Exploratory cross-national survey of origin and destination migrant organisations

Abstract

Recent developments in migration studies have shown how important it is to consider multiple actors, both at origin and destination, in studying migrants’ integration processes. In light of these developments, the INTERACT survey provides a new tool to research migrant integration. Its novelty lies in offering a cross-national approach to civil society organisations at both destination and origin. These organisations are taken as actors relevant for migrant integration in EU destination countries. Upon completion the survey gathered over 900 responses from organisations working predominantly (but not only) in employment, education, language and social relations. These organisations had different levels of reach, but their voices give us a better understanding of how they support migrants in their efforts to integrate in the EU. Although the exploratory character of the survey does not allow for generalisations about all civil society organisations, it sheds light on how these actors’ activities affect migrant integration between origin and destination, and how organisations perceive states of origin and their policies in the context of the day-to-day reality of migrant incorporation in the receiving society. In this methodological paper, we will present the survey’s rationale and structure, before moving onto a description of fieldwork and the challenges faced there. This paper will thus contribute to the multisite cross-national survey literature and map out migrant civil society organisations.