Influencing Migration Policy and Public Debate through Targeted Communications: Lessons for Researchers and Practitioners as to What, Who, How, and When to Engage

Migration research is taking place within a rapidly evolving, contested, and polarized space. It is difficult for researchers who are seeking to influence policymaking on migration to communicate their research, and see their findings translated into action. Arguably, one reason for this lack of translation is that many researchers ignore the outsized role that the public has within migration policymaking. This paper focuses on how researchers can best communicate their findings to policymakers and the public by interrogating what they produce (translating long and complex reports into nuanced narratives, combining facts and emotion-based arguments); who they target (tailoring findings to those in the ‘conflicted’ middle); how they disseminate it (using mediums that appeal to a researchers’ target audience); and when they disseminate it (engaging with the policy adoption process throughout).