The dashboard

 

A stock-taking tool for policy makers 

 

The dashboard of indicators for measuring policy and institutional coherence for migration and development (PICMD) is a user-friendly tool that has been developed by the KNOMAD Thematic Working Group on Policy and Institutional Coherence. The dashboard aims to measure the extent to which public policies and institutional arrangements are coherent with international best practices to minimise the risks and maximise the development gains of migration, and can be used by domestic policy makers and other stakeholders such as researchers, civil society and international organisations. For policy makers, the dashboard should serve as a particularly useful tool during the policy formulation, evaluation and adjustment process.

 

With the recognition that countries face unique national contexts presenting distinct opportunities and challenges – and furthermore find themselves at different stages of policy development vis-à-vis migration and development – the purpose of the dashboard is not to label governments’ policy interventions as “right” or “wrong”.  Rather, the dashboard aims to help countries:

 

• take stock of their existing policies and institutional arrangements in different sectors related to migration and development;
• consider what policies and institutions may be needed to maximise the positive impact of migration on development. 

 

Developed based on existing evidence and a broad consultative process

 

The dashboard has been developed by the Thematic Working Group and its research team, which includes researchers from the OECD Development Centre and the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. The indicators were based on an extensive review of literature on measuring policy coherence and the causal linkages between migration and development, and have been refined through extensive consultations with national policy makers, experts and representatives of civil society and international organisations. 

 

As of late 2015, the dashboard is still a work in progress and should be finalised by early 2016.  

 

 

Structured around five policy dimensions

 

Indicators are organised around the following five policy dimensions:

 

 

There are two distinct dashboards – one from the perspective of countries of origin and the other from the perspective of countries of destination – with separate indicators except in the area of institutional coherence. Any given country can be considered both a country of origin and a country of destination.

 

Each indicator corresponds to an input, output or outcome, with these terms defined as follows:

 

• Inputs are the processes that lead to government interventions, such as consultations, statements of commitment and the allocation of financial resources.

• Outputs include government interventions, in particular policy and institutional changes. These include the adjustment and establishment of policies, as well as the set-up and modification of formal mechanisms such as inter-ministerial committees and centralised oversight bodies.

• Outcomes are the short and medium-term effects on society of government outputs. They differ from impacts, which refer to the intended and unintended long-term effects of interventions.

 

By specifying the level to which each indicator corresponds, the dashboard makes it easier to locate the various policy interventions and outcomes it outlines within the policy making process. However, the dashboard does not aim to develop a results chain that assumes that its inputs lead to outputs and then to outcomes in a linear fashion. The large majority of indicators concern inputs and outputs, whereas a few core indicators aim to cover specific outcomes in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

 

 

Rationale and added value

 

The beneficial outcomes from migration for countries of origin, countries of destination and migrants depend on a range of migration-related and other public policies and their interactions. The recently adopted UN resolution on the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda recognises that fostering the positive contribution of migrants to inclusive growth and sustainable development requires coherent and comprehensive responses. By helping policy makers identify critical policy areas and institutional mechanisms for fostering PICMD, the dashboard is a useful tool for integrating migration into countries’ strategies for realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

 

Furthermore, more broadly PICMD is important because:

 

 

• Policy incoherence can increase the likelihood of unfulfilled development commitments and situations in which certain policy objectives become less attainable or unachievable.

• Policies working at cross purposes can result in financial costs and wasted resources.

• Incoherence can lead to negative spill-over effects and the loss of credibility. 

• PICMD, as an approach, can help balance policy trade-offs and bring about enhanced collaboration and trust between stakeholders, which can allow for the increased harnessing of synergies.

 

National focal points who have participated in the first operationalisation of the dashboard have noted the following benefits.  

 

 

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Operationalisation

 

10 pilot countries

 

The Thematic Working Group is currently operationalising the dashboard in 10 pilot countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Jamaica, Moldova, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, and Trinidad and Tobago.

 

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The information on the various indicators in each country context is gathered through desk research, on the one hand, and questionnaires that are completed by national focal points, on the other hand. These questionnaires are prepared by the working group’s research team, and responses to the questionnaires are organised and submitted by national focal points, who are responsible for co-ordinating with other ministries to gather necessary inputs. 

 

 

Presenting results

 

The Thematic Working Group will visually present the results of the dashboard operationalisation in several ways, including through radar charts and “traffic lights” tables. As there are two distinct dashboards – one from the perspective of countries of origin and the other from the perspective of countries of destination – within these visuals countries will only be compared to other countries in the same category (either origin or destination). 

 

 

 

 

 

Radar charts will allow countries to see how they perform on the five policy dimensions in relation to an average, whereas “traffic lights” tables will allow countries to compare themselves to other countries across the dimensions. In the table below, red represents low scores, orange represents medium scores and green represents high scores.  

 

 

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Roadmap

 

 

 

 

How countries can participate

 

What is expected

 

To participate in the dashboard initiative, each country is expected to designate a focal point who works closely with the Thematic Working Group. The role of each focal point is to:

• facilitate access to data and provide information about existing policies and institutional mechanisms;
• assist the research team in contacting relevant stakeholders in their countries to gather information;
• regularly update colleagues at relevant institutions in their country on the progress of the initiative;
• participate in events organised by the Thematic Working Group.  

 

Contact

 

For further information about participating in this initiative or additional information about the dashboard, please contact DEV.Migration@oecd.org.