Objectives

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) conducts and supports research designed to guide and inform migration policy and practice. As such, it implements policy-oriented and operational research. The main objectives are to bring research achievements into the policy debate and to stimulate innovative operational approaches and activities.

In the belief that improved consultation between researchers and policymakers is needed, the organization identifies and shares "effective practices" in migration management and disseminates research results through its numerous publications worldwide.

IOM’s research activities cover such areas as migration trends and data, international migration law, migration and development, health and migration, counter-trafficking, labour migration, trade, remittances, irregular migration, integration and return migration.

The Migration Research Division (MRD) is responsible for developing and coordinating the organization’s overall research and publishing policy. It formulates IOM’s overall research and publishing policy and coordinates research and publications throughout the organization. MRD is based at IOM Headquarters in Geneva, as an integral part of the Department of International Cooperation and Partnerships (ICP) in order to ensure that IOM’s research activities directly support policy, and that findings are disseminated to a broad audience.

Strategic Goals
  • Provide leadership in the intellectual debate on migration through quality research and publications.
  • Offer policy guidance to governments, based on reliable and up-to-date data and research.
  • Respond to the growing demand for data on migration.
  • Offer a platform for the exchange of international and cross-national research and practices among IOM Member States and Observers.
  • Facilitate dialogue and information exchange among the academic and policy communities.
  • Build research capacity within the Organization and foster the use of IOM’s empirical data.
  • Disseminate reports and studies via publications, events and the internet.
  • Increase readership and awareness of IOM publications among external experts and groups.
  • 2008 Programme of Research
What Services Do We Provide?
  • Undertake primary and desk research.
  • Support research project development throughout the organization based on methodological guidance, review and endorsement.
  • Extract relevant findings and information from ongoing IOM activities.
  • Commission studies, work with external consultants and respond to calls for proposals.
  • Organize events and represent IOM in research and policy fora.
  • Raise funds for research from a variety of sources.
  • Offer information and library resources.
  • Build research capacity and provide training.
  • Provide editorial support, advice on editing, layout, printing, distribution, marketing and sales of publications.
  • Offer the opportunity to researchers to publish their work.
  • Disseminate IOM publications to a worldwide audience.
  • Provide traditional and online bookshop services.
Field Offices and Headquarters Departments

Migration Health, International Migration Law and Legal Affairs, and Migration Management Services with its Service Areas: Counter-trafficking, Assisted Voluntarily Returns and Integration, Labour Migration among others), conduct research and produce publications on a wide range of subjects in coordination with MRD.