Event details and recordings available here.

The last webinar in a series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research, co-hosted by the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and the (RRN), focused on funding structures for research on forced migration. Panelists spoke of the ways individual researchers can contribute towards addressing these issues and how the structures in place need to shift in order to create substantial change.

Maha Shuayb brought her expertise as Director of the Centre for Lebanese Studies and Lead Investigator of LERRN’s Lebanon Working Group and brought her perspectives from the RRN. Coming from the perspective of donors, webinar participants also heard from of the German Development Institute and Roula El-Rifai, Senior Program Specialist at the (IDRC).

The panel began with a discussion on the additional challenges that many researchers in the global South face. Susan McGrath explained that access to such presumed basics as reliable electricity and the internet can be a barrier for researchers. She said some researchers do not have the same access to research assistants and in some regions, researchers must obtain permission before applying for research grants. Roula El-Rifai suggested that investing in sustainable institutions rather than individual researchers or individual projects can help address some of these capacity issues. According to her, institutions can play a crucial role in supporting ongoing research: “We have to use local institutions in a way to train the trainers. Local institutions become the hubs that can impact individual researchers as well as other institutions.” Funding research through opportunities like the IDRC’s is just one example of building up local institutional capacity to support sustainable localized research. Both Susan McGrath and Maha Shuayb pointed out the importance of supporting emerging scholars by creating resources like the . In McGrath’s view, emerging scholars lack the profile of more established scholars but can be supported with mentorship and other forms of support.

Coming from the global North perspective, Jörn Grävingholt explained that the whole industry of research needs to review its modes of operation. As one example of what needs to change, many scholars in the North will determine a topic for research in the South and then travel to conduct that research with a local partner, only to offer them a mere acknowledgement in a published article. The panelists agreed that scholars from the North should be including local researchers from the very beginning of the research design process. Grävingholt noted this way of doing research is beginning to change, but more needs to be done. He suggested that researchers from the North and the South have much to learn from each other.

Grävingholt reflected on how academic career incentive structures in the North reward individual authorship and published papers in academic journals, but do not reward research that helps local communities and do not incentivize making research accessible to the communities it affects. Instead, these career incentives hinder collaboration and uphold the hierarchical culture within academia. Maha Shuayb also critiqued how publishing research in an English language journal is not always helpful or accessible to refugee communities and host communities in the South who speak a different language. Roula El-Rifai highlighted the importance of redefining our understanding of knowledge, since knowledge continues to be Western-centric. Western scholars continue to be cited more frequently and their forms of knowledge privileged over diverse forms of knowledge produced in local contexts.

Finally, the panelists highlighted the importance of recognizing positive change. Over time, funding requirements have changed to support local leadership in research. As a scholar in the South ten years ago, Shuayb said she had to find a partner in the North to apply for funding, because she was not eligible to be a Principal Investigator (PI) on grant applications. Now she sees more opportunities for co-PIs in funding applications. Beyond forced migration studies, many fields are having similar conversations and there is much to learn from these other discussions. The COVID-19 pandemic brought opportunities for local research to take the spotlight amidst travel restrictions. Some scholars were able to collaborate with others in regions around the world thanks to adaptations with virtual technologies. Hybrid-style conferences and events can continue beyond travel restrictions to foster collaboration. For example, the (IASFM) is proposing a hybrid-model for its conference in 2024. While there is still a long way to go on many issues, we can celebrate and learn from these examples of positive change.

This concludes the LERRN-RRN Webinar Series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research

Click here to read about or watch the recordings from the previous webinars in the series.

This report was prepared by: Kail Schlachter, LERRN Project Writer; Rawan Youssef, LERRN Strategic Communications Project Officer; Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer.

The LERRN-RRN Webinar Series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research is coordinated by Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer. For further information or ideas please contact us here.

Please note: this webinar was held as a meeting; no video recording will be made available.

Event details available here.

On March 11, the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and the (RRN) hosted their second webinar of the year, featuring three anthropologists who reflected on their unique personal experiences as international students from post-war Bosnia to the United States. The webinar, titled “Haunted by Violence”, featured Saida Hodžić (Associate Professor of Anthropology and Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Cornell University), Azra Hromadžić (Associate Professor at The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University) and Larisa Kurtović (Associate Professor at the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies, University of Ottawa). All three are anthropologists who left Bosnia in the 1990s to pursue their studies overseas and ultimately pursued academic careers in the US and Canada.

The webinar was moderated by Jennifer Hyndman, Professor in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change and Associate Vice-President Research at York University. 116 participants were registered for this live-only event. The three presenters read excerpts from their work and presented personal reflections about the liberal violence of caring for refugees and how the label “refugee” positions, even displaces, one in a new country like the United States. This personal and intimate discussion was very timely given current developments in Ukraine, and the lives of displaced persons worldwide.

For those interested in further readings related to the webinar, we have compiled a list of resources:

This report was prepared by: Hayley Britton, LERRN Communications/Knowledge Mobilization Officer.

The final webinar in the series, Changing the Structures of Forced Migration Research, will take place on 31 March, 2022

The LERRN-RRN Webinar Series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research is coordinated by Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer. For further information or ideas please contact us here.

