A group of leading international migration experts, including those from Royal Holloway, have received £20million of funding from the UK Government’s Research and Innovation (UKRI) group to explore how migration affects inequality and development in less developed countries.

South-South migration refers to the movement of people between developing countries and accounts for nearly half of all international migration (up to 70% in some places).

However, the potential benefit and economic and social opportunities that migrants can bring has been overlooked by limited and unequal access to rights for migrants.

Using a wide range of research methods and creative approaches, the funding will go towards a newly set up Hub that will map, record and draw attention to the experiences of those who move, generating a better understanding of the challenges associated with international migration.

It is hoped the work will rebalance academic and political debates, currently driven largely by the perspectives and priorities of countries of the Global North.

The South-South Migration, Inequality and Development Hub won funding for a five-year project under the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). 

Royal Holloway’s Dr G. Hari Harindranath, School of Management and member of the UNESCO Chair in Information and Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D), and Professor Tim Unwin, Department of Geography and Chairholder of the UNESCO Chair in ICT4D, are among the experts who will investigate how South-South migration contributes to the delivery of UN Sustainable Development Goals, such as ending poverty and reducing inequality.

 They have received more than £688,000 for their work on ‘technology, inequality and migration’, which will examine the use of ICT for migrant-related development outcomes.

They will work alongside academics, artists, community leaders, international organisations and policymakers from 12 countries across South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Middle East, to better understand international migration patterns and consequences, and to support and influence global migration policy development.

Dr Harindranath said: “The Global Challenges Research Fund is a major priority for Royal Holloway and I am delighted and honoured to be able to support the School of Management and the university in this regard.

“The scale and scope of the GCRF funding means we have a unique opportunity to work in close partnership with researchers and practitioners from around the world, on a complex and challenging topic of global significance, over an extended period of time. And this of course presents significant potential for impact.” 

The GCRF South-South Migration Inequality and Development Hub will be led by Heaven Crawley, Professor of International Migration at Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations.