Collaborating With Other Stakeholders

 Enhance the Collaboration of Diasporas with Government and other Stakeholders

Engaging in constructive dialogue is crucial in reaching broad collaboration. Migration has many key issues and to achieve coherence, it needs the cooperation of state, private, civil society, local governments and other stakeholders. To achieve a more influential voice in policy making, the diaspora needs to increase its capability to dialogue with other sectors.  This does not only entail a knowledge of the other actors and the competency to advance the role of the diaspora in the process, but also the ability to keep updated on developments and adjust its position and commitments. As volunteer and participatory organization, there are limitations in maintaining a sustained presence, especially in creating an institutional memory.  Despite this, DFD has been able to leverage its broad membership to respond to the diverse issues and to sustain its relevance vis-a-vis the other actors.

 Objective 5:

• Improve collaboration between diaspora and development agencies, government and other stakeholders.

Results by 2014:

• DFD recognized as a speaking partner by mainstream development agencies, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other relevant institutions.

Despite some learning pains, DFD is actually in a much better position since its founding.  Its sustained work in organizing the consultations and debriefing has established it as serious actor in the M & D policy process. It sustained work to realize the EU platform building that was started in an expert meeting has also gained the interest of the ministry of foreign affairs to fund its efforts to realize a Europe wide formation that could represent the self-organized diaspora.  Its work on migrant rights has also gained the interest of the municipality of The Hague who is looking for a diaspora partner for its shelter city initiative.

 Meanwhile, the work of its members on temporary return of qualified nationals has also opened the door for discussions on a joint project with IOM.  For remittances, it has been able to develop a working relationship with IFAD and INtent. In terms of knowledge building, DFD has been able to find a supportive partner in PSO as well as in the academe, particularly the International Development Studies department of the University of Utrecht. Finally, it has been able to get the interest of PARTOS—a broad platform of development organizations.

 Despite these growing numbers of partners, DFD is seriously addressing the need to develop working relationships with the governments of sending countries.  Its new initiatives seek to create the groundwork through an exploratory study of sending government’s positions vis-a-vis remittances and development. This study that will be conducted with the embassies is meant to examine common areas of interest and areas for lobby and advocacy.