Delphi Consultation - “Migration and Development in Africa: Prospects for Policy Options for the Next 20 Years”

The main aim of this consultation is to outline possible policy options that might be applied over the next 20 years to respond to the movement of African people, with a dual purpose of minimizing potential negative impacts and seizing opportunities that such movements might offer for those areas affected by such movements.

This study adopts a multidisciplinary approach given the complexity of the issues and its close interlinkage with other dynamics (economic, social, demographic, environmental, political).

The iterative process being used in this consultation seeks to take advantage of the participants varied experiences, eliciting views on the possible future evolution of migration trends and exploring possible policy options that could be put in place at various levels (local, national and international) to respond to any threats and opportunities that might be envisaged

.Given that there are few but significant projections on migratory flows - which are relatively weak from a methodological viewpoint - this consultations seeks to try and expand the available base of information, not on the basis of forecast methods, rather by taking stock of the individual experience and knowledge of experts from various fields.

This consultation is structured in three sequential rounds. Each subsequent round of questions will broaden the scope of the consultation by addressing policy related issues and drawing from all disciplines in order to maximize the group’s capacity to take the greatest number of interrelations between potential future dynamics at stake into account.

Thus:

• The first round will be devoted mainly to describing scenarios of envisaged flows;
• The second round, building on the outcomes of the first, will stimulate debate around some outstanding issues which relate to the definition of policies;
• The third round will focus on the policy options highlighted during the second round, with the aim of exploring paths of convergence around specific option.

You can get further information on each of the rounds by clicking on the highlighted links above.