Considerations on frameworks and partnerships to enable migration policy reform: remittance leveraging experiences

Manuel OrozcoNovember 12, 2009

Infrastructural needs

• How to address institutional reform for migration management? What kinds of framework is needed, including the importance of an inter-agency approach; and the role of NGOs and the private sector?

• There is no silver bullet guaranteeing the success of a policy or its reform.

• Experience and lessons learned about initiatives leveraging remittances show that some policies that have achieved success feature common issues;

• Moreover, policy partnership have proven to accomplish success;

Components to facilitate policy reform

1. Common issuesA. Type of policy approach;B. Level of engagement or

commitment;C. Participating partners;D.Factors facilitating policy

partnerships;2. Partnership Considerations;3. Integrating factors and stages

These issues are experienced particularly in the policy environment leveraging remittances for development, but many of the features can be replicated on other migration policy reform.

Policy IssuesActivity Description

Norm settingAgenda setting on R&D(IAD Taskforce report 2005 & 2007; All in the Family and the 2007)

Establish a taskforce that explores and discusses the policy issues that can leverage remittance transfers for development

Diaspora input on development goals/strategy (DFD-Netherlands)

Establish a mechanism of consultation to request input from diasporas about the setting of development goals

National Action Plan on Remittances and Development (GoMoldova)Standards on money transfers (Scorecard 2006 and 2009; WB Pricing database)

Elaborate a scorecard on remittance practices by RSPs

Environment enablingDiaspora outreach (IME’s experience) Strengthen the links between diaspora associations and the government

Financial literacy (EBRD project descry,) Provide financial advising and bancarize remittance recipients

Financial access—savings for families Promote savings among remittance recipients

Joint investmentFA—migrant capital investment (housing) (El Salv. Housing report)

Set up a housing investment promotion facility for migrants

FA—migrant capital investment (SMEs) Set up a business investment promotion facility for migrants

Diaspora philanthropy (social) Support diaspora philanthropic activitiesDiaspora philanthropy (wealth generating) Support diaspora philanthropic investments

A. The types of policy approach

• Current policy practice and lessons learned show three main modalities: ▫ Norm setting : seek to set rules, agendas or

standards relating to common issues▫ Environment enabling : collaborative

commitments aimed at facilitating an ongoing process, or ensuring, rather than shaping, the success of an outcome

▫ Operational /resource investment: migrant associations partner directly with governments/other agents to work on development projects, contributing with their own resources and participating in the implementation and monitoring

B. Level of engagement, commitment or authority invested•Government’s policy position:

▫From strongly against the policy issue -

to strongly in favor;•Government’s policy importance:

▫Very important to Unimportant•Government’s policy clout to influence the issue:▫Very influential to ineffectual

C. Participating partners•Complexity of players and stakeholders:

▫ Government inter-agency collaboration;▫Government-Civil society;▫Government – civil society – businesses ▫Government - businesses

•International collaboration agencies▫Donor collaboration with government;

D. Partnership elements. . .• A key lesson learned on migration policy is how inclusion of

various partners contributes to its effectiveness. Partnerships contribute to carryout policy implementation:

• Collaboration consists of achieving an engagement by partners to identify solutions to address development problems

• Solutions are adopted following a framework that requires:1. The recognition by stakeholders of partnership symmetry2. Resource sharing3. Commitment to a timeline4. Accountability in the implementation of the project 5. Access to information on the issues and solutions at stake6. Measure of expected results;7. Risk considerations

2. Partnership considerations . . .

• Diasporas and governments have expressed interest and willingness to partner to leverage remittances for development

• However, these expressions of interest have come with:▫ Uninformed knowledge of each others’ counterparts

(that includes assumptions or false or inaccurate projections)

▫ Poorly prepared proposals for joint work▫ No resource endowment to contribute▫ The wrong interlocutor or environment

• What is needed is a partnership model that:▫ Empowers all participants▫ Validates their collaborative efforts toward development▫ Builds achievable result

Partnership elements • Partnerships are cooperative alliances about

issues or goals between interested parties seeking to advance an objective by joining ideas and resources, and sharing risks

• Existing partnerships include diaspora organizations working together with international development agencies, governments or multinational corporations

• The success (or failure) of partnerships is linked to:

