ICAR

Government research

Introduction

In their bid to develop a robust knowledge base for evidence-based policy and practice, government bodies are conducting an increasing amount of research on refugees, asylum seekers and issues relating to the immigration and asylum system in the UK.

Although the Home Office conducts the majority of this type of research due to its specific responsibilities relating to these issues, other departments also conduct research on refugee and asylum-seeking populations as part of their aim to develop policies and services that meet the needs and improve the circumstances of all members of the UK population.

This page provides some basic information about UK government research about asylum and refugee issues - namely, who conducts it, why and how. If you would like more information about government research on refugees, please contact us at or if you are looking for a specific project or publication, try searching ICAR's resources directory.

Why do government bodies conduct research on refugees and asylum?

Government bodies conduct research and evaluation in order to generate an evidence base to inform national and local policy-making and practice in the statutory sector. Having a robust evidence base is seen to enable such bodies to meet their departmental and governmental objectives more effectively. To find out what kind of evidence is being used by government departments to support their choice of policies, visit the adding it up website.

Evidence-based policy [EBP] has become a key buzzword of the Labour government and a succession of government papers from 1999 to 2001 has emphasised that modern policy making should be driven by 'evidence'. In 2000, David Blunkett made a speech

to the Economic and Social Research Council in which he stated that:

It is this attempt to find out 'what works and why' that is seen to drive many governmental research programmes at local, national and regional levels.

Government research on refugees and asylum can therefore be seen as part of a wider attempt to gather an evidence base on migration and integration issues that will enable more effective policy making and practice and allow departments to meet their objectives. However, while research on other areas of government interest such as crime and health has been well developed and has a longer history of feeding into policy decisions and practice, the evidence-based approach has only recently been applied to issues of immigration and asylum, and therefore government research on this is relatively new.

A description of the purpose and importance of government research on refugees and asylum is included in the 2001 Home Office paper Migration: an economic and social analysis. This highlighted how migration policy might be better developed in order to meet Home Office departmental and governmental objectives and indicated areas in which further research was needed in order to meet these aims.

The Immigration Research and Statistics Service [IRSS] of the Home Office explicitly states that its purpose is to help the development of policy and the management of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate [IND] and particularly Aim 6 of the Home Office. Other departments that conduct research on refugees and asylum seekers do so as part of their specific responsibilities to serve this group as part of the wider UK population in relation to different issues such as employment or education.

The most recent White Paper on immigration, asylum and citizenship, Secure Borders, Safe Haven, usefully outlines the purpose that research serves and its centrality to the policy making process in relation to immigration and asylum.

However, the extent to which government-commissioned and conducted research actually feeds into the policy process is much debated. This is a particular issue in relation to such highly politicised issues as immigration and asylum, where 'what works' may often be overshadowed by other political considerations and pressures.

• to find out more about 'evidence-based policy making', visit the evidence network and adding it up websites.

What kind of research do they conduct?

Data on refugees and asylum seekers is often not available from some of the main surveys and research projects conducted by government bodies. This is because these studies do not usually collect the type of information on immigration status that allows this population to be disaggregated from the wider group surveyed. Even the standard categories used to identify ethnic and racial groups are often inadequate when it comes to identifying refugee groups. Therefore most of the research conducted in relation to refugees and asylum seekers focus on this group specifically.

The themes of the research are likely to be defined by the responsibilities of the particular department conducting or commissioning it. For example, the Department of Work and Pensions has an interest in refugees as part of the work force in the UK, the Department of Health has an interest in refugees' and asylum seekers' health care needs, and the Department of Education and Skills has an interest in refugees and asylum seekers as part of the wider population of students, school children and adult learners.

Research conducted by the Home Office Immigration Research and Statistics Service [IRSS] covers all aspects of the asylum system and process from journeys, arrival and application processing through to integration, settlement, return or removal. Themes that are prioritised are likely to be dictated by the particular political and governmental concerns of the day as well as the identification of specific knowledge gaps.

Some research may focus on a particular ethnic or national group that may be of interest to a certain local or national body. Local governmental bodies are more likely to focus on a particular national group if this forms a significant local population.

