This session will provide an update on efforts within and between countries to better collect data and measure the development impacts of migration towards more synergistic policy-making and cooperation on migration and development. It will continue the work, and build on the results of the RT3.1 session in Brussels, to examine more common definitions and methodologies for data collection and research across countries, and to identify gaps in research on migration and development. Governments and expert agencies will share ideas and experiences on how best to evaluate the impacts of migration on development and vice versa, as well as the respective impacts of policies in both areas.

The outcomes of the working group and experts meeting organized by Finland will be presented with a view to identifying ways of strengthening research networks across countries and regions, enhancing research capacities in developing countries, and ensuring greater inclusion of migration in national development plans and strategies, such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Programs (PRSPs).

This session will continue the work of the Brussels meeting in identifying and sharing good practices by governments on policies and institutional structures that can strengthen coherence between migration and development. It will draw lessons from the growing efforts of governments to strengthen communication, information-sharing, coordination and negotiation among the various arms of government involved with migration, and will also consider the crucial role of Parliamentarians in drawing up appropriate legislation. The discussion will be extended to mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation between governments, such as the GFMD focal points. It will look at how consensus building can be achieved within government on ways to link up migration and development policy-making to mutual benefit. Some emerging efforts to incorporate migration into national development plans and poverty reduction strategies will be examined for their applicability to other countries.

The outcomes of a follow-up survey of governments undertaken by Sweden will be reported on, with a view to identifying a) good practices in developing and developed countries, and between them, and b) the capacity building needs in developing countries at both policy-making and institutional levels to better address migration and development-related impacts.

This session will look at the experiences and advances made by regional consultative processes on migration in addressing migration and development issues at a more multilateral level. RCPs are often able to achieve forms of cross-border and cross-cutting cooperation and mutual capacity building not yet possible at the global level. They can also be effective in bringing migration issues into the agendas of larger regional economic and political integration processes. Pursuant to the Brussels meeting, the session will explore ways of strengthening the potential role of regional consultative processes in enhancing the contribution of migration to development. RCP partner governments will consider how to encourage closer linkages between RCPs and formal regional governmental processes and regular information exchange between RCPs and the GFMD.

The session will build on the outcomes and follow-up actions of Brussels RT 3 by RCP partners to strengthen the migration-development linkages in the agendas of regional consultative processes, and to foster stronger networking among the RCPs and between RCPs and the GFMD.