Key stakeholders external to government include, first and foremost, the migrants and their communities. They also include civil society (NGOs, diaspora populations, local communities, academia, trade unions) and the private sector. Depending on the nature of the policy issue, and the national context, policymakers will engage with many or all these actors. Stakeholders are also internal to government, as mentioned in Developing migration policy, where the whole-of-government considerations of policymaking are set out.

There are some useful online tools for stakeholder mapping to guide the process of establishing who matters to the policymaking process and why. These tools can help to define:

  • Who the stakeholders are and their interests;
  • Whether they are or are likely to be supporters or critics;
  • What impact the policy would have on them;
  • What weight needs to be given to their perspective and how can stakeholder buy in be ensured;
  • How to ensure diversity in the make-up of stakeholders, in particular gender, and ensuring direct beneficiaries have a voice.
To Go Further

In this section, we consider the role of various stakeholders and their ways of engagement at the national level. (Actors and partnerships for migration considered this at the international level). Below are some examples.

Civil society

Civil society can include a vast array of organizations, including diaspora associations, migrants’ groups, organizations assisting migrants and many more (as already indicated in Actors and partnerships for migration).

Civil society organizations

Among civil society organizations (CSO) working at the national level, those that work directly with migrants usually have a keen understanding of the situations and issues that migrants are confronted with. Given their interaction with local communities, civil society participation in the implementation of policies through partnerships with governments or intergovernmental organizations can enhance the success rate of these activities, since they are likely to be considered as more integrated with the communities that make up the beneficiaries. These types of programmes can include:

  • Providing advice and support to migrants;
  • Facilitating social inclusion;
  • Informing, advising and supporting migrants to access their rights and comply with national law;
  • Advocacy and lobbying to shape policies and programmes;
  • Being the interface between migrant communities and the local authorities.

While many CSOs run these types of programmes with the support of donor partners or contributions from their members, they can also be contracted by governments or intergovernmental organizations to deliver specific services to migrants.

For countries of origin, migrant and diaspora associations can be helpful in providing advice to governments on information and programmes to support their nationals living abroad, as well as being a source of skills, knowledge and expertise that can be utilized in initiatives in their home countries. In the destination countries, migrant associations often play the role of being the “voice” of migrants from a specific migrant community, and provide an important point of contact and consultation in the design and implementation of programmes targeted at migrant communities.

However, CSOs face a number of challenges that limit their ability to engage with the authorities effectively, such as access to sustained funding or the ability to develop technical expertise (for example, on legal and policy frameworks) to add value to the policymaking process. At the same time, while the State’s willingness to turn to non-governmental organizations plays a major role, CSOs also face the dilemma of how to position themselves so that they retain their credibility as representatives of migrants while having an influence on the policy agenda (De Feyter and Plaetevoet, 2005).

 
Policy Approaches
Working with CSOs for more effective migration management
  • Draw on the knowledge and experience of CSOs (including migrant and diaspora associations) to conceptualize and develop policies and programmes targeted at migrants.
  • Work with international organizations that support activities at the local level to complement partnerships with local CSOs, particularly in contexts of humanitarian crisis.

Ideally, migrants themselves will be consulted and CSOs can assist, for instance in validating the experiences reported by migrants.

Example
Consultations with migrants

New Zealand Immigration consults directly with migrants to gain insights into the effectiveness of integration policies. They conduct face-to-face interviews, focus groups and surveys for this purpose. A number of organizations working on settlement and with direct connections with recent migrants were invited to comment on the findings of the consultations and compare them with the findings from their day-to-day work. The organizations’ observations supported the findings of the consultation, thereby providing a helpful validation of that evidence.

Source

 New Zealand Immigration, n.d.

Academia

Academia can also provide valuable inputs to policymaking, as research on national and subnational contexts can highlight important questions and issues concerning migrants and their integration into local societies. (Read more on how to partner with researchers in Commissioning research and analysis to inform policymaking in Using research and analysis.

To Go Further

See more on the role of Non-governmental actors at the international level in Actors and partnerships for migration.

Trade Unions

Trade unions are important partners in the development and implementation of labour market policies and practices as they provide the interface between workers and employers. They can play an important role in facilitating harmonious industrial relations and could assist migrant workers to adapt to the workplace dynamics and regulations in the country of destination while assisting in the development of policies protecting migrant workers’ rights in accordance with international standards.

 
Example
Canada’s consultations with trade unions and migrant groups

The Canadian federal government conducted consultations with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and migrant groups about Canada’s temporary foreign worker policy and programme. Recommendations put forward by the trade union from a meeting in 2018 influenced the changes to the programme.

Recommendations included increasing the number of permanent residency opportunities for temporary foreign workers in the agricultural sector, more pathways to citizenship and more protection for migrant workers. Through a pilot programme (Agri-Food Immigration Pilot) employers will be required to collaborate with unions in order to receive a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment for a 2-year period.

Source

Recommendations from the union: United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Canada, 2018; Information on the agri-food pilot: CIC News, 2019.

See more on the role of trade unions and other Non-governmental actors at the international level in Actors and partnerships for migration.

Private sector

The private sector can be fruitfully engaged with developing and implementing migration policy beyond financing programmes:

Article / Quotes

The private sector also engages migrants in various ways, including as employees, customers, and increasingly shareholders, managers and corporate leaders. As a result of this diversity, the private sector has different interests in whether and how to engage with governments in informing migration policy and it is important that this diversity of interests is properly represented.

Source

Dos Reis, Koser and Levin, 2017.

See Labour migration and mobility for details on how policymakers can partner with the private sector on developing labour market policy as well as labour migration policy. In addition, actors from the private sector can be important partners in developing policies related to ethical recruitment and the labour rights of migrant workers.

Policy Approaches
Engaging with the private sector
  • Engage a wider range of private sector actors than those typically consulted.
  • Devise a clear statement of purpose for engaging the private sector, beyond exclusively its potential to finance programmes and policies.
  • Host ongoing and targeted events under the Chatham House Rule (which states that participants in an event can use the information shared by other participants but cannot reveal the identity nor the affiliation of any other participant) in order to foster understanding between private sector representatives and leaders and migration policy practitioners.
Source

Dos Reis, Koser and Levin, 2017.

See more on the role of the Private sector at the international level in  Actors and partnerships for migration.

To Go Further
Key messages
  • A good policymaking process will need thoughtful analysis and design and meaningful engagement with stakeholders through consultative processes.
  • Stakeholders are both external and internal to government. Mapping stakeholders through some useful online tools can help determine who should be engaged.
PreviousIntroductionNextWhat form does consultation take?