What kind of research methods does such research use?

It is often argued that research methods favoured by government research have a bias towards quantitative methods and are strongly influenced by what is known as 'positivist' methodology, which emphasises a scientific approach to social knowledge. Many argue that the government's concern with quantification, explanation and prediction, and the causal relationships between social and economic phenomena lead it to pursue particular types of research methods.

However, whilst statistical modelling, cost benefit analyses, surveys, systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials and evaluation are certainly used in many government commissioned research projects, the range of methods used in government commissioned or conducted research encompasses a variety of techniques and approaches.

Structured and semi-structured interviews, focus groups and other qualitative methods are amongst those used to research refugees and asylum seekers. Due to the difficulty in accessing refugee populations and the absence of a sampling frame for refugees, many of the research projects relating to this group have been unable to use the kind of scientific methods that some policy makers may prefer. Furthermore, certain methods may not be appropriate in studying the population and phenomena concerned.

However, as the government has access to a wide range of data through the Immigration and Nationality Directorate [IND] and often has access to a larger budget than research conducted by NGOs or academics, it is better placed to develop such sampling frames and access a wide range of respondents, as well as conduct longitudinal surveys that monitor phenomena and outcomes over time by tracking cases. Although it is fair to say that government commissioned research is becoming more experimental and diverse over time, it also must be noted that some methods such as ethnography and life history are generally absent from government research on migration and tend to be more confined to academia and also increasingly, the voluntary sector.

Finally, while it may be tempting to conclude that projects such as that which seeks to develop measurable indicators of integration may exemplify the manner in which government research is preoccupied by the 'size of the effect of A on B', as David Blunkett describes it, it is worth noting that because government research on refugees and asylum is still in its infancy, it may well be too early to make any generalisations about the kind of the methodology it favours.

Who carries out the research?

Research is often commissioned by government bodies and contracted out to external researchers such as university teams and research consultancies. Government bodies also conduct research internally using their own research teams. Many of the major government departments have dedicated research sections and employ a range of experienced researchers and statisticians.

Which government bodies conduct research?

Many national, regional and local government bodies conduct or commission research into issues relating to refugees, asylum, and immigration more broadly. Some of the main government bodies and the research they conduct on this issue are summarised below in alphabetical order. Other departments will be added as these pages are developed.

• to find out about the kind of research evidence that is being used by each government department to support the choice of policies to meet their objectives, as well as how they are attempting to increase this evidence base through research, visit the adding it up website.

Department for Education and Skills

The DfES has an interest in refugee and asylum-seeking children, young people and adult learners as part of the wider population it seeks to serve. The department's research programme drew on a budget of £9.1 million overall in 2002-03 and the department articulates a strong commitment to producing, commissioning and instigating high quality research that may be fed into evidence based policy and practice. It also emphasises the importance of disseminating research and improving its accessibility to others, as well as communicating its information needs and gaps in knowledge. The department has established a number of research centres, and research and evaluation projects funded by the department are normally undertaken by independent research organisations, academics, and consultancies.

Refugees and asylum seekers may make up part of the populations researched for a number of projects, although they may not be the specific focus of the research and may not be disaggregated from the wider group being surveyed. For example, its forthcoming Longitudinal Study of Young People in England will include a booster sample of ethnic minority young people, although it is not clear whether this will include refugee and asylum seekers specifically.

The department makes a significant contribution to research on issues relevant to asylum seekers and refugees through its research into English language provisions, for example the forthcoming evaluation of English for speakers of other languages [ESOL] Pathfinders projects. The DfES will also be publishing research based on Ofsted inspections between 2001 and 2003 that sought to evaluate the impact of the arrival of pupils from asylum-seeker families. Other recent relevant research projects include that on English language as a barrier to employment, education and training conducted by Schellekens Consultancy and published in 2001.

Local learning and skills councils [LSCs] are also active in researching local refugee and asylum seeking populations as part of their responsibilities to meet the adult education and training needs of local communities. For example, the London North Learning and Skills Council has conducted detailed research on several locally resident refugee populations and the Coventry and Warwickshire LSC has commissioned and published collaborative research on the education, training and employment skills and services for asylum seekers and refugees in the area.