Event details and recordings available here.

The third webinar in a series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research, co-hosted by the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and the (RRN), focused on creative research methods in challenging times. More than 200 people in 46 countries registered for this interactive pre-launch of the forthcoming book . The co-editors of the book, and , gave an overview of the chapters and moderated the question period.

During the workshop, and Nicole Phillips introduced their collaborative approach that aims to bring joy and whimsy to the research process. The Multimedia Package (MMP) approach begins by inviting participants to mark places that are important to them on a map and by asking participants questions about what home is and what it looks like to them. During the workshop, participants shared their answers in the chat. In this research method, the answers to these prompts are not the actual data for the research, but a way to stimulate a conversation and to help research participants become more comfortable and enjoy the research process. Phillips explained that one of the challenges in research with refugee populations is that they are often over-researched. At first, participants give responses they think the researchers want to hear and it takes time and persistence to make them feel comfortable and in control.

Next, and shared their research method of mobility mapping videos. Wanting to record stories of urban displacement, they invite research participants to share their life stories and the places to which those memories are linked. The final products are in which participants hand-draw a map and mark milestone memories on it while narrating their thoughts freely. The instructions are open to interpretation so participants can tell their stories however they wish. Silence plays a key role. Jayatilaka and Gamage have used these videos to share with policy makers the stories of people who have experienced urban displacement.

Another chapter author, , shared one of her that gave research participants the opportunity to capture sounds that represented their lives before and after displacement in Colombia. Dina Taha spoke about her chapter that looks at the traditional methodology of qualitative interviews through the lenses of decolonization and critical reflexivity. She urged us to ask if research questions are rooted in stereotypical conceptions or binaries. Critical reflexivity can reveal the vulnerability of the researcher and show when to embrace it, as well as help navigate the delicate balance between researcher and participant control in an interview. Taha noted that arts-based research methods give more control to research participants but are still designed by the researchers.

Finally, , one of the chapter co-authors, shared the challenges of being both a researcher and a community member. In his research, when refugee fathers who have experienced war would share their vulnerabilities, they sometimes said “you know what I’m saying” instead of elaborating, given his similar experiences as a community member. He reflected on how, at the end of the day, it is a researcher’s job to deliver high quality data, even if it works against personal bias.

You can use the discount code “MQSP” to receive 20 percent off your copy of until April 30, 2022.

Stay tuned for the next two webinars in the series in March about exploring positionality in refugee research and about challenging funding structures.

This report was prepared by: Kail Schlachter, LERRN Project Writer and Rawan Youssef, LERRN Strategic Communications Project Officer.

The LERRN-RRN Webinar Series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research is coordinated by Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer. For further information or ideas please contact us here.

Event details and recordings available here.

In the second of a series of webinars on the ethics of forced migration research co-hosted by the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and the , our panel of speakers reflected on the theme of building research relationships and setting the agenda. The panel featured Dr. Alice Nah, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics at the University of York, UK and one of the founding members of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, as well as Mark Okello Oyat, Director of the Dadaab Response Association. During the webinar, Dr. Oroub El-Abed joined the panel, bringing her experience as Regional Research Coordinator for LERRN in Jordan and Lebanon, and as Lead Researcher in Jordan for the Centre for Lebanese Studies.

The panel began by reflecting on the importance of questions on research partnerships and agenda-setting. Moderator Susan McGrath, reflecting on the experiences of the RRN and the challenges of sustaining a research network, highlighted the , entitled . Alice Nah, who started her work on displacement as an advocate and activist,  discussed how institutional incentive structures can take academics away from relevant research by emphasizing theoretical contributions to academic disciplines over relevance, practical impact, or solutions to the problems displaced communities face. That can make it challenging for academics to do reciprocal and impactful research.

For Mark Okello Oyat, who lives in an encampment, this conversation is personal because researchers usually come from outside of the camp with their own research agenda and set of questions, which limits the participation of refugees themselves. It is important to empower refugees to tell their own stories and to conduct their own research on topics that they consider to be important. An alternative approach, like the one taken by LERRN, has provided researchers  from Dadaab a platform to  publish their research on refugee education as LERRN Working Papers. These papers examine topics that have been neglected in previous research and global discussions, such as Mark’s paper on the issue of corporal punishment in refugee schools. Mark emphasized that refugees who are empowered to be independent researchers are then able to connect with scholars around the world.

The panelists criticized how refugees are sometimes brought into research partnerships as subordinate research partners. Oroub El-Abed asked “What is the role of refugee researchers being involved? Is it just getting them to do the work or are we really empowering them?” The speakers advocated for involving refugees and local researchers from the beginning of conceptualizing the problems and asking the questions they see as important in their communities, rather than recruiting refugees to implement existing projects.

