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Asia
Pacific Migration Research Network
Working Paper No. 9 Migration Research and Policy Landscape: Case studies of Australia, the Philippines and Thailand Published by the APMRN Secretariat Migration and Multicultural Program Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies University of Wollongong, Australia Robyn Iredale, Tim Turpin, Charles Hawksley, Stella Go, Supaphan Kanchai, Yee May Kaung Edited by Kerry Lyon ISSN
1328-2530 |
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Table of Contents
The project was proposed by the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) programme of the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO. However, the APMRN Secretariat is responsible for the choice of presentation of the facts contained in this publication and for the opinions expressed therein. The APMRN Secretariat thanks all those who participated in the planning meetings and who were interviewed for this study. For ethical reasons names of respondents have not been given or recorded against particular comments. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the University of Wollongong to this study. The original research for this project is a contribution to the APMRN's work on informing the policy making process connected to aspects of migration. The designations employed, and the presentation of material throughout this publication, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the UNESCO Secretariat concerning the legal status of any county, territory, city, or area of its authorities, or the delimitations of its frontiers or boundaries. Robyn Iredale is Secretariat Director of the APMRN and Associate Professor, School of Geosciences, University of Wollongong. Tim Turpin is Professor, Centre for Research Policy and Innovation Studies, University of Wollongong. Charles Hawksley was Secretariat Coordinator of the APMRN from July 2000 to February 2002 and is now Lecturer in History and Politics, University of Wollongong. Stella Go is Associate Professor at De La Salle University, Manila and is a coordinator of the Philippines Migration Research Network. Supaphan Kanchai and Yee May Kaung are researchers at the The Asian Research Center for Migration, Institute of Asian Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. Background
General lessons for migration research networks follow from these observations
INTRODUCTION Building links between policy makers and social scientific researchers in the Asia Pacific region has been receiving greater attention in recent years as governments have been urged to adopt strategies such as the World Bank's Comprehensive Development Frameworks (CDFs) and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). (See: Wolfensohn, J. A Proposal for a Comprehensive Development Framework (A Discussion Draft), Jan 21, 1999). These strategies, in alliance with UN development agencies, are calling for greater co-operation between governments, civil society, the private sector and external agencies to develop more inclusive policy making options and methods. Independent scholarly research and international knowledge transfer is an important aspect of this process. However, as the demand for independent policy-oriented research in the Asia Pacific region has increased, it has become clear that there is a need to ensure that the results of such research can effectively reach policy makers and advisors. Linking research and policy not only provides policy makers with a solid base of knowledge but also helps in countering some of the pitfalls of internal decision-making. One of the effects of globalisation has been on governance in the Asia Pacific region. Local, national and regional policy makers have been put under increasing pressure to design and implement effective solutions for sustainable and equitable development. National governments have also become increasingly more aware of the interconnectedness of societies and economies. Nowhere was this more evident than after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, when governments were forced to re-assess their relationship with civil society and the private sector, as well as with regional and international agencies and economic fora. They were forced to adjust their social and economic policies as the crisis triggered civil unrest and social crises and highlighted the nexus between social policy and economic matters.
Within this context, various international networks have been established to promote and co-ordinate independent research dealing with global issues, but focusing on specific countries. Recent examples of such networks are the Asia Pacific Migration Research Network (APMRN), the Science and Technology Policy Asian Network (STEPAN) and the Science and Technology Management Arab Region Network (STEMARN). These networks all receive some support through UNESCO and serve as cross-cutting networks that work closely with national governments and other international agencies. Other examples of networks are the Coastal Resources Research Network, the Global Urban Research Initiative, the Learning for Environmental Action Program, the Canadian Aging Research Network and the Metropolis Network (See: Stein, J. et al. (2001) for an evaluation of these networks, with the exception of Metropolis). While it is clear that these networks serve an important role in co-ordinating and disseminating research and training activities, it is not entirely clear how effective they are at informing national policies. For this reason, UNESCO encouraged an investigation of the impact of one network, the APMRN. The APMRN was established in 1995 as a project of UNESCO-MOST's (Management of Social Transformations) Programme to assist with understanding migration and settlement policy in the Asia Pacific region. It began as a regional project based on the collaboration of migration and ethnic relations scholars in the countries of East Asia (China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong); South East Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand) and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, and the countries of the Pacific Islands) (n.b.: Taiwan is an informal member of the APMRN). In 2001, the APMRN expanded into South Asia (Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India) and now involves scholars in seventeen networks or economies. Personnel from international organisations, national governments and NGOs participate in local network meetings and in international activities. The Chair and Deputy Chair are rotating positions (Professor Vijay Naidu (University of the South Pacific, Fiji) is the current APMRN Chair and is assisted by four Deputy Chairs, one each from North East Asia, South East Asia, the Pacific region, and South Asia). The APMRN Secretariat is based at the University of Wollongong, Australia. The main concerns of the APMRN are twofold: to increase awareness of the long-term effects of migration and ethno-cultural diversity as factors of social transformation; and to contribute to strategies to develop effective policy responses to alleviate poverty affected by migration. One of the APMRN's strengths is its academic independence from government. However, partnerships with policy-making bodies in government and other agencies are essential to ensure that scholarly research provides realistic solutions and recommendations that work within policy-making mechanisms and frameworks in the different countries of the region.
The process of making policy is not always sufficiently well informed. Further, the inherent imperatives for quick responses from policy makers usually allows only short time-frames that do not permit sufficient opportunity for consultation, and gathering and assembling necessary information and knowledge. Government agencies seek to overcome these difficulties by generating information databases, developing networks of informants and carrying out research into areas that they believe will best inform their policy making and assessment. Knowing what needs to be known is an important and obvious prerequisite for the task of effective policy making. It is not however, always so clear-cut as to what it is that needs to be known. For short-term issues, such as the implementation and management of policy initiatives and responding to new issues once they emerge, the question is less problematic. But for longer term planning - policy evaluation and pre-empting new issues before they reach crisis point - the question is far more complex.
This project is concerned with the ways that research networks, such as the APMRN, inform the policy process. It is not, however, an evaluation of the APMRN. It is a more a study into the extent to which, and how, migration research has an impact on migration policy. The aim has been to investigate this problem generally with a specific emphasis on the particular role of the APMRN. The project investigates the relationship between migration research and migration policy making by means of an analysis of the policy making nexus in three of the APMRN's 17 networks in the Asia Pacific region. It focuses on three countries with differing migration histories: Australia, as a traditional country of immigration and settlement; the Philippines, as a country of out-migration, particularly labour migration, and Thailand, which has both significant migration inflows and outflows. The study examines the policy environments and receptiveness of these three governments toward migration research, particularly that produced by academics. However, Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) were also consulted on their research activities and strategies to influence policy and their perceptions of the policy making environment. Specifically we looked at :
The study will make some observations on the work and value of these
three networks of the APMRN in particular but it is hoped that the findings
will contribute to improved strategies for the development of similar
research networks.
Relevant NGOs/other research users
Researchers/academics
4. Administration of the survey (August-November 2001) For more information, please contact:
Migration & Multicultural Studies Centre for Asia Pacific Social Transformation Studies University of Wollongong Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia Telephone: +61 (02) 42 213 780 Fax: +61 (02) 42 286 313 E-mail: apmrn@uow.edu.au On Internet: http://www.capstrans.edu.au/apmrn |
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