to involve most or all of the present members as well as new members (particularly in the South and East of Europe).

Results
The results obtained by "IMISCOE"’s research are disseminated by the following means:

Electronic Newsletter:
"IMISCOE" has developed an electronic newsletter distributed among those who freely subscribe to it. This newsletter posts the latest achievements and results obtained by "IMISCOE" and other events, resources etc. which may be of interest to others studying international migration and integration. It is published every three moths (aprox.) and is currently running its April 2006, Volume 3, No. 1.

Working papers:
"IMISCOE" publishes working papers online showing the results of its work. They may be State of the Art Reports (SoAR) on worldwide research within a particular domain or more specific products of ongoing work.
They can be divided into:

State of the Art Reports:

1. Migration and cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.
2. International migration and its regulation.
3. The multilevel governance of migration.
4. Economic Integration, Work, Entrepreneurship.
5. Gender, Age and Generations.
6. Migration and Citizenship - Legal status, Rights and Political Participation. 

Country Reports:

1. Country Report on The Netherlands; Policymaking related to immigration and integration.
2. Immigrant and immigration policy-making: The case of Italy.
3. Immigrants and immigration policy-making: The case of Spain.

Policy Briefs:

1. The Acquisition and Loss of Nationality in Fifteen EU States. Results of the Comparative Project NATAC.
2. The "IMISCOE" online library (http://library.imiscoe.org). 

The "IMISCOE" online library is the result of cooperation between "IMISCOE", the library of the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the Amsterdam University Press. It is a tool for worldwide dissemination of "IMISCOE" relevant publications. It contains the metadata for publications (the title, name of the author, etc.) but can also include a digital copy of the publication itself. The library can be browsed by author or institute. More specific search queries can be entered in the advanced search option.

1.2 Time, structure and steps of the project

In 2002, the Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES) at the Universiteit van Amsterdam, embarked on a collaborative project with other research institutes of wide renown in the field of International Migration and Integration in Europe with the purpose to establish a Network of Excellence. Since then, the Network has worked to establish a joint European research programme; to build collective, enduring facilities for coordination, specialisation, training and dissemination; and to develop expertise within Europe as a whole by training and engaging new members, thus broadening the Network’s scope. Since then, 19 member institutes and 3 associated members make the research network of "IMISCOE". Their selection is based on tough quality requirements that both network members and their staff have to meet along the selection process.

To reach out various target groups, specifically policy makers and media, "IMISCOE" is building partnerships with other networks or institutes in the same field. To date, "IMISCOE" has developed two specific partnerships with the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) and the European Knowledge Centre (EUKN). Its research is also being developed into creating a new framework for understanding migration to Europe in terms of various types of existing interconnections between geographical areas (with a special interest in engaging new members from Central and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin), specific research on integration and its local and national policy nexus, and the political and social consequences of migration in European societies (EUROLINK, INTPOL and SOCO programmes respectively).

1.3 Place and context

The context pictured by "IMISCOE" as a starting point of research considers migration a major worldwide phenomenon in recent decades with Europe receiving a significant share of it. At the end of the 20th century 5.3 per cent of the total population in the countries of the European Economic Area were foreigners - including neither naturalised immigrants nor undocumented immigrants or those waiting in asylum procedures or other situations.
As a result of this, international migration and its consequences are now one of the most salient topics on the agenda of politics and policy development in Europe. 20 established European research institutes have established a Network of Excellence in the domain of International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion ("IMISCOE") in order to provide comprehensive theoretical and empirical knowledge that can form a reliable basis for policy. The Network brings together some 300 selected, highly qualified researchers, whose wide-ranging skills and experience in international comparative research allow the institutes implement an integrated, multidisciplinary, and comparative research programme, with Europe as its central focus.
 
"IMISCOE" members consider that the present state of research on the issue of international migration and integration is still highly fragmented. Such research is oriented predominantly to national contexts and it lacks a secure infrastructure which might help formulate adequate answers to the problems and questions cited above. They acknowledge the existence of some tradition of research and expertise in these fields at national levels, but perceive there is a need for a workable, enduring European research infrastructure that draws together all the complementary expertise that has developed so far, and stimulates joint cross-national research.

1.4 Target

The target of this project is both direct and indirect; infrastructural and human. The direct target is institutional and includes the Research Institutes all over Eurpe that make the Network of Excellence, since their research conditions and results are directly benefitted from the Network. Another direct and infrastructural target is EU migration policy, which is doubtlessly influenced and led by the results obtained by international joint research on migration. The indirect target is human and affects migrants all over Europe, who are benefitted from any positive changes in migration policies that can happen in the EU. New policies based on sound research are more liable to adjust and give an answer to the current factual needs of migrant population in Europe.

1.5 Methodology

Selection Procedures:
In order to establish a standard of high quality and excellence in the European Research Area and beyond, "IMISCOE" has taken the following actions:

• developing selection procedures based on quality criteria for new members in the consortium as well as for individual researchers of their present members;
• designing a policy to monitor the quality of work within IMISCOE on an annual basis;
• developing internal and external facilities to enhance and spread excellence.

