This workshop aimed to facilitate exchange among researchers on common issues related to the role of academic research in advancing the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR).​

A number of researchers and academic networks were present in Geneva to participate in the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), 13 to 15 December 2023. Anticipating this gathering, and given the objectives of the GRF to mobilize support for the objectives of the 2018 Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), the purpose of this note was to outline details of an academic workshop to enable an exchange between researchers on shared issues relating to the role of academic research in advancing the objectives of the GCR. More specifically, the workshop provided a unique opportunity to discuss the potential importance of the multistakeholder pledge, “Shifting Power: Advancing Localization of Research and Elevating the Voices of Host and Forcibly Displaced Communities Globally.” The workshop also provided a valuable opportunity for networking among academic participants ahead of the GRF itself. 

The workshop was co-hosted by the Graduate Institute, the Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network (GAIN), and the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN) and Forced Migration and Refugee Studies: Networking and Knowledge Transfer (FFVT). 

The workshop was hosted at the Graduate Institute from 12:3015pm to 12:0045pm on Monday, 11 December 2023. The workshop was open to academics who are attending the GRF.

The title of the workshop was: “Evidence-based implementation of the GCR: What role for academia?” Guided by this title, the workshop takes the form of a roundtable discussion on overarching themes that emerge from the workshop title.  

Specifically, the workshop engaged with the following questions: What role can academic research play in guiding the implementation of the GCR and developing tools for impact monitoring? What barriers exist for academics seeking to influence the implementation of the GCR? How can academics collaborate to overcome these barriers?

In light of the “Shifting Power” multi-stakeholder pledge, the workshop also specifically reflected on if and how knowledge produced by those most affected by displacement can contribute to more effective and rights-based responses to forced migration.    

The event included introductory remarks from the Graduate Institute, GAIN and UNHCR before a panel of seven diverse speakers shared their reflections in response to the above framing questions. The roundtable moderator then opened to a wider discussion with the audience before returning to closing comments from the panel and a short reflection from the workshop rapporteur.