Studies

Reintegration of Returnee (Failed) Migrants

The BRAC Migration Program is providing social and economic reintegration services to 10,000 migrant returnees in 40 upazilas (sub-districts) at 10 working locations of the project. The study aims to evaluate the impact of the project and assess the effectiveness of the reintegration model by conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) on project beneficiaries. This is supplemented by a qualitative study that seeks to provide a clearer picture of the needs of migrant workers involuntarily repatriated during the pandemic. 

Researchers: Dr Narayan C. Das; Dr Shahaduz Zaman; Abu Ahasan; Tanvir Shatil; Dr Sakib Mahmood; Marjan Hossain; Asma Tabassum

Partners: BRAC Migration Program

Timeline: 2021–2022

Status: Completed

Method: Mixed methods

Contact: Dr Narayan C. Das
narayan.das@bracu.ac.bd

Context

The goal of the BRAC Migration Program project is to contribute to the social and economic sustainability of returnee migrants of Bangladesh by providing them with reintegration support, keeping in mind their rights and dignity. Apart from providing direct psychosocial and economic support to 10,000 returnee migrants, the project aims to create awareness among a further 5,95,000 people regarding safe migration and reintegration and to contribute to the strengthening of local and national institutions related to migration. The research will evaluate the project’s extent of impact on the lives of returnee migrants. 

Objectives

To measure the overall impact of the project and the effectiveness of the reintegration model used, particularly in the context of the pandemic. The study aims to determine if the interventions had a causal effect on the lives of returnee migrants. The impact assessment will primarily address the criterion of effectiveness laid out by the OECD DAC, and it will further determine to what extent the project interventions contributed to the observed changes. The findings will help stakeholders working on migration issues, e.g., BRAC, to fine-tune future interventions to address reintegration challenges and to reduce unsafe migration.

Methodology

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted on project beneficiaries, i.e., the returnee migrants. To understand and evaluate the impact of the different types of reintegration support provided to the returnees, a baseline survey will be conducted in 2021, followed by an end-line survey in 2022.

For a more nuanced interpretation of the RCT results, particularly in an evolving COVID-19 context, a qualitative study will complement impact evaluation by providing a more comprehensive picture of the needs of migrant workers, especially those involuntarily repatriated during the pandemic. The qualitative study will also try to understand the determinants of—and proclivity towards—unsafe re-migration in the population. 

At the outset of the intervention, qualitative research will be conducted at the community level, largely among migrant workers who were laid off or were forced to return due to COVID-19. The study will try to understand the existing perceptions regarding international migration and attitudes towards returnee migrants (failed migration) and the risks of re-migration. In-depth case studies will be conducted with recently returned migrants. The community-level research and in-depth case studies of project beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries will be repeated near the end of the project.

Findings and Recommendations

Study ongoing. 

 


The study is part of the Covid Collective initiative. Supported by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Covid Collective is based at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). The Collective brings together the expertise of UK and Southern-based research partner organizations and offers a rapid social science research response to inform decision-making on some of the most pressing development challenges related to COVID-19. 

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