• the quality of work, which can be assessed on the basis of publications and other contributions to the domain;
• continuity as legally established institutes and research programmes;
• current collaboration in international comparative research and excellence in research on general or specialised topics;
• a commitment in terms of input of research time and other resources into the Network.

• Comparison is used as a systematic methodology. The predominant mode of comparison within national-level programmes of the IMISCOE member institutes has been focused on different groups within a single context. Historical comparisons within one national context have also been included in some cases. In the future IMISCOE programme, this will be complemented by a range of cross-national comparisons, including studies of groups of the same origin in different national or city contexts. Historical comparisons will also be made cross-nationally.
• Multidisciplinary. Issues central to the domain of the Network of Excellence are studied from all relevant angles within a single common framework.
• The special expertise of each member are put to strategic use in developing the international research programme, in order to benefit from the existing complementarity of expertise within the group.
• The programme has an explicit policy orientation, in two distinct ways: strategic topics and research questions are chosen within the overall domain; and, within individual projects, there is a specific focus on variables that might potentially be influenceable by policy instruments. Initial and ongoing consultations with a wide range of policymakers in government, NGO and community sectors, and at local, national and European levels, ensures that realistic and up-to-date policy concerns are built into "IMISCOE" research and dissemination activities. All "IMISCOE" members already maintain significant numbers of close contacts with relevant policymakers in migration and health sectors.

"IMISCOE" is currently developing a common research programme for the future that includes three consecutive steps to be taken:

• The current research activities of all IMISCOE members will be brought together into one programme of current research, supported by a framework that clusters the research projects (and researchers) according to the content of their work.
• A system of deliverables will be developed to apply to all clusters—concrete integrative activities to achieve the coherence of the programme by ensuring international comparability, a common theoretical basis and common methodological instruments, and by maximising the programme’s scope in terms of disciplines, geography and new members.
• Two new, strategic lines of common research will be developed to involve most or all of the present members as well as new members (particularly in the South and East).

1.6 Authors, financing and networks

"IMISCOE" (www.imiscoe.org) is financed from the EU’s Sixth Framework programme (Reference CIT1-CT-2004-506236) and comprises over 300 researchers at 20 institutions throughout Europe with a budget of 19.41M euro.

The institutions that make the IMISCOE Network are:

• Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES) of the Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands, led by dr. Jan Rath. IMES is the "IMISCOE" Coordinator.
• Centre d’Études de l’Ethnicité et des Migrations (CEDEM) at the University of Liège, Belgium, directed by Prof. Marco Martiniello.
• Centro de Estudos Geográficos (CEG) of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, directed by Prof. Lucinda Fonseca.
• Centre for Research in International Migration and Ethnic Relations (CEIFO) of the University of Stockholm, Sweden, directed by Prof. Charles Westin.
• Centro de Estudos Sociais (CES) of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, led by Prof. Maria Baganha.
• Centre for Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS) at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, led by Prof. Steve Vertovec and Prof. Stephen Castles.
• Research Unit on Migration, Management of Diversity and Social Cohesion (DEUSTO), University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain, led by Prof. Julia González.
• European Forum for Migration Studies (EFMS), at the University of Bamberg, Germany, directed by Prof. Friedrich Heckmann.
• European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations (ERCOMER) at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, Netherlands, directed by Prof. Han Entzinger.
• The Forum Internazionale ed Europeo di Ricerche sull'Immigrazione (FIERI) in Turin, Italy, led by Prof. Giovanna Zincone.
• International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna, Austria, directed by Gottfried Zürcher.
• Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS), University of Osnabrück, Germany, directed by Prof. Michael Bommes.
• Institut National d’Études Démographiques (INED), Section of International Migration and Minorities, in Paris, France, headed by Dr Patrick Simon.
• Institute for Urban and Regional Research (ISR) and the Institute for European Integration Research (EIF), Austrian Academy of Sciences, led by Prof. Rainer Bauböck and Prof. Heinz Fassmann.
• Migrations Internationales, Espaces et Sociétés (MIGRINTER) at the University of Poitiers, France, directed by Prof. Emmanuel Ma Mung.
• Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), The Hague, Netherlands, led by Prof. Frans Willekens.
• Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies (SFM/FSM) at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, led by Prof. Sandro Cattacin.
• Sussex Centre for Migration Research (SCMR) of the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom, directed by Prof. Russell King.
• SociNova of the New University of Lisbon, Portugal, led by Prof. Margarida Marques.

Other Associated Members are:

• The Migration Research Group at The Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWA), directed by Prof. Thomas Straubhaar.
• Centre of Migration Research (CMR), of the Warsaw University, Poland, led by Marek Okolski.
• Central European Forum for Migration Research (CEFMR), in Warsaw, Poland, led by Marek Kupiszewski.

"IMISCOE" researchers are funded by their own universities. Additional funds are being sought from appropriate European agencies.

The Network Office is located at:

Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES)
University of Amsterdam
Binnen Gasthuis
Oudezijds Achterburgwal 237
1012 DL Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Voice +31-20-5253715
Fax +31-20-525 3628
E-mail info@imiscoe.org

2 Hints for an evaluation