• more information on DfES research is available from this online database of tendered, contracted, completed and published research projects

Department of Health [DoH]

The Department of Health has a history of promoting the use of research to inform policy and practice. Indeed many of the tenets of 'EBPP' [evidence-based policy and practice], and some of the methodologies associated with this approach emanate from the health sector. In the period 2002 - 2003, it was estimated that the Department of Health would spend approximately £540 million overall on research through the Policy Research Programme and National Health Service [NHS] Research and Development Programme. The DoH emphasises its commitment to developing an evidence-based approach to policy and practice and making information generated through research available to service providers. In particular, it supports research syntheses, reviews and evaluations. The Policy Research Programme commissions research directly and the NHS R&D Programme undertakes commissioning largely through programmes of research.

The Department of Health has a clear interest in refugees and asylum seekers and has commissioned and funded many research projects on the health care and needs of these groups, including projects on specific nationalities such as Afghans, Somalis and Turks. Many more general projects also include asylum seekers and refugees as one of the groups researched. Meeting the health needs of refugee and asylum seekers in the UK: An information and resource pack for health workers, a DoH publication from 2002, gives some idea of how best practice information is being disseminated to care providers.

The National Research Register, a searchable online database of ongoing and recently completed research projects funded by, or of interest to, the NHS can be used to identify DoH funded research on refugees and asylum seekers. The Department of Health also maintains a new research database called ReFeR, the Research Findings Electronic Register, which provides 'prompt sight' of the findings of completed research from the NHS R&D Programme and the DoH Policy Research Programme.

Because local health authorities are required to carry out needs assessments and consult with the local population in order to determine local needs, they also conduct and support research on local refugee populations and have produced research on a number of populations that seeks to inform service development and delivery.

• more information about DoH research is available here
• other information on evidence-based social care and health for practitioners can be accessed here

Department for International Development [DFID]

DFID, the department responsible for promoting sustainable development and reducing poverty, states that it is committed to the use of knowledge and research to support policy and practice and spends well over £100 million each year on development-oriented research and capacity building. Its Knowledge Policy Unit [KPU] aims to enhance the use of knowledge by DFID and others in support of the elimination of poverty, and the department as a whole pursues a number of initiatives that seek to disseminate research findings as widely as possible.

Through its work on country of origin contexts, DFID has already made an indirect contribution to research on refugees and migrants. However, its Departmental Report 2003 states that DFID is seeking to strengthen its direct engagement with global migration and asylum issues in order to address their impact and consequences for the elimination of poverty.

In December 2002, an independent review of DFID's research was undertaken and in the same month the department established a Development Research Centre to explore the impact of migration on poverty. This centre is led by the University of Sussex and includes four institutes in developing countries. DFID projects that, over the next five years, research conducted by this centre will inform policy recommendations.

Department of Work and Pensions [DWP]

As the Department of Work and Pensions are interested in refugees as part of the wider UK labour force, their research aims to increase the department's knowledge of refugees' employment and training experiences. The Social Research Division of the Information and Analysis Directorate in the DWP is responsible for commissioning research on issues relevant to the Department's business, and is allocated a budget for this purpose. Although some research is conducted in-house, most work is commissioned to a wide range of outside research organisations, including the Office for National Statistics, universities, market research companies, and non-profit research organisations such as the National Centre for Social Research.

The recent research conducted by Alice Bloch of Goldsmith's College, Refugees’ Opportunities and Barriers in Employment and Education, is the first piece of research specifically about refugees and asylum seekers commissioned and published by DWP. Other examples of ongoing research include evaluations of projects delivering employment training and work-focused English language teaching to refugees. Studies of the interpreting and translation services in Jobcentre Plus are also underway and the DWP will also commence operational research on labour market consequences for refugees in 2004.

Much of the research conducted by DWP, including recent and current research on ONE/Jobcentre Plus and the Labour Force Survey, does not refer to refugees as a specific sub-group because it is assumed that refugees make up a small proportion of the DWP’s overall client caseload and the majority of DWP research has a wider remit than refugee and asylum issues. DWP commissions a considerable amount of research jointly with other government departments and sometimes contributes to research being conducted by other bodies.