Mark suggested that research cannot only be about knowledge production, but needs to have a purpose. The evidence collected in research is an important foundation of advocacy for policymakers to lobby for changes in policy and practice. Oroub suggested that research can be part of standing against the authoritarian oppression of refugees and disturbing states involved in that oppression. Making space for refugees in research can involve theatre, exhibitions, or documentaries in addition to traditional written research publications. Alice also emphasized the importance of making the research relevant in different forums, including within scholarly, practitioner, and refugee communities. Well-respected institutions and scholars in the North can also lend legitimacy to the research findings of refugees and local researchers, and stand with them in solidarity when there are potential risks for speaking up.

The discussion raised important questions about trust, power, and resources. Unfortunately, some recent scholarship has not connected with long-standing conversations on these debates. Without reflecting on these questions, we risk reproducing power asymmetries, inequalities, and problematic policy paradigms. Alice questioned how some ever-present issues get onto research agendas in the first place and asked “Who has the power to turn something into something worthy of investigation, worthy of investment?” As explained in a recent open-access article by LERRN researchers (), localizing knowledge production will require transferring power – including power to set the research agenda – to researchers in the South. One of the key features of the LERRN partnership is that the research agenda is set by working groups in East Africa and the Middle East. One thing we have learned during the pandemic is that virtual spaces open up possibilities for more inclusive and global conversations.

Stay tuned for future webinars in the series in 2022!

This report was prepared by: Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer; Amanda Klassen, LERRN Project Officer; and Kail Schlachter, LERRN Project Writer.

The LERRN-RRN Webinar Series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research is coordinated by Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer. For further information or ideas please contact us here.

Event details and recordings available here.

The first webinar in LERRN’s Ethics in Forced Migration Research series, co-hosted with the , attracted 82 participants from 20 countries. While later webinars in the series will look at more specific aspects of the research process, the first webinar started with the important question of what knowledge and whose knowledge is valued in research and in policy processes. The webinar featured three speakers: Yousif M. Qasmiyeh (Poet, DPhil Candidate in English Literature, and Writer-in-Residence with the Refugee Hosts project), Foni Joyce Vuni (Global Refugee Youth Network coordinator and Research Associate at the Refugee Led Research Hub), and Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (Professor of Migration and Refugee Studies, University College London).

Yousif started his comments by reading his poem “Anthropologists” from his recently published poetry book . The poem highlights the often extractive nature of research practices that involve outside experts going into refugee camps and leaving with data, like recordings of refugee voices. Yousif pointed out that “We feature refugees as quotable materials but not as co-producers.” These practices also treat refugees as willing subjects for research. Remembering his childhood growing up in Baddawi Camp, Yousif recalled “how often people would knock on the door and assume we are ready to be interviewed” without first checking whether they wished to participate.

The speakers emphasized the importance of involving displaced people as genuine partners from the beginning of research. However, Elena warned against making assumptions about what members of displaced communities want from research. For example, not all members involved in research may be interested in co-authoring articles, some members may prefer to write poetry, and other members may not be interested in research at all. Foni Joyce highlighted the significance of co-designing research: “If you sit down as a researcher and think of your questions alone, and you have not included the community, that is not research for the community, it’s your own research, it’s you pushing forward your agenda.” For researchers, that involves giving away some of their power to shape the research. Coming up with questions with the community and allowing displaced researchers to be involved in research design ensures that research is sensitive and responsive to the community’s needs and goals. It also guards against the problem of repetitive research that revisits the same topics. Near the end of the research, it is important to translate research findings into the languages spoken by communities and share them.

Currently, knowledge coming from outside experts is seen as more legitimate than knowledge from members of the community. For example, when sharing the experiences of her community, Foni Joyce sometimes gets asked whether this knowledge can be verified with a link referring to a book, journal article, or report from a large humanitarian organization. Elena situated this conversation within long-standing debates in a variety of fields on Eurocentrism in academia and the designation of certain people and institutions as legitimate producers of knowledge. Forced migration studies has the potential to learn from other fields where similar conversations are happening and where the slogan “nothing about us without us” is also used.

The speakers lamented that types of knowledge outside of traditional academic research methods are still undervalued, even though they are sometimes considered or included in projects. Elena explained how certain types of knowledge are considered “serious” whereas other types of knowledge like photos or creative writing are considered “seasoning” on top of more mainstream projects. Giving an example of a project in Uganda that has used music, dance, and poetry to gather and share information related to child marriage in the community, Foni Joyce suggested that “we have to be able to open up and be flexible to accept these other forms of knowledge the community is also using.” One example is her powerful video poem that was presented as part of UNHCR’s 2021 Executive Committee meeting. Foni Joyce also supported multilingual community focus groups as part of the drafting of the Global Compact on Refugees, which resulted in some recommendations from refugee communities being incorporated into the agreement. Yousif highlighted that written knowledge is not accessible to those who do not write, so oral forms of knowledge are equally important. The speakers also pointed out the need to pay attention to the ways different types of knowledge are used and whether they support or undermine the rights and well-being of people who are displaced. For example, statistics may be used to support surveillance activities and crisis narratives, but knowledge can also be used to hold those with power accountable for their actions that affect displaced communities.

This report was prepared by Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer.

The LERRN-RRN Webinar Series on Ethics in Forced Migration Research is coordinated by Rachel McNally, LERRN Knowledge Mobilization and Translation Officer. For further information or ideas please contact us here.