▫ The presence or lack of communication▫ Asymmetric relationships▫ Unclear or ambitious goals and follow up▫ Incomplete resources

Partner Symmetry• Symmetry is a condition that demands

proportionality and equal sharing of commitments/responsibilities among partners

• Partner symmetry is the commitment that all players will abide to the goals adopted, commit to the obligations assumed, and participate in the activities they commit

• Partners are signing an contractual arrangement to work together while taking on the responsibilities, obligations and activities they commit to

• It establishes the basis of accountability among players

• To achieve symmetry, each participant must lay out their endowments committed to the partnership in full transparency

Clear Shared Goals

• Clarity of goal sharing consists of an exercise to decide on and be aware of the goals to adopt and achieve

• The act of sharing goals is a political decision; participants commit to work together on an objective/ agenda

• It involves the capacity to have knowledge of the properties embedded in the achievement of a goal

• Selecting to work in such fashion depends on:▫ Technical advice to equip partners with skills to

identify issues that meet the interests of players▫ Facilitation to distinguish between development

needs versus wants▫ Intermediation to choose a minimum workable

agenda

Resource and Timeline Commitment

• Partners are required to committing resources to achieve the partnership’s goals

• Resource commitment demands pooling endowments from various sources

• It does not demand symmetry in the allocation but rather commitment to the promised resources

• It requires correspondence btw means to achieve project activities and the partners’ endowment

• Partners are to be able to identify their capacities vis a vis their goals and allocate those assets accordingly

• The ability to organize the project according to a timeline ensures the realization of the objective as planned

Trust and Accountability

• Trust building instruments include: ▫Written agreements▫Resource and timeline commitments▫Disclosures of a player’s institutional operation▫A channel of communication with a reliable

counterpart• Accompanying trust are mechanisms that hold the

partners accountable to their commitments and activities in ways that the operation is transparent and efficient

• Accountability functions as a check and balance that motivates partners to fulfill their commitments

Information Sharing, Measure of Results and Risk

• The partnership requires that a line of communication among players to stay informed about the progress of the partnership

• The expected results need to correspond with the goals and a measurable set of indicators that evaluates the extent of achievement to the proposed outcomes, including:▫ Ownership: to beneficiary communities▫ Commensurability: clearly distinguishes between

needs and wants of the beneficiaries▫ Sustainability: self-sustainable post-implementation▫ Replicability: contains attributes and instruments that

can be replicated elsewhere

3. Integrating partnership factors through stages

Step 1: Trust building, goal setting and

communication

Step 2: Evaluating costs of engagement, durability and risks

Step 3: Implementation of partnership with resource endowment, a work plan with a timeline, and measurable indictors of performance/results

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Procedure . . .Step 1: Build trust, communication, and goals• For governments to trust diasporas and vice

versa they need to know each other better - remove assumptions

• Through joint meetings, partners can learn to communicate their views and interest and craft agendas

• Communication efforts include: ▫Exchanging information about the right

counterparts and interlocutors to deal with▫Understanding the institutional mechanics of

how diaspora associations work and how government agencies entrusted with diaspora affairs operate

• Goal setting strategies are also a first step to establish a relationship toward a partnership

Procedure . . .Step 2: Estimate partnership costs, durability,

risks• Partners must consider the material

circumstances and realities of setting in place a joint collaborative project

• Three considerations to focus on are: ▫Evaluation of costs▫Evaluation of the length of time to carry the

partnership and project ▫Evaluation of the risks such engagement can

entail• The components of these 3 elements contribute

to solidify a firm decision to either proceed or re-explore the partnership. In the first case, the third step to follow gives way to the partnership itself.

Procedure . . .Step 3: Partnership formalization,

implementation and evaluation• This step is the formalization and initiation of the

partnership by working concretely in any of the modalities adopted (norm, enabling or operational)

• The implementation depends on the articulation of the commitments placed (shared objectives, resources, expected risks) to develop the collaborative exercise

• There is a feedback between the activities and their evaluation, in combination with exercises of checks and balances to ensure accountability of performance in the partnership by the participants and the project itself

Policy Issues

Activity Description

Public Stakeholders, Roles & Responsibilities

Diaspora engagement and commitment

Instruments

Resources

Results Risks

Policy crafting partnership

Instrumental or enabling partnership

Operational Resource investment partnership