Policies to create jobs and community: Learning from the evidence on forced displacement

A GRF 2023 linked event hosted by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UNHCR, and the World Bank
Date

Policies to create jobs and community: Learning from the evidence on forced displacement

Date
A GRF 2023 linked event hosted by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UNHCR, and the World Bank
Time
15:00 CET
Location
Geneva
Panel of the event - five people sit behind a table with a backdrop behind them - the text of the backdrop is not really visible.

Delivering evidence to improve policies on forced displacement is the mission of Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement, a research partnership between the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), UNHCR, and the World Bank. To mark its closing, the program hosted a linked event at the GRF to highlight the policies that can foster job creation and social cohesion as well as the program’s achievements. Participants joined in person and online.

By making data more accessible and introducing new methodologies, the program has enabled other organizations to develop more research to enhance policymaking. Soukeyna Kane, Director of the Fragility, Conflict, and Violence Group at the World Bank, explained that "the results of this laboratory of ideas are policy recommendations that have the well-being of the displaced and hosts squarely in mind.”

Greg Houston, Head of Migration at FCDO, shared the research findings that have informed the UK’s policies and programming. “The evidence tells us what works and what is not working, and that allows us to scale up what’s effective and to stop funding what’s perhaps less effective,” said Houston.

During the panel discussion, Dr Prosper Ng’andu and Mohlolo Lerotholi, respectively Commissioners for Refugees of the Republic of Zambia and of the Kingdom of Lesotho, outlined their countries’ efforts to be more inclusive towards the displaced. The revision of Zambia’s labor laws to include the displaced, for example, will enable refugees to work without the need for permits. The displaced, reminded Dr. Ng’andu, are “a very, very vital resource for economic development.”

Visit the event page to watch the recording and access the presentations. Visit Building the Evidence on Forced Displacement to learn more about the research partnership.