ReseaRCH AND pOLICY

We contribute strong, evidence-based policy resources to the global refugee ecosystem. We regularly provide customized policy briefs commissioned by government and civil society stakeholders on a wide array of topics relating to refugee protection.

Our skilled research and policy team works in collaboration with experts around the world to develop and share the evidence base for community sponsorship and drive high impact research partnerships on refugee protection.

EU Sustainable Practices of Integration (SPRING)

Composed of a consortium of 9 academic and policy partners, SPRING focuses on collecting, summarizing, and sharing the best available evidence on integration across different European countries. The Refugee Hub contributes to SPRING by offering insights into how different tools and practices used by Canadian sponsorship groups facilitate refugee newcomers’ settlement to Canada; and by producing recommendations to strengthen these tools.

As part of the SPRING Project, we have launched a podcast investigating the nuts and bolts of the Canadian Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. In monthly episodes, the project team will interview academic, policy, and practitioner experts and explore aspects of Canadian sponsorship and highlight the power of community sponsorship as an integration tool. You can subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Stitcher, or Blubrry.

Resettlement Plus 

Resettlement Plus is an online platform dedicated to collecting and sharing information about resettlement and other third country avenues to protection to a diverse audience. It shares research papers, reports, policy briefs, blogs and other resources with researchers, policymakers, and practitioners across the world. The platform houses resources about resettlement, community-based refugee sponsorship, and complementary pathways like family reunification, education pathways, and employment pathways. Resettlement Plus aims to share as much knowledge about different avenues for protection as we can to a wide audience, as accessibly as possible.

Resettlement and Complementary Pathways Global Mapping Project

In 2020-2021, the Refugee Hub partnered with the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) to conduct a global mapping of refugee resettlement programs and complementary pathways, including a focus on areas where programs could be scaled up and the barriers to doing so. The analysis, commissioned by UNHCR, drew on more than 120 interviews conducted by MPI and Refugee Hub researchers with the staff of UNHCR offices, government officials, members of civil society, representatives of higher education institutions, and employers in four regions: Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and the Americas.

Research Colloquium and Symposium on Refugee Sponsorship

Between 2021-2022 the Refugee Hub in partnership with the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Research into Superdiversity, the Centre for Refugee Studies at York University, and the University of Toronto organized a series of workshops and symposia exploring a variety of topics including sponsor motivation, connections between sponsorship and complementary pathways for refugee movement, links between sponsorship and positive integration outcomes, community sponsorship in small and rural communities, and the impact of sponsorship on public attitudes. A final Capstone Symposium for the Research Colloquium was held on 3 February 2022 which synthesized key learnings and reflections from previous workshops and two substantive panel discussions: “Refugee Perspectives on Sponsorship, Research and Practice” and “What Comes Next in Refugee Sponsorship and Resettlement Research?” The series drew participants from many disciplines and from around the globe.

Global Compacts Collaboration with Columbia University

In 2017 the Refugee Hub partnered with Columbia University’s Global Policy Initiative on a series of policy briefs and high-level convenings related to the United Nations’ Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration. The collaboration supported the development of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration by providing both high-quality research and policy contributions, and a discussion platform for the major actors engaged in the Compacts process to focus on the development of concrete solutions and proposals for action.