 

• more information about research by the DWP is available here

 

Home Office

The Research Development and Statistics Directorate [RDS] within the Home Office is the section that aims to provide ministers, policy makers and statutory service providers with the information they need to inform policy decisions and practice. RDS is responsible for maintaining the various statistical services published by the Home Office and for carrying out research or commissioning research from others. RDS is composed of several different sections that aim to meet the research and information needs of the units within the Home Office.

 

Immigration Research and Statistics Service

Immigration Research and Statistics Service [IRSS] is the part of RDS that conducts and commissions research and evaluation, and provides statistical analysis on immigration, asylum and integration issues. It aims to support the development of policy and management of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate [IND]. The IRSS only began its programme of research two and a half years ago and this indicates how recent Home Office research on these topics is when compared to other areas of its responsibilities. The IRSS conducts its own research and analysis and also contracts work to external researchers, such as university teams and research consultancies. In developing its research programmes, IRSS works closely with policy and operational colleagues in IND as well as consulting with refugee organisations, NGOs, other government departments and a range of stakeholders to identify information gaps.

The IRSS consists of four main sections. The asylum and appeals section aims to provide and develop research and statistical analysis on asylum policy and process, determination procedures and appeals. It conducts internal, and commissions external, research and maintains and develops asylum and appeals statistics, management information, and the ACID database. The immigration and citizenship section provides research and statistical analysis on entry clearance, admissions, extensions, settlement, citizenship and international migration. Both these sections provide information and advice to IND.

The enforcement, detention, general research and data systems development sectionNational Asylum Support Services Research and Statistics Team

provides research and analysis of statistics in enforcement and detention, conducts general research and evaluation and also develops, implements and manages new IT systems. Finally the provides research and statistical analysis and advice for the National Asylum Support Service [NASS], including conducting evaluations of NASS developments.

Research that has been recently commissioned or conducted by the above teams includes work on asylum policies in Europe; interpretation and translation services; an evaluation of the impact of providing early legal advice; a review of resettlement programmes; voluntary assisted return; dispersal; proxy indicators of integration; decisions to naturalise in the UK; a review of methods to size the illegally resident population; a comparative study of removal strategies and systems; and a review of methodologies to research refugee populations, among others.

Research commissioned on practices for the reception of asylum seekers in Europe; the dissemination of information to potential asylum seekers in countries of origin and transit; asylum decision making; indicators of refugee integration; reviews of current research on asylum policy and practice in the UK and integration; and a study of current provision of country of origin information in the asylum determination process have also been recently completed. In addition to a skills audit of people granted refugee status and Exceptional Leave to Remain, the IRSS has also conducted analyses of the labour market impacts and outcomes of migrants in collaboration with other government bodies.

 

other Home Office sections

Other research teams in RDS also conduct and commission research and collect data on issues relevant to the refugee and asylum seeking population. The race relations section conducts and commissions research and statistical analysis on race relations, race equality and cultural diversity to support the work of the Race Equality Unit.

The IRSS also collaborates with other sections of RDS in developing and conducting its research. For example, its work on the economic and social impact of migration was conducted in collaboration with the Economic and Resource Analysis Unit of RDS.

Local authorities

Many local authorities conduct and commission research on refugees and asylum seekers that are resident in the local area. This research often involves assessing the needs of particular populations in relation to a specific or a range of issues as well as establishing basic demographic profiles to inform service delivery and development. Manchester City Council, Southampton City Council, Liverpool City Council, Birmingham City Council, the Greater London Authority, and Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Lewisham councils in London are just some of the many local government bodies that have conducted research on refugee populations in the local area.

Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

The Department for Communities and Local Government was created on 5 May 2006, under the leadership of Ruth Kelly and supersedes the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister [ODPM]. The department brings together key responsibilities for regional and local government, fire, housing, planning and regeneration. The Regional Co-ordination Unit, the Government Offices for the Regions, the Social Exclusion Unit [SEU] and the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit are all based within this department.

