Call for application for the research ideas on Migration and Sustainable Development.

Deadline for application: 30 May 2025

BACKGROUND

In recent years, migrants have made a significant contribution to the socio-economic landscape of Nepal. Due to the major contribution of remittances to the country’s economy including skills and expertise of migrants, migration has risen to the top of the policy agenda. The Government of Nepal is increasingly realizing the importance of leveraging the link between migration and development. However, migration in the academic curriculum of Nepali universities is yet to be addressed comprehensively.

The Nepal Migration Profile, published in 2019, highlights many gaps in data and research on migration in Nepal which will limit to ensure that laws and policies are established and targeted successfully.^[1] This is particularly important to ensure the effective consideration of cross-cutting issues, such as human rights-based approach, gender and disability. The Migration Profile also acknowledges the necessity of gathering high-quality migration statistics, conducting in-depth migration research, and disseminating more information about migration in order to support and advise the government in developing evidence-based policies and programs.

With the inclusion of migration in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), migration has made it to the top of the development discourse agenda in the country. However, migration is yet to be fully mainstreamed in the policies of all three tiers (federal, provincial, [2]and local level) of the government, and the national development strategy. Migration governance in Nepal is multi-sectoral with the engagement of different ministries. Currently, respective ministries implement initiatives as part of migration governance, however, these lack an overarching comprehensive and harmonized approach to migration for development. This is in part due to the limited exposure of policymakers and practitioners to a 360-degree view of migration and sustainable development.

In this context, IOM Nepal and Tribhuvan University’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, signed a cooperation agreement to jointly plan and organize the School on Migration Studies. The school aims to engage the various ministries, civil society, and academia, working on migration to work collaboratively in the field of migration and improve their understanding of the migration governance and complexities of migration. Furthermore, the project will provide grant assistance to six students and young researchers with research interests on migration and sustainable development. The target participants will be final year graduate students or recent graduates (early researchers) in migration studies, social science, law, public policy, public health, climate change and environment, population studies, economics and anthropology or with equivalent work experience in these sectors.

 

 

 

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of this assignment is to carry out a dissertation of Masters / MPhil studies related to Human Migration and Sustainable development.

 SCOPE OF WORK

 IOM Nepal and the Central Department of Population Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tribhuvan University (TU) in coordination with the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MoLESS) will guide the students and early researcher for their research.

INCEPTION PHASE

In line with the university supervisor of the student or independent researcher, the Research proposal along with the methodology will be presented to the advisory committee. With the approval of the advisory committee including TU, MoLESS and IOM Nepal, the first installment will be disbursed.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES

The applicants are responsible for delivering the following:

 

 

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, COMPETENCIES AND EXPERIENCE

1. Minimum qualification: Last year Master’s degree students, MPhil degree student and early researchers.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

• Applicants must clearly define their research questions and methodology.
• Preference will be given to proposals with strong analytical frameworks and practical relevance.
• Innovative use of data sources, including media content, local case studies, and fieldwork, is encouraged.
• Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

 

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

The participants should follow the principles outlined in the UNEG – Ethical Guidelines for research and/or study. Under the ethical consideration, special care will be taken to respect the confidentiality of the information provided by respondents and stakeholders and rights to responding or not responding. The information and data assembled in this study process will only be used for the objective of this project and not for other any kind of uses without the express authorization of IOM. The consulting firm/institute will be held to the highest ethical standards and follow IOM’s data protection principles.

MODE OF PAYMENT

Payment to the Participants will be made on the instalment basis as follows:

• 40% upon signing of the contract and submission of the inception report.
• 60% upon submission of the final report and approval from IOM.

*Tax and/or VAT will apply as per the existing rules and regulations of the Government of Nepal.

HOW TO APPLY (To be modified based on IOM Nepal HR/Procurement Practice)

Prospective applicants are encouraged to access the “Apply Now” button and complete the application form by providing their personal information, responding to the motivation question, and downloading the sample proposal format. The proposal format, which is inclusive and thorough, should be obtained promptly to initiate the preparation process. For any inquiries or clarifications pertaining to this matter, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

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