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About

The Mediterranean Migration Research Programme is an ESRC-funded programme that was launched in response to the on-going migration crisis in Europe. The ESRC has provided £1 million to support leading UK social scientists to conduct research with migrant and refugee populations who have entered Europe across the Mediterranean. Co-funded by the Department for International Development, the Mediterranean Migration Research Programme provides evidence to inform the development of policy and responses by governments, European agencies, and charities.

Eight projects from across the UK are being funded under the ESRC’s Urgency Grants Mechanism. This website collects and presents outputs, news, and events from all eight projects within the Programme.

Methods and Evidence Base

Together, the eight projects have used a wide range of methods and conducted research in numerous sites. More than 950 qualitative, in-depth interviews and 750 surveys were conducted with refugees and migrants, including survivors of shipwrecks. These were complemented with more than 320 interviews with government officials, national and international organisations and civil society actors, and 84 interviews with families of missing migrants. In addition, MMRP researchers have compiled and analysed field observations, minutes of intergovernmental meetings, and legal frameworks. They have also employed forensic techniques, vessel tracking data, and cartography to reconstruct incidents at sea. The research has spanned diverse sites of transit and arrival, including France (Marseille, Paris, and Calais), Germany (Berlin), Greece (Athens, Kos, Lesvos, Thessaloniki), Italy (Apulia, Bologna, Lampedusa, Milan, Piedmont, Rome, Sicily), Malta, and Turkey (Istanbul, Izmir).

For a brief overview of the eight projects that are part of the MMRP, see our Projects page.