Many of the programmes relate to issues such as housing, urban planning, deprivation and other issues that are relevant to the understanding of refugee and asylum seeking population and the issues they face in the UK. Some of the units are developing research programmes that could potentially incorporate studies of refugee and asylum-seeking populations. For example, the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit's project on neighbourhood information and local data collection could be useful to the study of these populations, as could their evaluations of community projects and interventions. The work conducted by the Social Exclusion Unit relating to homelessness, children and young people, and neighbourhood renewal could also generate useful findings on asylum seekers and refugees. However, these departments do not seem to have conducted targeted research on these groups as yet.

However, research has been commissioned in cooperation with the Home Office on the social, economic and cultural impacts of asylum seekers and refugees on local communities. This research is also funded in part by the HM Treasury’s Evidence-Based Policy Fund.

Scottish Executive

The Scottish Executive is responsible to the Scottish Parliament for devolved issues. Asylum and immigration policy is not a devolved issue, but implementation is. Research teams underpin the formulation, development and evaluation of policies and better delivery of services through the provision of evidence-based advice.

The Scottish Executive has seven research programmes. One of these, linked to the Development Department, covers social inclusion, social justice and voluntary sector issues and this is where research into refugee and asylum issues and broader ethnic minority research relevant to refugees is situated. Over £5.3 million of social research overall is currently being commissioned by the Development Department.

The Development Department's annual research report summarises the focus of research in each policy area with brief details of new projects and updates on the previous year's programme, as well as opportunities for contractors to submit expressions of interest. The most recent 2003-2004 report lists several new research projects relating to refugees and asylum seekers. Some of these include research on advocacy services for refugees and asylum seekers, research on asylum seekers in Scotland, and a refugee skills and aspirations audit.

Strategy Unit

Created by a merger of the Performance and Innovation Unit, the Prime Minister's Forward Strategy Unit, and part of the Policy Studies Directorate of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies, the Strategy Unit formally began operating in July 2002. The unit conducts long-term strategic reviews of major areas of policy and aims to provide a strong capacity for evidence-based policy analysis and strategic thinking for the government. It is probable that the unit will turn its attention to issues relating to asylum and immigration at some point and has already conducted work on ethnic minorities and the labour market that may provide a useful strategic direction for work on refugees and employment.

Treasury and Office of National Statistics

The Office of National Statistics [ONS] is the government department that produces a range of economic and social statistics used by policy makers across government to create evidence-based policies and to monitor performance. Formed in 1996, when the Central Statistical Office was merged with the Office of Population, Consensus and Surveys, it is the responsibility of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and managed by the First Secretary to the Treasury in England and devolved to Ministers of Finance in Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. The official statistics reflect Britain’s economy, population and society at national and local levels. The ONS publishes statistics about immigration and asylum based on data collected by the Home Office and some information can be gleaned about refugees from the 2001 Census information using country of birth and first language data, although the census does not include a question about immigration status.

The HM Treasury’s Evidence-Based Policy Fund has also recently funded research commissioned by the ODPM in cooperation with the Home Office on the social, economic and cultural impacts of asylum seekers and refugees on local communities.

Do government bodies collaborate when conducting research?

As immigration and asylum issues cover a range of departmental interests, there is some collaboration between departments on this type of research. For example, the IRSS of the Home Office collaborates with the Economic and Resource Analysis Unit of RDS on the economic and social impact of migration.

However, there is a further need for collaboration and information sharing, as many governmental bodies remain unaware of research conducted by other departments or units on the same subject.

Government bodies may also collaborate with non-governmental organisations or academic researchers to conduct research. Initiatives to increase this type of collaboration have also been introduced, such the Evidence-Based Policy Fund that, as mentioned above, has facilitated collaboration between the Home Office and the ODPM on research into the social, economic and cultural impacts of asylum seekers and refugees on local communities.

Where can I find out more about government research on refugees?

• to find out about the research evidence being used by each government department, visit the adding it up website.
• if you want to find out more about government-published research on refugees in the UK, search ICAR's resources directory. You can also search academic databases such as the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences or Web of Science which often include reports published by government bodies.

Last Updated: 25/02/09

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